A record with purpose, ‘queerannosaurus gex’ achieves the unthinkable: sharing a meaningful, contemporary message while sounding fun and fierce. The creatives behind such a potent piece are Swedish femboy artist Loovex and British queerpunk outfit GUM DISEASE. Despite their musical divide – the former often seen in electro-pop territories and the latter championing a guitar-based formula – they were able to find fertile common ground in their Queer and LGBTQ+ communities, sharing frustration towards a society still riddled with pockets of homophobia and hate.
In that sense, ‘queerannosaurus gex’ takes pride in its empowering, fierce lyricism, with Loovex and GUM DISEASE able to mediate on an aural formula that’s roaring and hard-hitting, yet contemporary and rather futuristic. It’s the best of both worlds, and a pure, unfiltered Queer anthem. Released for Pride month on June 27th, the song will likely be relevant for a long time, as we, slowly, collectively fix our chaotic and dangerous world.
For now, though, we are intrigued to learn more about the collaboration between Loovex and GUM DISEASE, especially when it comes to the overarching lyrical ethos. That’s why we caught up with them… Interview below!
Hey Loovex and Gum Disease, thanks for chatting with us! I have already introduced both of you in this article, and it’s clear that your collaboration is quite the perfect match. Before we dive into your latest record, I’d love to check on you; how are you coping with the global shift towards right-wing, hateful territories?
LooveX: Haii!! Thanks for having us! Well, thank you for checking on us, honestly it’s very appreciated. Personally, I’m hanging in there hahaha. Luckily, I’ve been on the safe side at least for now. I live on a tiny island on the west coast of Sweden, which is pretty popular among tourists, and it’s pretty chill here. People mind their own business and everyone is respectful, so I’m really lucky in that sense. However, it’s obviously extremely heartbreaking what’s going on globally. My friends and I are just angry and confused and… I mean, there are a lot of emotions going around!
Even local people here, who aren’t part of the LGBTQ+ community, are mad and scared. People usually forget that homophobia and transphobia don’t only affect people in the community, they affect EVERYONE. So yeah, we’re all just kinda hoping for things to take a turn soon, and we’re doing everything we can to support the community in the meantime, which obviously, as a member of the community, can get pretty mentally draining.
GUM DISEASE: Hiya! It’s good to talk with you! In all honesty, we’ve been struggling. It feels like every single day we wake up and face new challenges. Most recently, the UK Supreme Court have stated that trans women are not women, and will no longer be allowed access to women’s spaces, which is not only atrocious and beyond incorrect, it also shows how many steps back we’re taking as a country. Innocent trans people are not the problem, and we will keep fighting until the people in power recognise it.
That takes us directly to ‘queerannosaurus gex’, a track that carries Loovex and Gum Disease’s striking artistry into new creative territories. I am quite inspired by its meaningful, empowering lyricism, a true Queer anthem that draws a line in the sand, standing up against the covert homophobia that is slowly creeping up again in the Western world. I’d love to ask Loovex what the situation is in Sweden. Does the single feel relevant and urgent to you?
LooveX: It does, yeah. I mean, Sweden is generally more socially and legally accepting than other places when it comes to queer rights, but obviously it’s not perfect, and we still have a long way to go. However, with the recent global rise of homophobia and especially transphobia, it’s gotten to a point where more people are noticing a change, even here in Sweden, and not the good kind. If you go to Swedish spaces online, it’s pretty easy to stumble across homophobic and transphobic comments.
Schools have also seen an increase in problematic opinions and students’ behaviour. It really sucks because you just know that this increase is due to the rise of rightwing content creators, and/or closed-minded parents that end up affecting their child’s views. Homophobia and transphobia are both things that can be unlearned because they are taught. If I can be part of the process of people unlearning it, then I’m happy. I do wanna point out that I have hope, though. Swedes are extremely introverted, but we tend to be very vocal when it comes to injustices, so I really think and hope that it’s gonna get better soon.
Likewise, I’d love to know from Gum Disease where the UK is at, regarding Queer acceptance?
GUM DISEASE: Compared to other places, queer rights in the UK aren’t too bad, but they have a long, long way to go. Just because it’s illegal to assault someone based on their identity, that doesn’t prevent it from happening, and unfortunately, that’s one of the biggest issues. Queer folks in the UK face a lot of verbal and physical harassment for being themselves, and often no consequences are given to the perpetrator. We can exist, but we can’t thrive properly without fear.
I feel like ‘queerannosauris gex’ is the perfect meeting point between Loovex’s euphoric, playful character and Gum Disease’s hard-hitting energy. Are you satisfied with the final result? Did you have anything specific in mind, from a sonic perspective?
