Modern Painters

IN THE OPENING moments of ElysiaCrampton’s 2015 EP American Drift, herfrequent collaborator Money Allah calmlysays, “I’m nailed to the impossible.” Set toa shimmering, melancholic synthesizermelody, the line—penned by Crampton—introduces the evolving horizons containedwithin the trans Latina artist’s produc-tions, where the limits of body andgeography are warped through a corporealqueer futurity.MUSIC // ELYSIA CRAMPTONBY THEA BALLARD``````BOYCHILD``````Crampton’s output, indebted as muchto the work of, say, queer theorist JoséEsteban Muñoz or trans activist ReinaGossett as it is to the musicians withwhom she’s shared bills, exists in the ever-expanding world of what has beenstultifyingly termed by journalists “post-club” music. Perhaps more interestingthan an attempt to pin down what she doesby categorizing her work by genre is to notethe network of collaborators, friends, or``````fellow travelers in which she operates.These include artists like Why Be, ChinoAmobi, Rabit, and Lexxi—a group ofartists spread throughout Europe and theAmericas whose sets incorporate in equalmeasure reworked anthems by the likesof Rihanna and Nicki Minaj; nods tosubcultures like ballroom; and abrasive,cathartic samples that twist in thedirection of noise. Dance subcultures havehistorically run alongside struggles forAbstract StorytellerReimagining the boundaries of state and self44 MODERN PAINTERS JUNE/JULY 2016BLOUINARTINFO.COMElysia Crampton,2016.