With her debut album Light in the Dark, Luxx Noir London is on a mission to make herstory as the first-ever drag queen chart-topper. “I would be able to handle it because it’s what I’ve been wanting literally forever,” says the Drag Race star (and inevitable All Stars frontrunner/champion).
A ten-track collection of dark, synth-pop bangers with industrial influences, which Luxx explains are a reflection of the ‘loud, bold and angry’ voices in her head, the album explores themes such as self-love, sex and – whether her haters like it or not – success. The cunty and witty elements of Luxx’s character that viewers fell in love with on Drag Race are, of course, there, but there’s a lot of vulnerability too.
“The message and context behind [Light in the Dark] is soft, vulnerable and emotional. Some of the songs you’ll be like, ‘This person is sad or going through something,'” says Luxx, who also hopes the album will prove that she’s a viable “artist and musician”: “I’m ready to share that I am a force to be reckoned with in pop music. I just hope the rest of the world is ready for it. If they’re not, they better get ready.”
Read ahead for our full interview with Luxx Noir London about her addictive debut album (out now!) and upcoming stint in the critically-acclaimed off-Broadway production Drag: The Musical.
Luxx, it’s interesting that you have Lady Gaga on your wall because a lot of this album is giving me ‘Government Hooker’.
Really? Thank you. I love that Gaga song, personally. It’s one of my top ten favourites. I’m honoured that I can withhold any amount of Lady Gaga’s legacy because it means so much to me.
Major congratulations on your debut album Light in the Dark. A Friday the 13th release feels very Luxx Noir London?
It does. It’s a day that’s tainted with a lot of negativity and I’m someone who has a perception that is not always positive, but I’m not that bad!
This album is very dark pop with its synthy, industrial beats. Can you talk to me about this direction and your decision to make it sonically quite moody and fierce, as opposed to light and poppy?
I wanted the music to make you feel how I sometimes feel in my head, or my body or in my being. I wanted some of the lyrics, besides a couple songs, to be very honest. A lot of the time, the noises in my head are very loud, bold, aggressive and angry, but the message and context behind it is more soft, vulnerable and emotional. Some of the songs you’ll be like, ‘This person is sad or going through something.’ Throughout this whole process, the easiest form of therapy or self-soothing has been writing down my thoughts or listening to sounds that reflect how I feel. Industrial music like Justice or Gesaffelstein, artists like that, because they capture how I’m feeling right now.
There’s no features on Light in the Dark. Was that a conscious choice?
I wanted it to just be me, for this album to be a catalyst for people to see me as an artist and musician. Not to say that features convolute a person’s message or anything, but I wanted this album to be representative of myself and who I am as one single soul.
There are some vulnerable moments on here, such as the title track, ‘Love Me Like I Do’ and ‘Don’t Tell Me How to Drive’. From your Drag Race stint and social media presence, we know you as quite a fierce character, so how did it feel to open up in this way?
‘Light in the Dark’ I probably wrote in ten, fifteen minutes. I was spiralling on my bed going crazy. I felt like I was broken, like, ‘I don’t know what’s wrong with me. There’s something going on in my head right now, and I can’t figure it out.’ I felt lost, I was texting a group chat and telling them how I felt. I think I texted, ‘I feel like my brain is broken.’ The song sprouted from there. ‘Love Me Like I Do’ is just a love song. I have a partner, a boyfriend, and he’s been with me before I was even Luxx, so I do love him a lot. The song is about the idea of love, and I am someone who is not very vocal or vulnerable when it comes to how I feel, or how passionate I am about love. I wanted to take a moment in the album to talk about how much love means to me and how much I like being in love.
Let’s discuss ‘Worship’, because it’s honestly one of my favourite anthems of the year. “If the body is a temple, then I want you inside” will be my pick-up line if I ever go to a club again.
Honestly, I think it would work. I do. It’s funny you bring that lyric up, I feel it’s one of the most important lyrics of the album because a temple is something that is sacred. And I wouldn’t allow someone who is tainted, I guess, enter the temple. But in a way, I welcome anyone to the sanctity and holiness that is Luxx Noir London. It’s a message to my fans of ‘I love you’ and ‘I love that you love me’. It’s a sexy little song to a lover, but it’s about me giving all of myself to the world, culture and art, and wanting or loving that I get the same adoration in return that I feel other people have for me.
Earlier this year, Pabllo Vittar became the first drag queen since RuPaul to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 with Sevdaliza’s ‘Alibi’. Do you think this will have an impact on drag artists moving forward?
I would hope so, especially as a drag artist who would love to be topping the charts. I would hope that opened the door in the conversation around queer people and drag queens making palatable music. I will say, I think American and Brazilian culture are a little different. Brazil triumphs and rallies for their people so much, and it warms my heart. I’m obsessed with it. I don’t think Americans necessarily hold those same values. I don’t know, I hope it does. I’m obsessed with Pabllo Vittar, I love the song and I stream ‘Alibi’.
Sam Smith and Kim Petras became the first openly non-binary and trans artists to reach number-one in the U.S. with ‘Unholy’, which was groundbreaking, so who knows? It truly could happen soon. C’mon ‘Worship’!
My dream is that I release the album, wake up and can’t handle what has come out of it. But, I know I would be able to handle it because it’s what I’ve been wanting literally forever. I see a lot of potential success for this project, and I hope that the public takes it seriously and not as a joke or some other random drag queen releasing music. I think this is a lot bigger and deeper than what people will potentially look at it as, but if they don’t appreciate it now, they will someday. That’s kind of my thing, people don’t get what I do when I do it and get it after the fact. I’m ready to share that I am a force to be reckoned with in pop music. I just hope the rest of the world is ready for it. If they’re not, they better get ready.
Not only are you releasing your debut album, but you’re about to star in Drag: The Musical!
I am, and I’ll be in the show for the next six months. I haven’t done a musical since I was in college, and for my return to theatre to be an off-Broadway musical is kind of insane. I’m gagging, I’m so excited. But yeah, juggling a pop career while being in a musical and maintaining my persona off the stage is going to be a feat, but nothing is too much of a challenge for me when I want it bad enough.
What is it like to share the stage with Drag Race legends such as Alaska and Jujubee, and stage icons like Nick Adams and Bre Jackson?
The entire cast is amazing. To be able to do this show alongside Alaska, who I’ve looked up to for years, sometimes it doesn’t feel real. It feels validating. In the beginning I was having a little bit of imposter syndrome, where I was feeling like I wasn’t meant to be in these places, but now I’m just so fortunate and lucky that, at such a young age, I’m sharing the stage with so many people I’ve looked up to… It’s insane!
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity, etc. Watch our full interview with Luxx Noir London here or below.
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