Emerging from the depths of NYC’s glittery nightlife underground, Giuseppe is s a 21st century club kid decked out in splashy, avant-glam aesthetics and dripping with icy cool pop hooks. The electropop singer first caught my attention with his bubbly, infectious debut single “Supermodel.” It was my popstar penpal, underground iconoclast Magda, who turned me on to this slinky, seductive tune from her fellow underground scenester. Supermodel has a spectral quality. The sound is ethereal, a the sound of haunted glamor manifested through the futurist pop lens of a bright young queer artist. Laid out over alluringly crisp couture beats, Giuseppe delivers a runway-ready anthem as he projects a tantalizing, flickering vision of fashion forward fierceness.
It is no surprise that Supermodel delves lytically into themes of fashion once you catch a glimpse of Giuseppe’s visual style. Each and every look is cutting edge and carefully presented and is something I can only describe as space age club kid meets subterranean street fighter. By cultivating a sense of mystery, Giuseppe and his cohorts on the NYC cool kid party circuit look like they live in an endless neon-lit k-hole that exists somewhere between vintage Greg Araki films and HBO’s Euphoria, with two heaping bumps of Party Monster for good measure. Giuseppe’s sound perfectly mirrors this vibe–effortless, detached, airy, mysterious. Cool.
His melodies are stealthily crafted with expert precision. Giuseppe has a knack for keeping the listener interested both through his shiny, fluid songwriting as well as the use of tasteful-but-flashy production techniques courtesy buzzworthy producers such as Boy Sim. The songwriting is smart and lean, and his delivery is dripping with a sort of self assured genderf*cked queer rock star swagger. Although we’ve seen but a glimpse of his ability to perform live, I can already tell you the world isn’t ready for this natural born talent. Giuseppe is a star in the making. The subsequent Giuseppe singles, “Shattered Glass” and “Under Your Spell” are equally addictive treats, taking over your mind with the insidious subtlety of a designer drug. The hooky choruses sneak up on you and consume your soul, and before you know it you’re craving more like an addiction.
With these three absolutely perfect electropop singles, Giuseppe has proven himself to be a rising star on the queer dance pop scene. I cannot recommend these singles enough! They are *chef’s kiss* grade underground gems. Along with Magda, Giuseppe is keeping alive NYC sub cultures like electroclash and to an extent, punk rock.
Giuseppe graciously linked up with Pop Notes to talk about his music, his artistic influences, and to give us a thrilling and probably illegal glimpse into his glitzy life on NYC party scene. Check out the interview below!
BUNNY: Hey there, Giuseppe! Tell us your origin story: who are you, where did you come from, and how did you become so fabulous?
GIUSEPPE: Hey gorgeous! I’m Giuseppe, probably one of NYC’s most underrated/underground pop stars to strut through the streets, lol. I’m 20 years old, I’m an Aries, and pop music specialist. I originally grew up in the Baltimore/Washington D.C. area and moved to New York City when i was 18 to start school and of course, to chase my dreams of creating quality pop music that makes people want to dance, strut, and be the most fabulous version of themselves! I like to think I’m fabulous but I wouldn’t without the help of being so inspired by pop music legends since I was a baby.
BUNNY: Do you work with producers or do you create your own beats? Give us a little behind the scenes tea on your songwriting process!
GIUSEPPE: I write all of my own music. It usually starts with an idea or a feeling I’ve been bottling up inside, and part of my creative process that takes the most time is figuring out how to glamorize every emotion that I feel (there’s a lot, lol.) I like to produce demos myself and create melodies literally from Garageband on my computer. I feel like it’s such an easy resource to be able to get a skeleton of ideas out/create a simple song. Once i have a demo down, I keep it in the drive until I feel like it’s ready to be pushed to a producer to bring it to its full potential. I love working with different producers so much, and I value each relationship I have with every producer I’ve ever worked with. They all bring something different to the table. Shoutout to Boy Sim, he’s my Aries king who produced my newest single. They literally create the music, they give the framework and bring the bop to life based on a vision you have and we need to protect music producers at all costs! Icons, truly!
BUNNY: How does living in NYC influence you as an artist?
GIUSEPPE: I currently live in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York. New York City, ah, probably one of the GREATEST places to live at such a young age. It’s been my dream to move here ever since I first visited the city at age 12, and the feeling was unforgettable. This place is seriously magical, it’s the stomping ground of some of my biggest influences in music. Madonna, Lady Gaga, etc. They all used to roam the streets with a dream and a will to make it come true, which is probably one of the most exciting things I get to remember/live by everytime I leave my apartment door. The energy around me is so inspiring, everyone is just so cool and it’s motivating to be around so much creative energy and dream-chasers in the city. Also, the food, clubs, live music, bars, and shopping is BOMB.
BUNNY: How do you describe your sound?
GIUSEPPE: My sound can best be described as glittery, euphoric, electro-cunty pop. I’m highly influenced by 80’s pop and early 2000’s pop, and I feel like my whole brand is essentially combining the early eras of pop music that I was so inspired by and combining it with today’s trends to create my own genre of sparkly/fierce pop music that I LIVE for.
BUNNY: Not to make you get all Stefon on us, but what is the best party/club/hotspot in NYC right now?
