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WHO IS THE ARCA LISTENER?
written by César Roberto González-Aguilar
Who is Arca and the immeasurable impact her Mutants have on not just the world, but on each other?
The internet permits one to realize connections with individuals outside of one’s reach in ways that were not possible before the social media boom. The older Gen-Z (1997) adults have an interesting point of view when it comes to modern day internet/social media culture: they remember the transition from dial up internet to Wi-Fi. In a sense, these adults are bridges that connect the real world with the virtual world.
Tik Tok is the latest social media platform to prove how easy the algorithm can connect communities despite it being dispersed throughout different places of the world. I can attest to how the algorithm connected me with many young people who identify as Mutants: the followers of the Venezuelan electronic experimental producer/artist/performer Alejandra Ghersi Rodríguez, also known as ARCA.
I am familiar with the chaos that comes with the culture of internet fanatics that dedicate their content to specific artists of their choosing. I was in high school when this was happening. One Direction, Taylor Swift, and Beyoncé had millions of fans that kept up with their daily lives. I noticed it soon became a culture based on expressing personal feelings with the images and phrases that artists and celebrities produced. I did not run a stan Twitter account but I was an active participant of the BeyHive. Fanatic internet culture kept me adjacent to communities that I would never have had contact with.
Growing up in the San Joaquin Valley of California geographically separated me from urban subcultures. It was during this time that I began to build my ideology as a cisgender heterosexual Chicano intersectional feminist. My online connections challenged the ideas I previously had, and I quickly realized that I required an understanding of how class, race and gender blend together to shape our societies.
Being the only male and youngest sibling of five means that my masculinity is more effeminate. I did not identify with the typical masculine hobbies associated with boys, causing me to also be adjacent to male culture. I did not identify with misogynistic music. I did not find the degradation of women appealing because the backbone of my family is made up of strong and capable women. I began to search for music that fed my percussionist ear and was more accurate to my reality. In short, my interactions on the internet went alongside other people who valued a feminine form of expression, and, in effect, upheld the contact I had with LGBTQ+ internet users.
I understand how stan Twitter humor transferred over to Tik Tok. The same type of blurry, glitchy, fast paced, obviously edited and exaggerated humor was also picked up by my TikTok algorithm. After being captivated by her 2020 release Kick i, I became in contact with ARCA TikTok.
It was a project that I would not have found if it wasn’t for Rosalía’s 2019 reggaetón track Con Altura. My Latino identity kept me connected to Puerto Rican, Dominican and Cuban urban artists that introduced me to other forms of expression that resonated with me. Regional Mexican music will always be a foundation of mine and my family’s background, but the iconic reggaetón phrases like “Barrio fino” by Daddy Yankee and “calle pero elegante” by Tego Calderón caught my attention. They reminded me of the humility and class that my Mexican parents raised me and my sisters with.
The immigrant experience in the United States is an entire topic that is fun to discuss because of the way subcultures grow, interact and overlap with each other. In this case, I was able to appreciate Rosalía’s work as a European hispanic woman who added her own twists to the rhythmic Caribbean style.
Rosalía on Kick i became the agent that pushed me into Arca’s other albums. KLK is a futuristic and deconstructed reggaetón track that progressively gets smoother as it plays out. The metallic crashes and aggressive drum patterns make it impossible to not rock your hips to Rosalía’s ethereal and alien vocal sound. I grew obsessed with how Arca upheld the same raw element from 2000’s reggaetón while simultaneously building the track with electronic sounds previously unheard of. Stunned by such excessive originality, I quickly grew interested in the rest of the album and began my research on Arca.
I grew surprised when I noticed that I had already been a fan of Arca’s without having realized it.
I learned that Arca was not only a producer, but also a sound designer. Instead of picking pre-recorded sounds to build her albums with, Arca records her own sounds and tweaks them until she completes the sound palette she intends to use for a specific project. The sound design of Kick i is composed of gunshots, explosions, metallic scrapes, high pitched metallic whistles and rough scratches.With the liberty of making her albums sound distinct from each other, one discovers that her projects have unique characteristics that bring to life different sonic worlds.
I realized that Arca produced albums that I had considered masterpieces before knowing of her. Arca’s range was proved unmatched just by the collaborations she did with other major artists: Take Me Apart by Kelela, LP1 by FKA Twigs, Utopia by Björk and Yeezus by Kanye West.
Discovering that Arca identified as a non-binary transwoman contextualized her music and sound design. Her album covers show a progression of creatures that appear to be in formation or development.
&&&&& (2013) features what appears to be an embryo.
Xen (2015) features what appears to be a distorted humanoid that resembles more alien than human.
Mutant (2015) depicts what appears to be a red humanoid demon with black horns that is uncanny yet intriguing.
It is not until 2017 with the release of her self-titled album Arca that one sees a self portrait of Alejandra where her teeth and eyes are black and her skin glows red.
With Kick i, we finally get a glimpse of Arca as a strong female warrior standing atop metallic centauresque legs.
I fell into the same virtual spaces as Mutants after I had joined TikTok in 2019 and discovered that stan culture was still alive. I found videos of Arca’s that I also loved to watch: reposted live streams from Twitch that she titled Radio Diva or Diva Experimental FM. The Mutants were unaware we were listening to unreleased songs that would later become a part of the Kick quintet.
In the first week of December 2021, Arca began to release what is now known as the Kick series. The collection is composed of five albums.
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Kick i is the album that has bits and pieces from the other four albums. Kick ii is what I like to call the “Bomba Latina” album as it has the most reggaetón songs that contribute to the Neo-Perreo musical sub-genre. Kick iii [Kick 3] is one of my personal favorites as it is the most aggressive with complex rhythmic patterns and harsh sounds.
