QX meets: NEO 10Y

NEO 10Y is an arresting queer artist from London. We LOVE queer artists, we love London, and we love being arrested, so naturally we had to interview him! 

He just released a new song called ‘Poems To Fuck To’ – what a title! We had a quick chat and a cup of green tea with him, to find out what makes him tick.

Hey NEO 10Y – how long have you been makin’ music?

Just over two years. I’ve always applied myself to different creative things. As a kid, I was head choir boy, and taught myself guitar. And all through uni I played open mic nights. So it’s always been something I’ve loved. A couple of years ago, I was inspired quite politically by the world to speak out. I’m not as good at screaming and shouting on a Facebook post…I’m much more curated in my thinking and my way of communicating a message. I wanted to do it through an art form.

Tell me a bit about your story!

Born in London, went to uni in Cardiff…I lived in Barcelona for a year. I speak French, Spanish, Portugese and basic conversational Gujurati. I was doing digital marketing in London after I finished uni, and also started writing a blog – just about things that I was interested in, like pop culture. You used to write online, and now you put your picture online. So I evolved with that. And then I met Jean-Paul Gaultier and he put me in a campaign in 2013. And then I started meeting people and doing stuff, that’s just how it works!

If you HAD to put yourself in one category, what would it be?

I guess I’d be a multi-disciplinary artist. I’ve never really thought about a label for what I am. I’ve never been about labels. My body of work that I released last year is called “Disidentification” and it’s all about not labeling yourself, or breaking free from those labels that can be constraints. As much as they can be empowering! Obviously I have some labels – I’m a queer person, I’m non-binary by nature, in my thinking.

How so?

I’m very in touch with my female energy, I’m very aware of that. And it’s a big part of who I am as a human. If I write “human” I write it “humxn”. I just want to make it clear that I’m not just one thing. There are so many elements that play into who I am. My singing voice as well is quite androgynous – I have an incredibly high falsetto or I can go really deep as well. It’s the same with my human body. I try to use the space around me to express myself.

Is that important to you as a creative person?

I believe in pushing your own boundaries and your own capabilities as a human being on this planet, and trying different things. But being able to express yourself on stage is a completely different ballgame. I’ve learned so much over the last few years. I see it as a creative evolution. I’m grateful to the universe for these challenges and this existence, and what we can potentially do. Bring it on!

NEO 10Y’s double music project Dopamine/Poems To Fuck To is out now on streaming services. Follow him on Instragram @NEO10Y

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