month, we sat down with three openly queer musicians to discuss what it means to them to be a part of the LGBTQ+ community, and to work in the music industry.We were lucky enough to chat to American pop-rock lead vocalist Lyndsey Gunnulfsen from PVRIS, Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter NoSo , and London-based artist ABISHA .
Here's what they had to say about what it's like to be confident in who they are while taking on the music industry! Hey guys, thanks for your time today! Our first question is, when did you know you wanted to pursue a career in music?: I knew I wanted to do music pretty early on, but I felt discouraged from it. I think everybody does. In middle school, I did concert band, jazz band, and guitar classes. During that time, the gears were turning, and then in high school I was like,"I want to do this, I'll find a way to do it.
Do you feel that the industry can sometimes pigeonhole you to project one part of your identity more than another? Have you ever felt put in a box?There were a couple of labels who didn't listen to my music, they were just hyper-fixated on the fact that I'm Korean. One A&R person even said,"you know being Asian is really in right now.
, the way that she describes her childhood experiences felt like she'd pulled something out of my own diary. Also Mitski! When I saw the music video for"Best American Girl", it really struck a chord with me.I would say the TV show,"The L-Word" – the original one! I watched it in my early twenties and it kind of changed my life. I just think it was so ahead of its time. It unapologetically represented every facet of the queer community and normalised it.