As I got more involved in the culture I began to notice that the Mutant fan base was also listening to other experimental electronic artists that I also enjoyed. Björk, SOPHIE, Eartheater, Sega Bodega, Shygirl, Cou Cou Chloe, Caroline Polacheck, A.G. Cook, Charli XCX. What became clear is that the Arca listener was not only listening to her experimental sound, but they were also enjoying a closely knit group of experimental producers.
These experimental artists remind me of the various generations of Spanish and Latin American writers like: “La Generación del ‘98,” “La Generación del ‘27,” the Latin American Boom Generation of the 1960’s. These experimental artists express ideas and feelings that are intangible, which makes their projects difficult to describe because of the originality of their work. Arca has a style that is rhythmic, tragic, celestial, metallic, static, aggressive, percussive, and at times horrifying.
The production style of SOPHIE (1986 - 2021) is exaggerated and mysterious and includes sounds of bubbles, plastic, heavy drums, and electronic synthesizers. Sega Bodega (1992) creates haunting, rhythmic, airy, ghostly and emotional tracks that present a refreshing interpretation of masculinity. Eartheater (1989) uses her unique voice to remind one of the haunting sirens from the Odyssey With over 40 years creating music, Björk (1965) is perhaps the mother of all previously mentioned artists with a discography full of rhythmic tracks that express both love and heartbreak.
Experimental artists are able to produce projects that explain what words cannot; they create sonic canvases that are painted with different textured sounds. This makes one wonder, what is it that separates the average experimental music listener from a Mutant? The answer comes down to the personal philosophies that Alejandra promotes within her discography, mixes and live streams that inspire others to not fear being original. The motto to the Kick quintet contextualizes the title of the series as it reads, “If it feels oppressive, kick against it.”
One must have MUTANT FAITH: a form of resistance choosing to demonstrate love in the face of fear.
When I first discovered Arca called her fan base “the Mutants” I was immediately reminded of the X-Men.
top row: Dev Hynes Matt Copson Danny L. Harle MuraMasa Yeule Pink Pantheress
bottom row: COBRAH Arca Caroline Polachek Charli XCX Sega Bodega
Stan Lee’s graphic novels promoted the idea that issues between the genetically mutated and non-genetically mutated must be reconciled. In the same way that Professor X tells the X-Men to choose good even when rejected, Arca promotes to find it within oneself to remain a glowing light in times of darkness so that a ripple effect ensues and inspires change in others. An atmosphere of compassion and inclusion is what Arca creates for other identities that need spaces to freely express their frustrations and emotions.
As a person with a Master of Arts in Spanish Literature, I am intrigued by artistic expression, no matter the presentation. There is empowerment in choosing to express abstract ideas despite the general population not being equipped for understanding them. As someone who’s always had their masculinity underestimated by men for not presenting myself as assertive and aggressive, I understand the strength there is in one being themselves without apology. However, it is not always an easy task to be confident when others are not accepting.
After battling body dysmorphia and my dramatic weight loss, the ideas that Arca promoted about self-acceptance and compassion worked wonders for my mental health. There was a point in time where my social anxiety was fueled by the reactions others had to my body. I learned that I was not going to stop living my life simply because others were constantly staring at me. Being the first person noticed in a room made me realize that I had to be indifferent to judgment.
Searching for self-acceptance, the Mutants know that Arca is a one of a kind artist because her emotional range expresses all the internal alchemy done when on a journey of self-discovery. Alejandra mentions that one must get in contact with the alien inside so that one can learn to not give into fear.
Arca makes one feel safe in moments where there are only doubts and teaches that sometimes we are greater than our tough situations. I learned to sit with my deepest insecurities so that I can decode and overcome them. If my body dysmorphia made me feel insecure, I would remind myself that there is no one else like me as I recited Arca’s lyrics.
I can only imagine that the Mutants are also curious and discovering themselves. At times, the philosophies Alejandra shares can seem daunting, and this is exactly why her projects work as a way to channel these ideas of accepting our “otherness.”
The sounds that evoke different emotions from the listener become a type of character in the Arca universe because they are recognizable across different projects. I interpret the sounds as representations of the progress that Arca has made since her decision to be open about her transition as a trans woman. Sounds that once were used in one form now take another to create a new sonic expression.
As a drum line instructor, I enjoy listening to the rhythmic complexity found in Arca’s beats. As a Latino I am proud to know that the future of music lies in the hands of a Venezuelan. I am empowered by the messages of acceptance Arca promotes. Now that I make Arca TikTok edits for fun, I interact with other Mutants from around the world that share the same music interests as me.
It is rare to find an artist that can inspire such deep change in their audience. As a cishet man, I can only be appreciative for the way that the Mutants have accepted my opinions.
I was attracted to Arca for her beats and ended up learning more about myself than ever before. My intentions in talking about Arca’s impact is a way to give thanks to an artist that deeply inspired me and led me to some of the most creative, funny and understanding people I have met.
The Arca listeners are called Mutants for the way that they understand what it means to be cast aside for being unique or different. Mutants understand that their worth depends on how they see themselves and not by the prejudices that others project onto them.
The Arca listener is a person who likes to dance, likes to express, to be challenged, to have fun, to build community and to find new forms of avant-garde that present what has not been expressed. The Mutants know that the community is a smaller one, but the impact is not any lesser. Small yet connected, we still provide a powerful kick.
I write this as my contribution toward ripping the slit.
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