With the backing of community, this artist is on the come-up for dominating queer Toronto
By: Andrea Zayan
The jubilant subculture contained within the Toronto underground concert scene can be attributed to up-and-coming artists like Feura. The musician embodies radical queer reverberations throughout their discography, extending to a crafted community within a vessel of melodic pop tunes.
Upon embarking on the social media accounts of the multi-talented sensation, a vibrant world unfolds through their unabashedly, unapologetic stage presence. Through restless moshes, taped-nipples and uproarious vocals, Feura effortlessly executes astute queerness in all their endeavours.
On-stage, Feura says their creativity endlessly runs rampant, manifesting through the art of performance. With a relentlessly punk candor, they harbour an experience that exceeds all phonetic expectations. Their rockstar look can be accredited to their roots — which lie in drag artistry — and it remains a key component to their performances today.
“I really love makeup, costuming, glitter, sparkles, that sort of thing,” explained Feura. “I’m basically still doing the drag, only now it’s more of an androgynous/alt sort of drag.”
Speaking to Feura via Zoom, their charm exudes beyond diametric reality. It’s evident right-off-the-bat that they’re extremely passionate about their craft and could converse infinitely about music.
Feura’s sound can’t be encapsulated by a singular definition; their creative process is informed by an abundance of artists and genres. Their music exhibits an amalgamation of pop, punk, metal and rock influences — deriving inspiration from cult-favourites such as Lady Gaga, Paramore, Avril Lavigne and most notably, Peaches. “My mother — as I call her — of stage presence, that I wanna be like, is the artist Peaches. She’s like this rockstar, electronic music, from like the ‘80s and just has that ‘I don’t give a fuck’ attitude that I wanna bring to stage every time I get up.”
They often find their creative emblem evoked during periods of intensity. Feura’s writing derives from fervent experiences, reflecting creative ignition during the highest and lowest parts of their life in an effort to work through trauma and heartbreak.
“That’s, of course, when I want to write the most — not when I’m in a neutral state. My music is just an expression of who I am on the inside and the extension onto the stage is also just an expression of all the creativity happening within me.”
Pointedly, their stylistic niche trickles down to a post-mosh gush of emotions – a surreal high that feels irrecoverable. They weigh in on their hyper-specific ballads by offering me an elevator pitch. “You’re crying, you made out with somebody in the pit, they broke your heart – now you just need a little tune to listen to. That’s me, I’m your after-mosh kind of gal.”
Currently enrolled in the Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) professional music program, Feura has been tuning their ever-evolving sound and perfecting their craft. They’re diving into the multi-faceted aspects of being a musician — encompassing performing, producing and songwriting. Within the program, Feura has discovered a diverse networking opportunity, as the program breeds space for collaboration with other creatives. They say the program presents a marriage between all the foundational elements for becoming an artist.
“The way that they combined learning music business with artistic practice is, I think, neglected a bit in the Canadian music education system. It’s either you’re very theory-based or you’re very music-business-based and as somebody who wants to be an artist, you need to have both sides to [do] what you’re able to,” says Feura. “I think this program is combining that perfectly.”
Outside the program, Feura became immersed into local music subculture by frequenting gay bars and queer techno raves. There’s innate queerness exuding through the atmospheric music scene of Toronto and it’s left an eminent impact on the artist. Queer BIPOC crusaders attest to this wave of effervescent life that has taken on the locale. To witness masses of liberated queer people galloping to esoteric DJ-remixes is to experience authenticity and joy, knowing you could never look back — and Feura surely didn’t. They seek queerness in all aspects of their life and music — it’s proven to be pertinent.
“You’re crying, you made out with somebody in the pit, they broke your heart – now you just need a little tune to listen to. That’s me, I’m your after-mosh kind of gal.”
“There’s queerness in all music out there – even country. I met a queer country band and they were awesome!…The metal and punk community have a huge queer following behind it. Pop music [too], of course – because we all know, we love a good pop song. I feel like I’m offering the unique bridge between pop, metal, punk — all of that — and delivering it in an alt-pop sort of way.”
