Eyemèr
An indie musician who tries to break the stigma around mental health and LGBT+ topics. With musical inspirations in artists like Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, The Cure, The Smiths… With a lot of inspiration from the people around them.
They used to mainly write about mental health, because there is still such a stigma around mental health issues like depression and anxiety but these past few years gender and sexuality are something they are very passionate about as well.
New Single: Reborn
‘Reborn’ is the first single on the EP, coming out 20/11/2021. A few days before my top surgery date, I wrote this song. The track is a reflection on the long process I went through to be able to get top surgery. It also talks about the freedom I imagined to feel right after this gender affirming surgery. ‘Reborn’ features American singer and transgender activist Ryan Cassata - an important voice within the transgender community. For the music video 37 people who have had top surgery sent in photos of themselves. In the video you can see what I did with those photos.
Upcoming Music
The upcoming EP is called ‘Transition Town’, was produced by Michiel De Maeseneer and comes out 11/02/2022.
The album title 'Transition Town' refers to the mental and physical transition I have gone through these past years. I officially changed my name in 2020 and in 2021 I got a mastectomy ('top surgery') to feel completely myself as a transgender person. With this album, I want to create representation in music for other transgender people, as well as normalize the theme within a society that still often alienates transgender people.
New EP: Transition Town
What inspired you to get into the arts and music?
The punk and rock bands I listened to in middle school made me pick up a guitar. It all started there. I needed a way to deal with my emotions in middle school, because I didn’t have many friends and felt very lonely and sad. So my guitar literally became my escape from the outside world.
Did you have any influential role models?
Yes, I did. I used to only listen to bands like Three Days Grace, Panic! At The Disco, Paramore, You Me At Six... I am not ashamed to say that Tokio Hotel had a big impact on me as a teenager and I still think their music is really great. I feel most of the backlash they got as a band wasn’t even directed towards their music. It just came from people who commented on their looks. To me Bill Kaulitz was such an amazing person. Even back then his gender expression was so androgynous and I related to him in that way.
What is your creative process and what are the most important things you keep in mind when beginning a new project?
I start with finding a guitar melody. If I stumble on something I like, I start singing along and find lyrics that fit to that melody. The most difficult thing can be to find a good bridge or a melodic change. I love working towards that, though. Honestly, I don’t think a lot when I write. I just start and see what happens. That’s the fun part of making music. Just relaxing. And if you’re lucky you have a new song by the end of the day!
Are there any recurring themes/issues you like to address within your work?
I mainly write about mental health and LGBT+ topics. For my upcoming EP I also have a song about the isolating corona period and about a (LGBT+) refugee.
What advice would you give to queer artists starting out or to those artists who are struggling with creative blocks?
That’s such a good question! I have never been asked this by the more mainstream press, but it’s so important to talk about. It took me many years to even come out online because I was scared my audience would not be okay with me being LGBT. My advice is: do everything at your own pace, but from my experience it mostly will benefit you to be honest about who you are as a musician. When I started posting about being queer, a weight had been lifted. When I posted my first song that was queer-related I was very scared, but I have never had such a great response to one song before. The queer community is a very grateful bunch of people & they appreciate it so much when there is new art about them out in the world.
For creative blocks I advise to take away the pressure on yourself to write something amazing immediately. Try going on a walk and spending more time with friends and family, doing things that inspire you like going to an art show or a performance of a musician you like. When you try again after, the inspiration can suddenly be there again, like it had never been gone.