Dorian Electra

2010–2017: Early videos and first singles

Electra first drew national attention in 2010 with the music video "I'm in Love with Friedrich Hayek",^[12] which lauded the philosophy of the Austrian economist Friedrich Hayek and garnered commentary from the modern Austrian theory professor Steven Horwitz.^[13] In 2011, they released two more videos, "Roll with the Flow" and "We Got it 4 Cheap". Both were covered by mainstream political media.^[14][15] "We Got it 4 Cheap" came in second in the Lloyd V. Hackley Endowment's "Supply and Demand Video Contest".^[16] In 2012, they interned at production company Emergent Order.^[9][17] Emergent Order had previously published "Fear the Boom and Bust", a similar Hayek-oriented rap video.^[18][19] Electra then produced a new, similarly economics-oriented pop video, "FA$T CA$H", with the support of an award from the Moving Picture Institute.^[20] In September 2012, Electra released the music video "Party Milk", which they describe as an attempt to merge common party scene symbolism with something one would never associate with a party, but that everyone is familiar with in another context.^[21][22]

In 2014, Electra (as Dorian Electra & the Electrodes) released a music video called "What Mary Didn't Know",^[23] based on Frank Jackson's philosophical thought experiment of the same name (from 1986).^[24] 2015 saw the release of Electra's video "Forever Young: A Love Song to Ray Kurzweil", a tribute to the futurist Ray Kurzweil.^[25][26] In 2016, Electra released "Ode to the Clitoris" on Refinery29, detailing the scientific history of the clitoris, from Ancient Greece through to modern, 3D models.^[27] In an interview, Electra stated it was to "desensitize people to the word CLITORIS and help bring it more into popular consciousness."^[28] In June 2016 Electra released "Mind Body Problem" through Bullett Media, a song and video "about femininity as a performance—when being a 'woman' feels like putting on a costume and the costume doesn't seem to come off with the clothes".^[29] Electra was also creating a web series, at the time, under their drag king persona 'Don Bogman', a used car salesman.^[30]

Electra continued their music video series, via Refinery29, about intersectional feminism and queer histories with "The History of Vibrators" (2016),^[31] the "Dark History of High Heels" (2016),^[32] "2000 Years of Drag" (2016),^[33] and "Control" (2017).^[34] These videos focused on the histories of intersectional feminist and queer issues, collaborating with many artists, including Imp Queen, London Jade, The Vixen, Lucy Stoole, Eva Young, Zuri Marley, K Rizz, and Chynna.^[35][34][36] "2000 Years of Drag" was accepted and screened at The East Village Queer Film Festival, NewFest, Fringe! Queer Film & Arts Fest, TWIST: Seattle Queer Film Festival, Austin Gay & Lesbian International Film Festival (aGLIFF),^[37] Art All Night - Trenton: 6th Annual Film Festival, Desperado LGBT Film Festival, QUEER-Streifen Regensburg, Filmfest homochrom, Flatpack Film Festival, and CINEMQ.

In 2017, Electra released the single "Jackpot" through Grindr's digital publication Into More, a song that "addresses gender fluidity, but in a more subtle, less explicitly educational way."^[38] Later that year, Electra was featured on the Charli XCX track "Femmebot", with Mykki Blanco, on the mixtape Pop 2.^[39]

2018–2022: Flamboyant and My Agenda

In 2018, Electra released three new tracks, "Career Boy", "VIP", and "Man to Man".^{[40][41][42][43]} Electra's frequent creative collaborator, Weston Allen, co-directed and edited this music video series.^[44]

In 2019, Electra released their debut album, Flamboyant.^[45] In August 2019, Electra embarked on the Flamboyant: Chapter I Tour, which lasted until November 2019.^[46] They began the second leg, Flamboyant: Chapter II, in early 2020. However, in March of the same year, the rest of the tour dates were postponed due to COVID-19 restrictions.^[47]

In 2020, Electra released the single "Thirsty (For Love)", a collaboration with fans.^[48] They also released a deluxe version of Flamboyant later that year. Following this, they released the singles "Sorry Bro (I Love You)", "Give Great Thanks", "Gentleman", and "M'Lady".^[49][50][51]

On September 21, 2020, Electra announced their second studio album My Agenda, featuring appearances from Rebecca Black, Sega Bodega, Lil Mariko, Mood Killer, Faris Badwan, Pussy Riot, Village People, and Dylan Brady, among others. It was released on October 16, 2020, and is described as exploring "crisis in masculinity".^[52] The satirical project had visuals parodying online conservative subcultures, featuring alt-right conspiracy theories, alpha males, and trilby-donning incels.^[53]

2023–present: Fanfare

On April 7, 2023, Electra released the single "Freak Mode".^[54] It was followed by "Sodom & Gomorrah" on June 2.^[55] On July 19, they released the single "Anon" and announced their third studio album Fanfare for October 6.^[56] Two more singles, "Puppet" and "Idolize", were released on August 31 and on October 3, respectively.^[57][58] All five singles were accompanied by music videos. Fanfare explores themes of celebrity and fandom in the social media age.^[59][60] On October 13, Electra announced Fanfare: The World Tour, which was scheduled to visit the Americas and Europe and lasted from October 2023 to March 2024.^[61]

Albums

Singles

Other charted songs