Pussy Riot have released a new song, “Toxic,” featuring Dorian Electra and produced by 100 Gecs’ Dylan Brady.
The song finds the Russian punk outfit melding their style with Electra and Brady’s hyper-pop acumen, with the track fluctuating between blistering rave beats and a completely blown-out chorus. “Come here mansplain me,” Pussy Riot’s Nadya Tolokonnikova sings, “Your balls meet my knee/Freedom I’m craving/Dare to mansplain me.”
“Toxic” arrives with a music video, directed by Tolokonnikova and featuring 3D art by Ksti Hu. The clip opens with Tolokonnikova humming a bit of Britney Spears’ own “Toxic,” then quickly descends into pure chaos, jumping between footage of Tolokonnikova and Dorian Electra as they perform the track and relish a bit of over-the-top (and gruesome) mess.
“‘Toxic’ is political because personal is political,” Tolokonnikova said in a statement. “The single reflects on the importance of self-care, cherishing your mental health and staying away from relationships that poison you. A few years ago, I went through an emotionally abusive relationship (that ended up being physically abusive, too — I was being held against my will in a house we lived in). The best way to process trauma for me is via creating art, that’s why we wrote ‘Toxic’ with Dorian and Dylan.”
Electra added: “I’m so honored to be featured on this track. Nadya is one of my all-time favorite people, friends, and collaborators and I’ve always been so inspired by Pussy Riot’s blending of activism and art. This song came together so quickly with Nadya and Dylan in the studio — we knew we had to make something both hella abrasive and cute at the same time.”
“Toxic” arrives on the heels of Pussy Riot’s recent single, “Rage,” which was released amid a surge of protests in Russia over the jailing of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. At the moment, two Pussy Riot members, Masha Alekhina and Lucy Shtein, who are also in a relationship, are under house arrest separately and facing two years in jail for supporting Navalny.
From Rolling Stone US
