In anticipation of Eyemer’s latest single “Pretend That You’re God”, we had the opportunity to speak with them about their creative process and inspiration behind the song. In this particular case, the process was simple, yet powerful and effective. The vision was clear, to keep it raw and clean, just them and the acoustic guitar, further highlighting the message behind the new single.  

“This song had a quick writing process. It was just one evening when I started strumming some basic chords on my guitar. I was like, OK, I can do something with this.

The lyrics just kind of came out pretty quickly as well. I think I wrote most of the progression of the chords and the lyrics in one evening. I also felt very good about it, like, instantly. That's not always the case.”

PTYG tackles the powerful theme of trans rights and visibility and was created in a direct response to the transphobia Eyemer received through social media. It calls out the hypocrisy of people who hide behind their religion and gods while absolving themselves of any wrongdoing and taking a moral highground.  

“I wrote it specifically about people who use their religion and say ‘this is not my opinion. it's my God who says that’, that being you is wrong basically. These comments make me the most angry because there's a lot of religious people who don't think that way and who don't use a God to hide behind a negative opinion about someone. And so I feel like it's very wrong to do that, to hide behind religion and to say ‘actually it's not me, but it's something above me that decides that I'm hating you.’ And so that's the title, you know, Pretend that you're God.”

This song, like most others in their discography, is a form of activism to raise awareness on topics related to mental health and more recently related to gender and sexuality. They incorporate their life and volunteering experiences into their work.

“I think it [activism within their work] has, has always been like that for me. I don't really know how it would be otherwise. Even before I came out through music, before I was open about my identity through music, I was writing about mental health and breaking the stigma around that. That was really my goal back then. So I opened it up a bit when I came out and I was like, OK, I'm going to also write about this, but it has always been something that's come from deep within me and something that I'm trying to change within society - that's really important to me. 

I see my music as an extension of my activism. It's my passion and I love doing it. It's really important for me to keep writing about things that are important in the world.”

Despite the negativity and transphobic comments received, Eyemer has been able to skillfully transmute their anger and pain into something beautiful. The result is PTYG, which brings a new tone and energy to their music which differs from what they have done in the past. It addresses negativity and hate directly while raising awareness about the topic and opening a space for others to be understood. 

It just feels a bit more negative to me compared to my other songs, which are at times with a bit more of a hopeful message in the lyrics, you know. But, yeah, I feel like it can definitely be empowering. These types of songs can make you feel understood. Even if it's about a difficult topic, I think feeling understood can then also make you feel more comfortable and more happy. So I think maybe that's my goal with the song - making sure that people feel understood. 

Facing this form of attack and criticism is never easy. Aside from the mental effects, there is always the fear that these online comments can lead to physical violence. PTYG is a brave act in response to this threat. When asked about what advice Eyemer would give to those who may be facing similar forms of abuse or hate, they highlight the importance of community and focusing on all the positivity that exists around us. To seek out help (institutional and otherwise) and not carry the burden on your own shoulders.

It's ok to have sadness about it and even be angry about it. But also, just try to remember that it’s only one side of, you know, of all the possible thoughts that are around in society; Although some people are negative about it, there's a lot of positivity as well.

And what I've learned is that the best thing you can do is just focus on positivity. As a queer person, we are representation for other people - just by the fact that we exist. I remember being little and just seeing someone I thought may be queer and that just meant so much because it's like, oh that's someone like me and maybe later I can also be like that for someone else. It's just important to embrace yourself. And also what really helps is find community. Because if you're carrying around all the negativity on your own, that's definitely more hard than when you can share it with others. And you can talk about it with people who understand it, who don't, like, sweep it under the rug.

 If you experience homophobia, transphobia and so on, go to the police if needed. I know that it can seem like it doesn't do anything but just like the fact that you report something, it also counts, for example, in, in the yearly statistics. If nobody does it, then it seems like there's way less of us who experience it and it's not true. So that was already a reason for me to go. 

PTYG highlights the strength and resilience of the queer community while bringing awareness to difficult issues. In addition to the message and its’ representation, this sing is simply beautiful and definitely a song you’ll want to play on repeat. It invites us to embrace our own voice and face difficulties head on. To grow connections within the community and celebrate who we are. 

I'm very grateful for people who listen to my music who support me There's definitely a lot of support that I get specifically from queer people, but also, yeah, just anyone who listens to my music.