DOCX

ON PERSONA IN MUSIC and A new Self-titled ALBUM

by Stevie Logan | Photos by Shea Petersen

After more than a decade refining a unique experimental electronic sound, Docx is stepping into the spotlight on their first self-titled album, out August 21.

Why now for a self-titled project? What about the music on this project reflects that personal element?
Why now? I've finally figured out how I like to present my art to the world. I'm just really confident right now. So I'm just doing whatever I want to do. I have to also say that a lot of the music on Docx is work that I've been holding on to for years. And I've been making music for almost fifteen years now, so some are legitimately ten years old. I'm just, you know, feeling confident about them and I'm ready to stop holding on to them.

Were you waiting specifically for this project to put those songs out?
I actually didn’t go into Docx with the idea of creating another project. When I finished The Gurls, which is my album that came out earlier this summer, I was like, you know, there's literally nothing solo on that album. So I started making songs that were just me. And then I thought, this kind of fits some of the older shit that I've been working on. Maybe it's time to show it off.

What were the overarching themes or concepts that you were trying to achieve with Docx once you realized that it was going to be its own project?
Kink specifically. I'm very, very sexual, I'm very hypersexual I'd say, and I enjoy exploring kink. So this self-titled album...it's not going to be for everyone and it's not going to be all age-appropriate. I just kind of want to be free and I want others to explore their sexual nature without any sort of inhibitions or feeling as if they have to tone it down because, you know, it's not accepted or whatever. You like sex. You like talking about it. Go fuck these hoes.

So that's what Docx is about. Just walking through the world, not worried about anything, you know, nothing really matters. It's not a new concept, but something I'm diving deeper into. You know, you can enter a room with a certain ‘je ne sais quoi’ that says “I am the shit”. That's what I want people to deploy outside of just sex, you know, just be confident in whatever the fuck that you like. And, you know, some people don't vibe with it. That's OK.

On Docx, there is some lyrical content that speaks to your earlier point - sexual themes, hypersexual themes - but there are also a lot of moments on there without lyrics to lend to the storytelling. So how do you approach storytelling in your music when you don't have a ton of lyrics happening?
Yeah, I approach everything by feeling. Mm hmm. Even when I do have projects that have more lyrics on them, a lot of times they don't necessarily make sense. It's all about the feeling. So if it feels like I don't need, you know, to say anything, I don't say anything. If it feels like I want to say something, I will.

I will say that's another reason why I feel that Docx won't be an easy listen for everyone, but that's totally OK. It's going to really have to take some concentration for people to get through it.

What was the origin of the Docx persona? Do you see it separately from your individual personality as a human being?
I don't see them as two separate entities. I see myself as Docx, and I also see myself as Dre.

I came up with the concept in college. It was actually more of an unhealthy coping mechanism. I just wanted to help everybody, I just wanted to be that sort of light for everything. And you know, as a child I always wanted to be a doctor, and I always loved Doctor Dre, and my name is Dre. So I was like, OK, it's all lining up for my name to be Docx.

But over the years, I've really stepped out of the whole people pleasing shoes, and now Docx means completely different. You know, I take care of myself. And with that I think I'm able to show others how to take care of themselves. And that is kind of the point of what Docx is, to help myself and others, that's what it is now in 2023.

Your other project released this summer, The Gurls, is packed with collaborations. How is your process different when you're working with a bunch of other artists vs making music on your own as a solo exercise?
Yeah, it used to be really, really hard. But that of course came from a lack of confidence. But even when I'm working on solo stuff, I think of it as a collaboration between instruments and sounds because I never draw inspiration from the same thing. I think of all of music as collaboration.

How did you select your collaborators for The Girls? Was it all people you already knew and wanted to work with? Did you go looking for people specifically for the project?
I used my last album It as kind of a tool to network. So I built a lot of relationships with the folks that are featured artists on The Gurls. So I kind of made relationships with folks, but I also did l kind of scout people out.

And I will say I'm very grateful for “Pick a Seat” doing the numbers because I’ve gotten a lot of the collaborations I've gotten from the strength of that being so massive. It’s been really easy for me to just reach out to people and I'm really grateful for that.

"Pick a Seat" was your song that had a moment on TikTok. What was that like?
You know, I've never really crossed over into the TikTok world. Because of my profession - I kind of do therapy work - I don't really want things to cross over, but I really enjoy seeing people enjoy it.

How much do you think about TikTok, that side of networking, and viral marketing and all this stuff you have to do as an artist to promote yourself?
You know, not a lot. I am a Tumblr girl, I was really very popular on Tumblr, so I kind of have an idea of how to do things in the online world. It's not hard. I'm also right now trying to dissociate from it.

Actually, after I release Docx, I'm not going to do social media for a bit. I just kind of want to say "Fuck that" and just see what happens, you know?

Your visuals for The Gurls are very eye-catching and maximalist. How do you think about the visual and aesthetic aspects of your musical project?
Visuals play a huge part in the sound that I create, so a lot of times I have the visuals before I have the audio. With The Gurls specifically, I wanted this album to represent all the queer folks that I love. So Fairy Boy created those images for me, and after that I created music that I thought embodied those images.

Throughout your career so far, you've used this distorted, obscured imagery. What inspired like those sorts of visual themes?
When I answer your question, I don't want it to sound pretentious, I'm just telling you my perspective. But when I first started out, I found a problem within the queer community of people sexualizing me. For a while I was uncomfortable with that, so I did not want to present me or my body in my art because I felt like it would take away from what I was really trying to give. So that's where the whole distorted image came from. I didn't want people to, like be able to put together what Docx is really giving.

But in 2022 and 2023, like presenting myself in real life and having people see what Docx is giving. I'm really interested in really presenting myself now.

Do you see this self-titled album as a re-introduction of yourself and do you think you'll be following that more personal path going forward?
100%. I also mentioned that, you know, Docx is a lot about kink and sexual expiration. I was uncomfortable with sex for a lot of my younger adult life because of the things that I'm into. I didn't feel empowered to like show myself. But it's not really the case anymore. So yeah, it is a complete reintroduction. I wanted to go into Docx face first. I want people to know who the fuck I am.

You mentioned earlier that you enjoy playing with these sexual themes in your music. Do you think being more anonymous has helped you work on those issues you mentioned with sex and being able to explore them in that anonymous way, you know, kind of disembodying yourself from it - does that help you explore if in a safe space?
Absolutely. But I do have to recognize that it can become reckless and dangerous. I was very, very disconnected from myself for a very, very long time. And up until maybe a year or two ago, sex is not even something that I really felt. That can get really dangerous. I do think that if you can do work to get in a place to where you are comfortable and you feel safe while you're in your body, I think you do have a duty to do those things.

Being based in Madison, WI, is there a scene there that you're a part of?
The scene in Madison is old, white and boring. I'm not involved in it. I will not be involved in it. I will not make any strides to make any changes in it. Yeah, that's. I hate to be so blunt on that, but that's that that on that.

And Madison, you've been put on notice.
And Madison, I just want to go ahead and say, I mean that as disrespectfully as you can take it.