GIUSEPPE: Oh god, that’s a hard question. Considering I feel like I was born in the club, it’s so hard to pick which one is my favorite. I really am a huge fan of Susanne Bartsch and all of the work she does, she’s a massive club icon for the LGBTQ+ community who has been throwing some of the craziest parties to give artists and club kids a safe space to be themselves. You can find me at “On Top” at Le Bain mostly, but I like to go out all around (where my fake ID can get me in). [Ersa Magazine does not condone this behavior, and encourages everyone to drink responsibly–especially minors!] I am also a huge fan of LGBTQ+ nightlife DJ Ty Sunderland, he throws the craziest and best parties in the city. His party called “Heaven On Earth” at China Chalet is always a bus, and plus it literally is a bunch of gays crowded in a Chinese restaurant which is like, the funnest thing ever. When I’m throwing my back/ass out at those parties, I mostly like to go to the gay bars in Hell’s Kitchen, one particularly called “Vodka Soda/Bottom’s Up”. Me and my friends love to go there and dance like no one is watching, and the $5 frozen margaritas are always a plus.
BUNNY: Your style and vibe sort of remind me of a 21st century twist on the NYC club kids of the 80s-90s. Do you think that is accurate? What kinds of music/artists/scenes have influenced you musically?
GIUSEPPE: I think that’s SO accurate! Probably one of the most flattering things anyone has ever said to me, lol. I’m heavily influenced by the club scene here, the way that the club kids play with fashion and art and come together to celebrate life is something that is engraved into my heart forever. I love being able to dress up and be one with the club kids feeling all boujee and cute. It’s the perfect way to live out any fantasy that you’ve always wanted to feel. Lots of my inspiration for music comes from that, because I like to write about fulfilling fantasies and being in the club is the place where I get to see that happen visually, and the whole goal for my music is to be able to get others to experience that audibly.
BUNNY: Name two artists you’d love to collab with–one mainstream or more popular artist, and one more underground or lesser known artist.
GIUSEPPE: Oh my gosh there’s so many! If I were to collaborate with any mainstream artist right now it would definitely be Kim Petras, not only is she feeding us bop after bop, but I LOVE the way her pop formula references the 80’s sound mixed with today’s style. It’s literal pop perfection. One of my favorite underground artists and sisters in the game right now is Magda. She’s always been so inspiring, loving, and so supportive of me, she literally does everything on her own and I’ve had the pleasure of growing with her ever since I first met her last year. Her sound is so authentically her, and her music makes me feel like the baddest bitch in the room (c’mon Naomi Campbell!) and I know me and her are going to do something amazing together in the near future! If you haven’t streamed her debut album ‘Evangeliion’, you MUST!
BUNNY: Ugh, you know we at Ersa stan Magda! You two are our New York cuties. That collab is going to be amazing, like I can NOT wait please get on that. Giuseppe, would you please tell us a wild and crazy tale from one of your adventures on the NYC party scene?
GIUSEPPE: Oh my gosh there are so so so many crazy stories I have from being out and about in the party scene, but some of the greatest stories come from the times that I spontaneously run into some of my favorite pop stars when they come to the clubs I’m at whenever a huge event is going on. For instance, I met Kim Petras for the first time during Fashion Week in 2018. I was at a Susanne Bartsch party at Sony Hall, and Kim was announced as a surprise performer and I nearly DIED, no one had any idea. She performed a 3-song set and then just mingled around the club after. Eventually the clock struck 3:00am and i noticed the club was nearly empty except for Kim and like 20 gays just flocking around, so my crazy ass jumps on stage and just starts dancing to put on a little show for the remaining survivors of the night. I noticed Kim staring at me from the DJ booth, and then she told the DJ to play ‘Heart To Break’ (classic bop) and I started doing my thing, strutting my stuff. Before I knew it, I looked up and Kim was standing right across from me just smiling and watching me move and I looked at her and smiled, and then she joined me and we just danced together drunk at like 3am, full choreo and everything. We had a heart to heart after that and still to this day it was one of the most amazing memories I’ll ever have.
BUNNY: Omg, you’re a natural superstar! Okay, you’ve dropped three icy cool pop singles so far this year. What next can we expect from Giuseppe?
GIUSEPPE: My 3 singles right now are my babies. I’m trying to give the audience a framework of who I am as an artist by releasing a few singles first, and eventually I’ll be working on my first EP that will definitely be coming out in 2020. This year is all about appetizers and next year the girls will be getting the full dish so stay tuned, it’s going to be really really exciting! <3
UNDER YOUR SPELL BY GIUSEPPE IS AVAILABLE NOW ON ALL PLATFORMS.
Pop Notes is written + reported by @bunnymorgana_ for Ersa Magazine.
POP NOTES is a series exploring the emerging universe of underground electronic pop music. Rather than try to name this musical ecosystem or define what it means in terms of genre or substance, Pop Notes will be profiling the many art stars that make up the vanguard of this exciting new wave of pop, in order to render a picture of this digital movement in its own terms. Like punk, rave, electroclash, and bloghouse before them, this is a scene bursting at the seams with a reality-warping diy energy that is undeniable, addictive, and seemingly poised for world dominance(??). Stay tuned for more profiles of exciting artists emanating from the online pop scene!