The activist and music production non-profit Red Hot have announced TRAИƧA, a new 46-song compilation of both originals and covers serving as a celebration of trans and non-binary people. The full project is out November 22nd, but Red Hot has already released TRAИƧA’s first single: Prince’s “I Would Die 4 U,” reimagined by Wendy & Lisa of Prince’s band The Revolution alongside London-based singer Lauren Auder.
The three-and-a-half hour tracklist is broken up eight chapters, and the project as a whole features over 100 contributing artists. In addition to a new song from Sade Adu titled “Young Lion” — serving as her first new song in six years — the compilation features contributions from André 3000, Jeff Tweedy, Faye Webster, Clairo Beverly Glenn-Copeland, Perfume Genius, Alan Sparhawk, Bartees Strange, Adrianne Lenker, Fleet Foxes, Julien Baker, Sam Smith, Laura Jane Grace, Moses Sumney, Kelela, Kara Jackson, L’Rain, Julie Byrne, Teddy Geiger, Frankie Cosmos, Devandra Banhart, Bill Callahan, Hunter Schafer, Christian Lee Hutson, Sharon Van Etten, Ezra Furman, and dozens more.
The project is spearheaded by artists, activists, and producers Dust Reid and Massima Bell; in addition to serving as a celebration of trans artists and existence, TRAИƧA was inspired heavily by the life and work of the late producer SOPHIE, who tragically died in 2021. The collaborations and recording sessions took place over a three year period, with reimagined covers, poems, and new originals comprising TRAИƧA. For her part, Sade had agreed to contribute when Bell sent her a letter thanking the artist for her continued public support of Izaak, Sade’s transgender son — the song serves as a dedication to Izaak, and, per a press release, represents a “gesture of unconditional acceptance and love without boundary.”
“We started talking about all the gifts that trans artists have been giving to the world, and wanted to create a Red Hot project that centered and celebrated those gifts,” Reid says of the album in a statement. “We hoped to create a narrative that positions trans and non-binary people as leaders in our society insofar as the deep inner work they do to affirm who they are in our current climate. We felt this is something everybody should do — Whether you identify as trans or non-binary or otherwise, if you took the time to explore your gender, get in touch with the feeling side of yourself, maybe we would have a future oriented around values of community, collaboration, care, and healing”
Reid and Bell designed TRAИƧA to be a “spiritual experience,” with each chapter mirroring the original eight-stripe rainbow pride flag. Each chapter begins with what Reid and Bell call a “Chapter Track,” serving as a thematic root that the rest of the chapter’s song branch out from. Taking its title from Caetano Veloso’s 1972 album of the same name, the project “honors the legacies of those trans and gender non-conforming artists who carved spaces of possibility before awareness of trans identity permeated mainstream consciousness.”
First up from TRAИƧA is “I Would Die 4 U,” delivered by Wendy & Lisa and Lauren Auder. The reimagined cover features the same quick-fire synths and anthemic yearning as Prince’s original, but with even more enchanting power behind it. In a statement, Auder reflected on the original’s open-ended message of love and care. “The lyrics to ‘I Would Die 4 U’ feel so potent and open-ended, up for interpretation, but an unconditional message of holding and support shines through,” Auder says, “Getting Wendy and Lisa who sang on the original to accompany me through this version has been one of the proudest moments in my musical career and am so glad to be sharing this via Red Hot.”
Stream “I Would Die 4 U” below, and scroll down to see the compilation’s extensive tracklist. TRAИƧA is out on November 22nd.
TRAИƧA Artwork:
TRAИƧA Tracklist:
Chapter I – Womb Of The Soul
01. “Midnight Moon Pool” – Mary Lattimore + Laraaji + MIZU + Jamal Shakeri
02. “You Don’t Know Me” – Devendra Banhart + Blake Mills + Beverly Glenn-Copeland
03. “How Sweet I Roamed” – Jeff Tweedy + claire rousay
04. “Same Train” – Heart Shaped + Christian Lee Hutson
Chapter II – Survival
05. “STAR” – Ana Roxanne + Nsámbu Za Suékama
06. “Please Tell Me” – Lightning Bug
07. “Make ’em Laugh” – Benét + Faye Webster
08. “Get Me Away From Here, I’m Dying” – Julien Baker + Calvin Lauber (feat. SOAK, Quinn Christopherson)
09. “Rumblin’” – Soft Rōnin (feat. Frankie Cosmos)
10. “Deeper Understanding” – Hand Habits (feat. Bill Callahan)
Chapter III – Dark Night
11. “Under the Shadow of Another Moon” – Hunter Schafer + Cole Pulice
12. “Blush” – Grouper + Lucy Liyou
13. “Is It Cold In The Water?” – Moses Sumney
14. “Know Who You Are At Every Age” – Anajah + Gary Gunn
15. “Is It Over Now?” – Niecy Blues (feat. Joy Guidry)
Chapter IV – Awakening
16. “Something Is Happening And I May Not Fully Understand But I’m Happy To Stand For The Understanding” – André 3000
17. “Come Back Different” – Nina Keith (feat. Julie Byrne, Taryn Blake Miller)
18. “Song To The Siren” – Rachika Nayar (feat. Julianna Barwick, Cassandra Croft)
19. “Love Hymn” – Arthur Baker (feat. Pharoah Sanders)
20. “People Are Small / Rapture” – L’Rain + Voices from the NYC Trans Oral History Project
Chapter V – Grief
21. “We’ve Been Through So Much” – Jlin + Moor Mother
22. “My Name” – Kara Jackson + Ahya Simone + Dave Longstreth
23. “Point of Disgust” – Perfume Genius + Alan Sparhawk (Low)
24. “In Another Life” – Lomelda + More Eaze
25. “Pink Ponies” – Teddy Geiger + Yaeji
26. “A Survivor’s Guilt” – Yaya Bey
Chapter VI – Acceptance
27. “Just Last Night” – Helado Negro + Eileen Myles
28. “Feel So Different” – Ezra Furman + Sharon Van Etten
29. “Mourning Dove” – Gia Margaret
30. “Feel Better” – Adrianne Lenker
31. “Any Other Way” – Allison Russell + Ahya Simone
32. “Down Where The Valleys Are Low” – Asher White + Eli Winter + Caroline Rose
33. “TM” – Fleet Foxes + Cole Pulice + Lynn Avery
34. “Querube” – AV María + SKY + Belina Rose
Chapter VII – Liberation
35. “Within Without” – Green-House + Kelela
36. “Aaron” – Cassandra Jenkins + Bloomsday + Babehoven
37. “Young Lion” – Sade Adu
38. “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)” – Moses Sumney + Lyra Pramuk + Sam Smith
39. “Many Ways” – CLARITY (feat. Clairo)
40. “I Feel Free” – Sparkle Division (feat. Pepper MaShay)
Chapter VIII – Reinvention
41. “Get Free” – Nico Georis + KB Brookins
42. “Wolf Like Me” – Bartees Strange + Anjimile + Kara Jackson
43. “Surrender Your Gender” – Laura Jane Grace (feat. Lee Ranaldo, Jayne County, Kathi Wilcox, Jay Dee Daugherty, Am Taylor)
44. “I Would Die 4 U” – Lauren Auder + Wendy & Lisa of the Revolution
45. “Always” – Time Wharp + Elizabeth & Beverly Glenn-Copeland
46. “Ever New” – Sam Smith + Beverly Glenn-Copeland