orange alert: saturn makes music for ‘Ready Bitches’
The dancer-turned-musician pulls artists such as Alice Glass, Azealia Banks, kelsey lu and bapari into their category-defying orbit.
Words by Katheryn Thayer
Photos by Kofi Dua
“I would just dance in front of them and be like, "Yeah, I make music, send me some beats," Saturn (previously known as Saturn Risin9) says.
This explains their ecclectic sound. At least in part.
“It’s not about a certain type of music. I'm more of a songs person. We're such a playlist generation, you know, filled with individual songs. We create our own sound now,” Saturn explains. “Playlists will be, like, 'Club Kid Music,' 'Sad Girl Music,' 'My Boyfriend Was an Asshole Today Music,' or whatever... Fun clubs are playing everything at once – from old-school hip hop to new-school to random techno from the Middle East.”
“No games being played, no lies being told, no interest in that.”
Saturn says a playlist of their music would most aptly be named “Ready Bitches.”
“You know, you're plotting every day trying to figure out how to make all this shit work for you — love, money, friendship — you're just ready to get all your shit done. No games being played, no lies being told, no interest in that,” they explain.
As the saying goes: when you stay ready, you don’t have to get ready. This is probably why Saturn didn’t think twice when the boutique label Molly House Records invited them to make a record. This fortitude probably makes opening for other artists and playing parties around the world a little easier.
Currently, they are working on a secret project (and living for its mystery). All they will say is that it’s something like Prince’s Purple Rain and a visual album from a “dark, summer, ‘90s movie.” In 2018, there was a notable New Year’s Eve set at Tracion, one of the biggest queer parties in Mexico City, and a Pride performance in Los Angeles, where they now live. Recent gigs include opening for Charli XCX and Kelsey Lu.
Saturn tells TRASH about navigating other people’s expectations, giving good face and taking accountability for their creative life below.
Today I'm in the studio. I'm working on a song, and it’s reminding me of the first time I worked on a song that mattered. By that I mean a song where I just spitballed my emotions and used that. We didn't chop anything up or move it around, we just used it as-is. I felt like I was in my own rhythm, the rhythm that I had always fought to occupy. That rythm is when I feel the most here and ready.
What’s the most essential lesson you’ve learned since becoming a creator?
I've learned that I prefer to be responsible. I'm not afraid to fall, but I wouldn't want to fail at something because I let someone else lead me there.
I don't want to deter people from reaching out to others for advice, but you can tell when people are like, "What do you want? Here's how I can help you get there, here's how I see you getting there," versus "Here’s what I think, this is what you should do with it." Learning the difference — and listening to yourself – is the realest lesson I can share.
I’m inspired by my life experience as a double marginalized person who is black and queer. My family was adamant that I adhere to super masculine traditions, like playing sports or whatever. I felt shut out of so many things, but that actually gave me space to figure out my own opinions.
I really pay attention to what’s going on within me and how things make me feel. I think it's all about the journey of getting back to me.Getting back there and living fully in that.
What IS ONE TRICK THAT ALWAYS improves your shoots?
I connect with my character and how I look at the camera. I really adjust myself in the moments so that I can communicate my specific intention while I perform. I think that can be applied to anything — you have to be really tapped into what you're looking to feel and share.
There's a scene in Beyoncé’s "Apeshit" video. It came out just before I shot my video for “Orange.” She has this look in her eyes that was like, "Please come at me and see what happens." My song “Orange” has the same kind of energy, so I really connected with it.
LET’S KEEP THIS CONVO GOING. What’s ONE QUESTION YOU HAVE FOR ANOTHER CREATOR?
As a person who expresses for a living, do you feel heard? If not, how do you process that? How do you deal with it?
I connect with my character and how I look at the camera. I really adjust myself in the moments so that I can communicate my specific intention while I perform. I think that can be applied to anything — you have to be really tapped into what you're looking to feel and share.
There's a scene in Beyoncé’s "Apeshit" video. It came out just before I shot my video for “Orange.” She has this look in her eyes that was like, "Please come at me and see what happens." My song “Orange” has the same kind of energy, so I really connected with it.
LET’S KEEP THIS CONVO GOING. What’s ONE QUESTION YOU HAVE FOR ANOTHER CREATOR?
As a person who expresses for a living, do you feel heard? If not, how do you process that? How do you deal with it?
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Cargo Collective 2017 — Frogtown, Los Angele