New Album to Celebrate Trans and Nonbinary Artists
An exciting compilation called Transa will feature songs from famous artists like Sade, Sam Smith, Jeff Tweedy, Laura Jane Grace, and over 100 more.
The album includes almost 50 tracks and lasts around three and a half hours, set to be released on November 22 by the Red Hot Organization. The first single is Lauren Auder’s take on Prince’s “I Would Die 4 U,” featuring Wendy and Lisa from Prince’s original band. Unlike the synth-pop original, this version uses piano for a softer sound. When Auder, who is trans, sings the lyrics, they hit even harder: “I’m not a woman, I’m not a man/I am something that you’ll never understand.” Wendy and Lisa add backup vocals, keeping the song’s special vibe.
Auder expressed her excitement about the project, stating, “The lyrics to ‘I Would Die 4 U’ feel so potent and open-ended, up for interpretation, but an unconditional message of holding and support shines through. Getting Wendy and Lisa who sang on the original to accompany me through this version has been one of the proudest moments in my musical career and am so glad to be sharing this via Red Hot.”
Wendy and Lisa also shared their thoughts: “It’s hard to impress us with a cover of a Prince song, especially a personal favorite of ours like, ‘I Would Die 4 U,’ but Lauren’s voice and vibey sensibilities spoke to us. We were happy to lend whatever we could to the project and to Lauren to make the song something special. We’d venture to say that Prince might’ve enjoyed some of the innovation of this version of the song.”
Fans might think it’s cool how this album is divided into eight parts, just like the eight-stripe rainbow pride flag. The last part, which includes “I Would Die 4 U,” talks about starting fresh. Other themes in the album are survival, grief, acceptance, and freedom.
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In the album, Sade sings “Young Lion” as a message to her trans son Izaak. Moses Sumney covers Sophie’s “Is It Cold in the Water?” L’Rain takes on Anohni’s “People Are Small/Rapture,” using audio from the Trans Oral History Project.
Reid and Bell thought of Transa after working together on a short film and bonding over their love for Beverly Glenn-Copeland’s music. They decided to create the album after Sophie’s death in January 2021.
Reid explained their vision: “We started talking about all the gifts that trans artists have been giving to the world and wanted to create a Red Hot project that centered and celebrated those gifts. We hoped to create a narrative that positions trans and non-binary people as leaders in our society insofaras the deep inner work they do to affirm who they are in our current climate. We felt this is something everybody should do. Whether you identify as trans or nonbinary or otherwise, if you took the time to explore your gender, get in touch with the feeling side of yourself, maybe we would have a future oriented around values of community, collaboration, care, and healing.”
“Living under the ongoing Western binary system, trans people reveal maps of possibility for everyone,” added Bell. “It’s something that we can all learn from – expanding the possibility of human life.”
Sometimes, we forget how powerful music can be.
Reid and Bell pushed forward with Transa even as laws against trans rights grew harsher in the U.S. These challenges only made them and the artists more determined to make something impactful.
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John Carlin, Red Hot founder, compared the situation to the early ’90s when homophobia and AIDS were hot issues. He hopes Transa will act as a lightning rod for people upset by transphobia. “I’m hoping that’s what Transa is – that there’s a large group of people who are appalled by transphobia and the way right-wing politicians are using it to anger their base. And they’ll stand up and focus. They’ll say, ‘I want to push on the other side. There are more of us than there are of them.’”
Transa Track List
Chapter I – Womb of the Soul
1. “Midnight Moon Pool,” Mary Lattimore, Laraaji, MIZU, and Jamal Shakeri
2. “You Don’t Know Me,” Devendra Banhart, Blake Mills, and Beverly Glenn-Copeland
3. “How Sweet I Roamed,” Jeff Tweedy and Claire Rousay
4. “Same Train,” Heart Shaped and Christian Lee Hutson
Chapter II – Survival
5. “Star,” Ana Roxanne and Nsámbu Za Suékama
6. “Please Tell Me,” Lightning Bug
7. “Make ’em Laugh,” Benét and Faye Webster
8. “Get Me Away from Here, I’m Dying,” Julien Baker and Calvin Lauber (feat. Soak, Quinn Christopherson)
9. “Rumblin’,” Soft Rōnin (feat. Frankie Cosmos)
10. “Deeper Understanding,” Hand Habits (feat. Bill Callahan)
Chapter III – Dark Night
11. “Under the Shadow of Another Moon,” Hunter Schafer and Cole Pulice
12. “Blush,” Grouper and Lucy Liyou
13. “Is It Cold in the Water?” Moses Sumney
14. “Know Who You Are at Every Age,” Anajah and Gary Gunn
15. “Is It Over Now?” Niecy Blues (feat. Joy Guidry)
Chapter IV – Awakening
16. “Something Is Happening and I May Not Fully Understand But I’m Happy to Stand for the Understanding,” André 3000
17. “Come Back Different,” Nina Keith (feat. Julie Byrne, Taryn Blake Miller)
18. “Song to the Siren,” Rachika Nayar (feat. Julianna Barwick, Cassandra Croft)
19. “Love Hymn,” Arthur Baker (feat. Pharoah Sanders)
20. “People Are Small / Rapture,” L’Rain and Voices from the NYC Trans Oral History Project
Chapter V – Grief
21. “We’ve Been Through So Much,” Jlin and Moor Mother
22. “My Name,” Kara Jackson, Ahya Simone, and Dave Longstreth
23. “Point of Disgust,” Perfume Genius and Alan Sparhawk (Low)
24. “In Another Life,” Lomelda and More Eaze
25. “Pink Ponies,” Teddy Geiger and Yaeji
26. “A Survivor’s Guilt,” Yaya Bey
Chapter VI – Acceptance
27. “Just Last Night,” Helado Negro and Eileen Myles
28. “Feel So Different,” Ezra Furman and Sharon Van Etten
29. “Mourning Dove,” Gia Margaret
30. “Feel Better,” Adrianne Lenker
31. “Any Other Way,” Allison Russell and Ahya Simone
32. “Down Where the Valleys Are Low,” Asher White, Eli Winter, and Caroline Rose
33. “TM,” Fleet Foxes, Cole Pulice, and Lynn Avery
34. “Querube,” AV María, Sky, and Belina Rose
Chapter VII – Liberation
35. “Within Without,” Green-House, and Kelela
36. “Aaron,” Cassandra Jenkins, Bloomsday, and Babehoven
36. “Young Lion,” Sade Adu
38. “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real) ,” Moses Sumney, Lyra Pramuk, and Sam Smith
39. “Many Ways,” Clarity (feat. Clairo)
40. “I Feel Free,” Sparkle Division (feat. Pepper MaShay)
Chapter VIII – Reinvention
41. “Get Free,” Nico Georis and KB Brookins
42. “Wolf Like Me,” Bartees Strange, Anjimile, and Kara Jackson
43. “Surrender Your Gender,” Laura Jane Grace (feat. Lee Ranaldo, Jayne County, Kathi Wilcox, Jay Dee Daugherty, Am Taylor)
44. “I Would Die 4 U,” Lauren Auder and Wendy & Lisa of the Revolution
45. “Always,” Time Wharp and Elizabeth & Beverly Glenn-Copeland
46. “Ever New,” Sam Smith and Beverly Glenn-Copeland
