Much is made in current dance culture about electronic music as an outlet for queer joy. Earlier this year, for example, when Charli XCX declared that “the dancefloor is dead” in her latest news-cycle-consuming PR stunt, it provoked worldwide outcry from DJs and producers who argued that denying dance music’s modern ubiquity robs Black and queer communities of the ecstatic temples that they built, across decades, as an antidote to adversity. And while that retort isn’t inaccurate, it can be a little unintentionally reductivist. What about queer pain, queer sorrow, queer fear, queer anxiety? These emotions are just as central to the Black queer experience as joy, and some of the most interesting electronic music — Lotic’s eerie experimental R&B noise,…

You need to be logged in to view the rest of the content. Please . Not a Member? Join Us

« »