Indian Lesbian Singer-Songwriter Pragya Pallavi releases her much anticipated debut album Queerism
The International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia!
Queerism is the first LGBTQI+ themed album by an openly queer artist to release in India since the 2018 historic Supreme Court judgement decriminalized same-sex relationships.
Pragya Pallavi’s eclectic and multi-genre album is dedicated to LGBTQI+ people in India and all over the world. She inaugurated this album with her 5th single, 'Queer it Up', which aspires to be a LGBTQIA+ anthem across countries and generations. The song is a disco celebration of the legal and other victories of queer movements, in India and around the world. The artist recognizes that LGBTQIA+ individuals still suffer from social discrimination and marginalization. But, she wrote the song to say, “We are free human beings and we should celebrate our selves and our existence. Like everyone else, we have the right to be happy.” The music video for 'Queer It Up' features Pragya and other queer and trans people.
Pragya is a singer/songwriter, musician, percussionist and performer who is classically trained as a Hindustani vocalist. She is a power house singer with a deep, richly textured voice, great range and stylistic flexibility. She also identifies as a gender fluid lesbian. Her first musical album, Queerism, is inspired by both her diverse musical influences and her life experiences and social conscience as a queer person in India.
The 9 track album, Queerism, features songs in English and Hindi, each in a different genre. This ultimately pop-oriented offering invokes a variety of styles, including jazz, folk music, hip hop, disco, funk, Indian fusion, Indian rock, EDM, dancehall and moombahton. The album features collaborations with National Award-winning sound engineer K.J. Singh, International DJ and “Mother of Electronica” Ma Faiza, DJ Lolly, Deepa Vasudevan, Dena Gorilik and Sanjay Kumar. Thematically, the songs cover many aspects of queer life, and other social issues. There are songs about queer love and celebration, social justice and the need to stand up for rights, women’s empowerment, suicide prevention and global warming.
Pragya’s earlier four singles and album concept have been widely acclaimed by both international and Indian media. The other singles from this album are “Lingering Wine,” (https://youtu.be/m9mF6rMyU7U) , released on Feb. 12, 2019, “Girls You Rule!” (https://youtu.be/CQKmm7duSjc) released on March 8, “Izzat De,” (https://youtu.be/jbUl_cLuS2o), released on April 12, and “Mama I Need You,” released on April 26. (https://youtu.be/iJqZsfz-Rmg)
Pragya has been featured and interviewed on the prestigious Jeremy Vine talk show on BBC Radio 2, and BBC Asian Network. Her music is on rotation on a number of UK radio shows. She has received positive coverage from LGBTQI international press such as Pink News, Gay Times and Gay Star News, as well as being covered in a variety of international music blogs. In India, Pragya's music and story have been covered by Mid-Day, Times of India, New Indian Express, the News Minute, Blush magazine, Radio Mirchi, Radio One, SoundboxIndia and many others.
Pragya says, “I am a person who is not confined to any single genre, nationality, religion or gender. I want to bring together Indian and western, contemporary and traditional musical influences in a way that all types of people can relate to. I know songs have the power to create a movement, this is my attempt at being that voice for LGBTIQ persons across the world.”
