This interview appeared in the December 2022 issue of GAY TIMES.

Words by Zee Raza-Sheikh
Photography by Paul Romo
Creative Direction by Umar Sarwar
Fashion by Malcolm Smith
Art Direction by Jack Rowe
Creative Producer Anisa Cleaver
Hair by Ricky Fraser
Makeup by Kelby Adam

When we speak, Slayyyter is taking watching movies in her Reno hotel room. In this rare moment of respite, she’s also taking a beat to let it sink in that she’s the 2023 winner of the GAY TIMES Honour for Excellence in Music, her first-ever award. “It feels like such an honour,” she says. “Especially coming from a queer publication that I love!”

She’s currently in the midst of the American leg of her jam-packed ‘Club Valentine’ tour, which will see her stop at 17 locations across the United States, United Kingdom and Ireland. These live shows have been a chance for the star to reintroduce herself to fans in person. No longer hyperpop’s daring ingénue, with second album STARFUCKER she has transformed herself into a vampy neo-noir heroine. It’s a bold reinvention, particularly for an artist whose ascent was fiercely DIY and digital-first – releasing iconoclastic SoundCloud singles which sounded like album cuts from a reality-tv-star-turned-singer and building up a fierce LGBTQIA+ following on stan Twitter, in no small part due to the viral appeal of 2019 single “Mine” (the “oh me, oh my” chorus lives in our head rent-free). While the artist’s maximalist sound and hyper-feminine aesthetic was ahead of its time, and made Slayyyter one of the foundational figures in the hyperpop scene, after two albums (her self-titled debut and 2021’s Troubled Paradise) she was ready to move on. The result of this artistic restlessness was the cinematic world of STARFUCKER – a record where Slayyyter was able to break out from established subgenres and put her creative vision on full display. This new era was ushered in alongside a change in aesthetic: latex-clad photoshoots with martini glasses in hand and a bold wardrobe channelling the glamour of the 1980s via voluminous peroxide hair, power tailoring and Miami Vice-style shades. The musician’s sound has also expanded – stacking trance beats, thrumming post-punk bass lines, and dramatised pop vocals – for seedy, hedonistic storytelling set against neon club pop tunes. Taking inspiration from her favourite soundscapes – European electronica and camp pop divas Lady Gaga and Marina – Slayyyter distilled the chaos and camp of Hollywood pop culture into her latest project. “The pop culture I consumed growing up led me to become the artist I am,” she says. “I was always listening to music they would play in queer clubs, even when I was too young to go to clubs myself. It feels right that my music has landed in queer spaces.” 

To celebrate Slayyyter’s GAY TIMES Honour award, we caught up with the LA-based pop star to discuss rehauling her image, the perennial appeal of Hollywood glamour and going full circle as an artist.

Fashion has been a big characteristic of the Slayyyter persona. On the album art, you’re wearing a sheer black dress – what’s been your choice of fashion today?

I love leather. I hate trendy shit. I feel like I gravitate towards classic things. Good jeans, leather jackets. I try to dress like Nomi and Cristal from Showgirls.