Flaunt Premiere | ANTIBOY "Riot"
by Kyle Huewe
What is Pop? For many, it’s merely an utter bastardization of a musical genre, characterized not by its soundwaves but by its sheer popularity. For others, it’s seen as something of a genre, not necessarily tied to its limelight roots but rather a genre defined by the sounds, synthetics, and vocalizations – often pleasant, uplifting, and easy to listen to.
ANTIBOY, however, has a totally new look at the musical genre. The non-binary artist wishes to change the way people view Pop, taking the poetic roots of music to new heights through largely spoken-word narratives over broken instrumentals. Their new song and accompanying music video, titled “Riot,” gestures challenge toward the Pop industry as a whole.
ANTIBOY, christened Harry Hains, is perhaps best known for their television and modeling roles, most notably in American Horror Story. Yet the artist and well-rounded entertainer sets new sights on music through the creation of the ANTIBOY moniker.
ANTIBOY’s newest project, A Glitch in Paradise, is scheduled for release in late 2018. This album focuses on a visionary dream world, one absent of ties to gender, discrimination, and inequality – a place where, rather than damning oneself over gender roles and the obligatory nature of human beings, there only exist two species: human and robot. The identities of even these, however, have become fluid, ANTIBOY working to question what really makes us human in a technological world.
“Riot” follows ANTIBOY’s debut and critically-acclaimed single, “Devil,” which fuses the essence of Pop music with the messages ANTIBOY wishes to convey. “Riot,” on the other hand, stands as an outright outcast, pushing the bounds of what we generally define as Pop.
A Glitch in Paradise as a whole focuses largely on this narrative, but ANTIBOY wants to be seen as a Pop artist nonetheless. Hains’ primary goal is to overtake the Pop industry while disavowing the general norms and labels often experienced within the genre. The artist offers an escape where everyone is free to be exactly what they are: human.
Photographer: Mitchell Nguyen McCormack
Director / Videographer / Editor: Pedro Correa
Creative Director: Harry Hains
Stylist: Joey Perla
Makeup: Robert Bryan
Model: ANTIBOY