Avhsoj
Tell us about you and your work.
I am Avhsoj (pronounced Joshua). I am a composer who uses sound to narrate my life as a gender-nonconforming Latinx person and the several oppressions that I face in a world enveloped through the cis-gendered male gaze. My work explains my yearning for self-validation towards the aggressive nature I have had to live through as a marginalized person. My debut LP, This, tells my story on comprehending love and attention through technology as a queer, non-binary figure. The aliases that we create through technology are in no way the people that we face in reality.
What inspires you?
What inspires me most is my mother. Aside from several artists and movements that I can reference, my mother has allowed me to express myself in ways that several peer’s parents hinder them. I want to achieve success to give it forward to my mother.
What does community mean to you?
To me, community means a comprehensive group where everyone’s narrative is expressed and understood differently. These opposing characteristics can create a space for a culture that feeds into an everlasting democracy.
I don’t believe in utopias. They’re no fun.
I believe in differentiating human groups and bringing them together to create an eclectic understanding of the world in which we surround ourselves.
Favorite song
The song that made me want to continue composing is Karl Jenkins, The Peacemakers, which includes the narration of several political leaders who yearned for peace. But, as Avhsoj, the song that piloted my desire to create a signature sound was Alberto Balsam by Aphex Twin.
Favorite place
My favorite place is my DAW and bedroom.