VIVEK SHRAYA CELEBRATES TRANSGENDER DAY OF VISIBILITY WITH THE DELUXE VERSION OF HER NEW RECORD, NEW MODELS
LISTEN / SHARE “MORAL PANIC” FT. JEREMY DUTCHER
BUY / STREAM NEW MODELS DELUXE VERSION HERE
Photo Credit : Paul Mpagi Sepuya // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES
Today, multi-hyphenate artist Vivek Shraya is celebrating Transgender Day of Visibility by releasing the deluxe version of her latest album, New Models. The deluxe version includes reimaginings of two album tracks which feature Jeremy Dutcher (On “Moral Panic”), and Tanya Tagaq (on “Apathy Crisis”).
“New Models was written in the past four years, during a time when trans rights around the world have been slowly and systematically chipped away,” explains Shraya. “I wanted to make something that pushed back against the hateful political rhetoric (“Groomer”) but also could be cathartic to queer and trans listeners (“When I’m Overcome”). I wanted to make something that could rally allies (“Apathy Crisis”) but I also wanted listeners to discover new perspectives and motivations on their own (“Moral Panic”). Often, I wasn’t even sure what I was making (“I Don’t Know Where I’m Going”) or if any of it mattered (“Am I Doing Enough?”).
“My relationship to International Transgender Day Of Visibility is similarly ambivalent. What I personally want for my communities is not necessarily visibility but safety and dignity. I also know that it’s seeing trans people that empowers me to keep existing and, crucially, to keep challenging my own assumptions about gender.
“I offer this deluxe version of New Models, recharged by two artists I admire very much, Tanya Tagaq and Jeremy Dutcher, on this day, with the hopes that it acts as a reminder of the importance of collaboration and community during this time. I don’t believe visibility is the end goal, but I do think many of us are searching for the light and clarity right now and this can only come from working together, across our differences.
On the collaboration with Shraya on “Moral Panic”, Jeremy Dutcher says, “I’ve loved Vivek for a LONG time. Since first hearing her collaboration with the queer songbook orchestra in 2017, I’ve been eager for an opportunity to work together. In 2023, she joined me on stage in Calgary during the motewolonuwok tour and we dueted a song called ‘take my hand’. From then, I knew our voices would dance together in-step. So when she asked me to be part of this upcoming project, it was an instant yes.
“The message in these lyrics are, for me, speaking of the hope and resilience of all the rainbow children in this world. It is an anthem to our strength; In the face of fear & hatred, our joy, love and kinship networks persist. This message is both timely and timeless when considering queer, embodied experiences.
“My approach to this song was to create an army of voices (a chorus) to be a bed on which Vivek can lay and share her truth.”
MORE ABOUT JEREMY DUTCHER
Jeremy Dutcher is a classically trained tenor, Two-Spirit song carrier, polymuse, activist, ethnomusicologist, and member of Neqotkuk (Tobique First Nation) in Eastern Canada. Dedicated to language revitalization, Jeremy’s debut album Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa unearthed century-old archival recordings of his ancestors, turning them into collaborative compositions on the grand piano. Sung entirely in Wolastoqey, his endangered mother tongue, it would go on to win the 2018 Polaris Music Prize and lead to collaborations with such iconic artists as Yo-Yo Ma and Leslie Feist. His sophomore album Motewolonuwok ᒣᑌᐧᐁᓓᓄᐧᐁᒃ was awarded the 2024 Polaris Music Prize, making Jeremy the first ever two-time winner. Jeremy’s music transcends boundaries: unapologetically playful in its incorporation of classical and jazz influences, full of reverence for the traditional songs of his home, and teeming with the urgency of modern-day resistance. He is regularly sought out for his perspectives on queerness, Indigeneity, language revitalization, and fashion.
BUY / STREAM NEW MODELS DELUXE VERSION HERE