Welcome! Up today we have sora, Synamin Vixen and Laveau Contraire! We have an obsession with your latest release “Body Party”! How did the idea for the song come about?
sora: Hey hey FAME Magazine! Thanks for having me back. I’ma let my family introduce themselves first before we get into it.
Synamin Vixen: Hi, I’m Synamin Vixen and I am the Synsual Spellcaster. I’m a performer, healer, writer, and diviner. I am the owner of Synsual Healing, where I offer a variety of services and herbal products for your personal healing.
Laveau Contraire: Hi, I’m Laveau Contraire, The Voodoo Drag Queen of New Orleans. I’m the mother of Haus Contraire. Thank you for having us! <3
s: So “Body Party” originated from a different song that I was working on for another project that was ultimately shelved. The verse for that song though was too good to pass up, so I took it and tried to give it some new life. I came across a tweet that was saying how rhyming as a concept was funny, saying we can rhyme “body” and “party” and it would be fine. The rest is history.
Is this the first song you all have collaborated on?
s: It is! But as Laveau mentioned, she’s the mother of Haus Contraire, and Syn and I are the other founding members. As a Haus we’ve definitely collaborated together on live performances, show productions, and other creative endeavors, so naturally performing on a song together was inevitable. Plus, now I can say that we have a Haus Track (get it? Haha)!
LC: It may be the first, but it definitely won’t be the last!
We love how much fun you all have together. The video is SO incredible. How difficult was the choreography to nail down?
s: I think what was harder wasn’t necessarily getting the choreography down moreso making sure everything was 100% tight. It had been a while since I’ve worked with a group of people like this, and with a lot of moving parts like that you always want to make sure everything is treated with great care.
SV: Honestly, the hardest part about the choreography was Hurricane Ida interrupting our rehearsal schedule!
s: Oh man, I completely forgot about that! Time moves so oddly. But yeah, with Ida hitting us here in New Orleans, our schedule was completely disrupted. But I am grateful for the extra prep time. And everyone nailed it!
What advice would you each give someone wanting to break into the entertainment world but not sure how?
s: Don’t compare your experiences to others (ESPECIALLY major celebrities and ESPECIALLY if they’re younger than you, save yourself the stress), and if you really believe in it then just do it. Things will happen as they happen, but only to some degree. You still gotta put the work in, and the hard work will pay off. And you can work however you want. I grew up singing in choirs and musical theatre productions, and I studied classical vocal performance in college. I started focusing on dancing as another skill later on in my career, but I’m still working hard at it and I can feel myself level up every time I go to a dance class or a dance session. I may not be releasing classical music or dancing in ballet concerts, but I put the skills I do have to good use when I can, 100% every time.
Who has been your biggest musical influence?
s: Oh man, this is a hard one. I listen to so much music and my personal creative output varies so much too. Utada Hikaru is one of my OG faves, probably the first artist I listened to as a kid. I’ve been rediscovering my love for them lately, especially since they released their new album, BAD MODE, definitely been playing that on repeat in the car. Also been loving Rina Sawayama as another fellow Asian queer creative; I would love to get to that level of sonic and visual iconography.
LC: Easy. Beyonce Giselle Knowles-Carter. I like to joke that she’s my drag mom.
s: Oh, DEFINITELY Beyonce. One of the icons of our generation.
Also, not to be too corny on main, but honestly I also get a lot of inspiration from my friends too. SO many of them are doing so much amazing shit, and it just pushes me to keep going and get to their levels too. Like I heard Synamin Vixen recently choreographed a whole music video, and Laveau Contraire has been doing everything flawlessly lately…
SV: (laughs) sora’s talking about this music video! Which was one of my big dreams, to choreograph music videos, so I’m glad it’s come true in this way!
s: The point is, “Body Party” wouldn’t be the same without my fam, and neither would I. And I’m grateful for them.
LC: And we’re grateful for you!
Where can we watch the video and get more music from each of you?
s: Body Party and Body Party The Remix are both out on all major streaming platforms (Spotify, Apple Music, TIDAL, and more), and the music video is available to watch on YouTube. My social media handle is @soracalling on most platforms (Twitter, Instagram, TikTok), so feel free to drop by and say hi. Also, don’t forget to check out the #BodyPartyDanceChallenge and tag us in it when you do it too!
LC: @laveaucontraire on all platforms.
SV: @SynaminVixen on IG, Tiktok, and Facebook!
End of Interview