LooveX: Hell yeah! It’s a very beautiful creation! I mean, I’ve been a fan of Gum Disease for years. They make the type of music that I wanna make, and I just knew that they were the perfect fit for the song. The end result is way better than I expected, to be completely honest. I feel like we managed to make the perfect balance of our sounds, and I’m gonna be forever grateful for this collaboration hehe.
GUM DISEASE: We genuinely couldn’t be happier with the final result. When LooveX first contacted us, we were ecstatic because we had always wanted to create a song with more electronic elements alongside our usual gritty sound, and we think that ‘queerannosaurus gex’ is the perfect middle ground.
The track’s press release mentions problems with shadow-bans on social media platforms; Do you feel the issue has become bigger this year? I’d love to know both experiences, Loovex and Gum Disease; are you implementing a specific type of messaging right now?
LooveX: Oh god, I hate it, I hate it, I hate it! It’s definitely becoming a bigger problem, and it’s literally one of the most frustrating things. With the increase of anti-queer content on social media, and the US government’s views on queer people, it was kinda obvious that this was gonna be the new corporate pride. They’re with us when pride is a party, but not when it’s a riot. That is exactly what social media are doing. They’re shadowbanning any queer related hashtags, making it extra difficult for us to reach our target audience.
Recently, #femboy got shadowbanned, and I was ready to break my phone screen. It’s so stupid, cause I would understand it if it were the f-slur, for example, but no, it’s regular queer related words, including the word queer. Trying to promote our song was hell, simply because it has the word queer in it. It’s so sad yet ridiculously hilarious that these people think they can remove us. We’re people, we have feelings, we have the same right to exist as everybody else. We are not dirt you can just sweep under the rug.
GUM DISEASE: Shadowbanning is genuinely the bane of my existence in terms of promoting on social media. You never know what words are going to get your posts buried within the algorithm, and it is definitely getting worse. It feels so unfair that we have to play a continuous guessing game as to what we are and aren’t “allowed to say”, especially because half of the time it’s words like queer, trans, pronouns and etc., which are NOT bad or dirty words or things that need to be censored. Queer people exist and should be allowed to exist across social media.
I am increasingly noticing a sharp divide between artists intending music as escapism and introspection, and artists more focused on activism and societally relevant themes. I guess you are both in the latter category; what does music mean to you, on a general level? What’s your purpose?
LooveX: It’s funny you say that, cause I would normally say that music is my favourite therapist. I am a very political person, though, so obviously it’s gonna show in my songs. I have a literal tendency to riot against everything I disagree with, and people know that I never shut up hahah. I am also very passionate about queer rights since it affects me directly as well, and as a community, we need to stay together and support each other, especially right now.
Generally, I would say that I write songs for myself, and if people like them and relate to them, that’s a bonus. People like to connect with the music and the artist they’re listening to, and I’m the same, so I also tend to keep that in mind sometimes, but I’m definitely more of an introspective artist, I’d say. I do what I like, but I’m also too in touch with my emotions and opinions for my own good, hahahah!
GUM DISEASE: We like to use our music to fight for what’s right and create a sense of solidarity within our community. We want our songs to show people that they’re not alone and give our audience an outlet to escape. One thing we are super proud of is our community and the safe spaces we create both online and in person at our live shows. Our music is simultaneously here to challenge the system and also spread queer joy.
How did you go about recording ‘queerannosaurus gex’; was it a remote process or did you all meet in real life? If so, where about? (for both)
LooveX: We recorded the song separately since it’s basically the only option we had. It would’ve been super cool to meet up to record, but since we live in two completely different countries and plane tickets are so expensive, we recorded our parts in our own bedroom studios. But yeah, whenever I collaborate with other artists and stuff, it’s usually done online, which can be kinda difficult sometimes. However, I always make sure to be as detailed as possible and keep good communication. I’m a perfectionist when it comes to music; otherwise, I’m a mess hehe.
GUM DISEASE: We are UK-based, and LooveX is Sweden-based, so we have never actually met in person (sadly) – the recording process was remote. LooveX sent us the track and a folder full of every piece of information we could possibly need, and we got started with our side of things! We are super grateful that LooveX gave us so much creative freedom, as usually collaborative tracks feel quite restricted.
Will we ever see a shared live show? Any interesting plans going forward? 🙂
GUM DISEASE: We have had plans to do a European mini tour for a while now, and if one thing is for certain, it’s that we will do whatever we physically can to get LooveX on board for a couple of shows. It’d be a dream come true to not only play alongside them, but also to perform the song live together!!
LooveX: I don’t exactly have any live shows planned as of right now, but I am kinda starting to prepare for it again with baby steps, I guess. It’s kinda hard since I took a break from performing in 2022 due to my mental health. I’ve gotten so used to just being chill that it’s definitely gonna be an adjustment. But I really, really hope that we’ll be able to perform the song live together someday, and I’m really looking forward to going back to doing live shows again since I’ve been missing it a lot recently.
