Her latest single is a collaboration with Mykki Blanco and Pussy Riot – watch its bonkers 3D animated video inside
“The first time I met Brooke Candy, she picked me up from my best friend David Elder’s house and went out smoking weed and taking photos all around Beverly Hills being weirdos. I remember, when I was still a freshman at Parsons in New York City, Brooke and I sitting in my college computer lab (after I snuck her in), sending emails to magazine editors about our new projects, hoping to get a little exposure. Brooke is one of the most genuine voices in pop music – she has never been afraid to be herself, and she has never cared much about fitting into any mold. I am happy to call Brooke my friend, and she’s still the bad bitch I remember so long ago when we were babies. Enjoy her new song and video.” – Mykki Blanco, guest editor of Dazed, August 2018
When we last caught up with Brooke Candy, she was putting together a debut album for RCA Records. Songs from this era, like “Paper or Plastic” and the Sia collab “Living Out Loud”, walked a fine line between radio pop and the upfront, in-your-face sound that Candy first established with tracks like “Das Me” and “Everybody Does”. Today, she’s an independent artist once again, and it seems to fit her. Earlier this year she released “War”, a change in direction with an industrial punk-inspired pop sound, but a change that still suited her outsider style.
New single “My Sex” will also be familiar to fans of Candy’s earlier work, but she brings a renwed energy to the song, creating a sex-positive anthem complete with guest turns from Mykki Blanco and Pussy Riot. They add verses to the track about owning their sexuality, following on from Candy’s opening verse, which sets out the terms of what’s about to follow: “My sex is unconquered / Not the church, not the state, my own fate,” she raps. The track was co-written with Charli XCX and comes produced by MNDR (who also adds their own mini-verse to the track’s bridge), Peter Wade, and TRAPCHAT.
Its video is suitably bonkers, too. Directed by Pastelae (the alias of Swedish artist Josefin Jonsson), with creative direction from Brooke Candy, it renders a cool 3D world beyond gender binaries for the rappers to inhabit. The video was made in association with ManyVids, a platform that enables porn stars and adult entertainers to produce, promote, and distribute their work while retaining full copyright.
Over the next few months, Candy will release more art about sex and fantasy, spread over music, photography, and pornography. Here, she debuts an exclusive photo shoot and talks to us about “My Sex”, directing a queer porn film with Pornhub, and having the freedom to express herself.
So, tell us about ‘My Sex’.
Brooke Candy: ‘My Sex’ is a collaboration between me and three of my favourite artists: Mykki Blanco, Pussy Riot, and MNDR. It’s a feminist, sex-positive anthem for a new generation – like a punk rock ‘Lady Marmalade’ or something (laughs).
What inspired the song originally?
Brooke Candy: MNDR and Peter Wade played the song for me at their house. They’d originally written it with Charli XCX for Pussy Riot, but I fell in love with it, so we decided to rework it into an anthem.
How did you link up with Mykki Blanco for the single?
Brooke Candy: I’ve known Mykki for so long – since I was a baby freak, sporting hot pink braids and robot suits. I’ve always been such a fan, and he’s always been so supportive of my art and my voice. I think we both have an extreme performance style. We’re both brash and in-your-face, we’re both unapologetic, and we’re both unafraid. I think Mykki Blanco is an iconic artist, to be honest.
“‘My Sex’ is... a feminist, sex-positive anthem for a new generation – like a punk rock ‘Lady Marmalade’” – Brooke Candy
And how did the Pussy Riot connection come about?
Brooke Candy: Through MNDR and Peter Wade – and I’m so thankful! Nadya’s verse really made this song what it is! She’s such a special woman.
‘My Sex’ is as hard-edged as your last single, ‘War’, even though it’s stylistically a bit different. Do you see the two songs as related at all, in the context of your recent output?
Brooke Candy: Totally. They both speak to a generation fed up with the patriarchal agenda. They’re both conscious anthems for change.
The ‘My Sex’ video is pretty wild! What can you tell us about it?
Brooke Candy: It was a collaboration between me and my friend Pastelae. She’s an amazing digital artist that I’ve been a fan of forever! I knew I wanted the video to be bizarre and overtly sexual, and she really ran with it. The gender-bending non-binary body representation is my favourite.
What else have you been finding yourself drawn to recently, creatively?
Brooke Candy: This is so dorky, but lately I’ve been obsessed with mythological creatures like fairies and trolls and angels. I’m also obsessed with vintage porno – like, anything made before 1980.
“(The most difficult lesson I’ve learned since starting is) to not be swayed by fleeting bullshit, like fame and money. I loved the idea of those things when I was first starting out, and now I couldn’t care less” – Brooke Candy
You’re an independent artist now. Is that a liberating feeling, or has it been quite daunting?
Brooke Candy: I love it! I love the control, and I love the freedom to express myself in any medium and arena. Like, I highly doubt I would have been able to direct the porn film I just directed if I was still signed to Sony, and it was one of the most gratifying and creatively fulfilling projects I’ve ever had the pleasure to work on. I just need to be free!
What’s been the most difficult lesson you’ve learned since you started out?
Brooke Candy: To trust my gut. That’s the biggest thing for me. And to not be swayed by fleeting bullshit, like fame and money. I loved the idea of those things when I was first starting out, and now I couldn’t care less. I just want to create art from a place of peace and honesty, to be of service, and to be in love. That’s all that matters.
What else are you working on at the moment?
Brooke Candy: Well, I just directed an erotic film called I Love You in collaboration with Pornhub, which is premiering on August 29. The reference was Deep Throat meets The Holy Mountain, but it took on its own theme as time went on. I had the opportunity to collaborate with a team of some of the sickest artists from all over the world – it was pure magic.