The CHEEKY Issue: Fraxiom
words by arthur Machado, photos by amelia zollner
“‘Who is Frax?’ I’m just an artist interpreting the world I was born in,” says the bunny-hat-donning producer. “My sound? I make personal pop music — like pop, but it only means something to me, and that's okay.”
24-year-old Fraxiom quickly rose to fame with the quarantine hyperpop boom. Alongside fellow producer Gupi, they form half of Food House and have been a staple in the diverse internet pop scene, from Minecraft festivals to Boiler Room.
Guiding us through the liminal backrooms, the performer’s bright pink hair stood out among the bright white clinical hallways. After a night of 2012 nostalgia with Girls That, hyperpop insanity with OTM and whoTF and Frax’s show-stealing performances it was clear we stepped in their domain; where the ordinary was transformed by their whimsy.
The genre that started in the late 2010s with artists like SOPHIE, 100 gecs and A.G. Cook recently had an entire batch of new creators burst out of the online bubble and Frax is no different. At the start of the year, they embarked on their first headlining tour alongside duo whoTF, solidifying their transition from the cyberworld into alternative pop stardom.
“This tour is very validating and it makes me feel like what I am doing is just so much more real. I've been able to see the impact that my music and message has had on all these different groups of like queer people all over the country,” Fraxiom says.
With the “FUTCH UP AMERICA” tour, Fraxiom and whoTF aimed to bring these hyperpop concerts to fans that otherwise would not be able to have these events as often.
“Keeping your shows in LA and New York sort of paints this image of queer safety being a goal that you need money to achieve,” says Fraxiom. “It paints this image of: you need to pay rent and live in Brooklyn or LA or else you are a freak and you are not safe outside.I think that it's really important to ‘degentrify’ queer safety and make more places in this country, more neighborhoods, more cities just safe for us.”
By definition, hyperpop is a genre that mirrors the fast-changing community that embodies it. A song that comes out today is a world of difference away from a song that came out a year ago, with each producer building upon the quirks of the last, the only constant being their relationship with digital cultures.
“I would describe my nostalgia as iPod Touch, like Black Eyed Peas, Super Mario Galaxy, early 2010s. The nostalgia cycle that we are milking is five to 10 years ahead of the nostalgia cycle that is going to be popular.” Fraxiom says.
With cheeky lyrics like “Fuck Notch, fuck Musk and I’ll piss on Zedd,” “I go Dr. Doofenshmirtz, MrBeast, Eiffel Tower” and the iconic “Get your ass off Twitter cause it gives you fucking mental illness,” Fraxiom voices the reactionary nature of chronically online zoomers.
“Every artist has the ability to commodify random things that they think looks cool, and is important to them,” Frax says. “Being able to build a lot of hype and glorify almost mundane, trivial little items that anyone can really go by and access makes the fun in your music accessible.”
During their show, the popstar hyped up the crowd by asking everyone to “put their little pronouns together” and introducing themselves as “Champagne Papi” before having 40 minutes of all their lyrics screamed right back at them by devoted fans.
From their energetic performances, to goofy, self-referential lyricism and constant samples of 2000s pop culture Fraxiom epitomizes the undeniable cheekiness of hyperpop and empowers the message of queer liberation.
“Cheeky is letting your guard down and getting a little silly with it,” Fraxiom says, “It’s not being afraid to use comedy as a medium for a more serious message. When you put something very silly next to something very serious, most people view it as wholly ironic but I think that there is a deeper impact to doing things like that.”
With multiple projects, collaborations and multimedia initiatives under their belt Fraxiom showcases how to turn online fame and wit into something much bigger. Their last solo project You Have Completely Destroyed Me!!!! is their most mature to date, glancing upon themes of mental illness, stardom and gender identity and expression.
Fraxiom’s personal pop ventures beyond those things that only mean something to them. Be it through cheeky comedy or melancholic honesty, the producer is a voice to a generation that, much like themselves, struggles to interpret the world they are born in.
“It is very easy for me to compartmentalize my music as just a fluke of online success because of COVID, but that discounts the fact that the queer people who we are helping with the music are very much real people, and they love to have music that is for them.”