The Brvtalist is pleased to premiere “Metamorphosis”, the new track from Melbourne based artist Brixx in collaboration with Black Dahlia. As the track name suggests, Brixx’s new release Conversion Therapy is about transformation, inspired by the gamut of emotions and subsequent journey leading up to and following the coming out process. Rather than a narrative about repression or a forced change in sexual orientation, this release celebrates queer identity and disassociating from what it means to be heteronormative.
The EP draws on the artist's love of David Lynch, cult queer cinema classics and film composers such as Heathers’ David Newman. It’s a mental trip encompassing repressed desire, frivolity, transformation and ultimately acceptance – a late night soundtrack which drops you into a world tinged with darkness that encompasses techno, new beat, EBM and breaks.
“You tried to bury me but I’m a seed,” sings Black Dahlia in “Metamorphosis,” the final track on the EP. Growth, despite tribulations, is inevitable: there is a hope, a new dawn on the horizon. “The track is about transformation and about overcoming adversity to live a life that is not bound by the expectations of others,” explains Brixx. Its demanding, true-to-EBM bassline underneath Black Dahlia’s vocals recall the work of Sarah McLachlan during her industrial Nettwerk Records days—a ravenous and complex elegance that lubricates the track’s aggressive sounds. There’s an inherent submersive darkness woven within “Metamorphosis” but, when compounded with the lushness of the track’s vocals, creates an energy that emits unwavering optimism.”
Brixx collaborated with the artist BOOTLEG COMICS to create the artwork, which was hand drawn and closely represents the EP’s themes. “I wanted something which reflects what it feels like to be stuck between two states of being: who we’re expected to be vs who we really are. The robot represents societal programming, an expectation to live a heteronormative life.”
The release is out September 20th on digital format + vinyl. Pre-order here now.
-MH