The inevitable politicization of their presence in the scene sparks revolutionary inspiration for Feura. Radical themes unfold in their lyricism, as their art is composed to stride as its own political statement. They execute a power-grab, by imposing reclamation of oppressive forces placed upon them – it’s a theme that will always frequent the musician’s art.
“I am an oppressed artist and I identify as non-binary. I’m mixed race — I look East Asian, I’m half Chinese — so anything that I sing about, no matter what, ends up being politicized…I mean it’s radical in of itself for me to be singing about, you know, wanting to date women or doing those sorts of things — although, it’s just another love song, or something like that.
“I will always have those sentiments in my art, I will always have them as a piece of who I am and it’s something I wanna continue to express and make change with.”
Revolution takes front in their latest merch drop, consisting of apparel and accessories branded ‘Feura’s Bitch.’ Currently being sold at their shows, the drop is characterized by a ritualistic, niche innuendo. It all unveils at a casual cafe-esque setting, where they enticed the audience into an energized, adrenaline-induced rave by the end of it all. “Afterwards my friend came up to me – and the audience was just going wild – and they went ‘Oh my god, you made the audience your bitch!”’ Since that foundational moment, their fans and bandmates have co-opted the earnest title of being Feura’s bitch.
“I call my band my bitches and they’re basically all white men so it’s again, bringing that political side — where, you know — make the white man your bitch! They’re all for it though; they love it. They always tell me they’re the submissive ones,” said Feura.
Community is at the epicenter of Feura’s world, with queerness exuberant at every corner. Its mention provokes an enthusiastic introduction to the ways it unfolds during their live shows. They discuss the community they’ve crafted, highlighting the natural gravitation queer people have towards each other.
“You don’t pick community, community comes to you…the people who come to see me are usually people I wanna vibe with anyways and they create their own community around me.”
Feura makes it known they’re not afraid to get down-and-dirty with their crowd. Their audience interactions ooze pure punk vigor — it’s a component that completes the unique vessel of art that is their performances.
“I wanna party with my people when I’m up on stage! The thing is, queerness isn’t necessarily just sexuality, it’s a culture, and everybody is welcome in queer culture.”
The inevitable politicization of their presence in the scene sparks revolutionary inspiration for Feura. Radical themes unfold in their lyricism, as their art is composed to stride as its own political statement.
As they designate, there’s only one rule to abide by.
“Be damn open-minded, be open to just everything and anything and don’t be afraid to be yourself. As long as you’re not stepping on other people – unless they ask for it!”
Having started songwriting in 2020, Feura has an excessive line-up of successes to their name. They kicked-off their spree of performances with their first show in March 2022. Since then, they’ve been playing non-stop shows across the city, their most notable being at the El Mocambo as a 2022 Honey Jam Emerging Artist. They were also selected as a 2022 Emerging Artist for the Canadian Musicians Co-operative.
In June, the Pride Toronto Committee dubbed them the honour of hosting the Trans Pride Afterparty. They performed a half-hour set for a group of well-over 1,000 people. This achievement was uniquely significant to them as they strive to advocate for the trans community in all their pursuits.
“Specifically it being the Trans Pride Afterparty, which is directly after the march, it was such a huge opportunity for me to literally connect with the people that I want to represent the most and be a voice for.”
Feura’s latest show took place at the Supermarket on Nov. 6 alongside local bands The Bleaks, Connie and Hockey Academy. Enthralled with ambition, they have big plans on the come-up for 2023. They’ll be busy writing more music and hope to play music festivals, as well as expand their reach beyond Toronto. They’ll be debuting a line-up of pop-rock/punk tunes at their next show on Jan. 28 at Sneaky Dee’s, featuring performances from Heavenly Blue and Stone Beach.
“Watch for big things on the horizon in 2023.”
