Welcome to Rhythms of Progress, where we explore
how music and artists are the unsung heroes of
political movements and social advancement. I'm
your host, Shozzett Silva. But you can call me
Lizzard. Yes, Lizzard. And with me is my faithful
co -host, Stoney. Say hello to our friends, Stoney
Boney. Oh, she's so cute. Today, Stoney and I
are thrilled to welcome Elia Einhorn, a multifaceted
artist, producer and engineer making incredible
humanitarian, social and political contributions
through his artistic passions. Go Elia! Elia
has many groundbreaking projects, but here are
just two of them. Sober 21. a zine about getting
sober and staying clean in the music industry,
and Transa, a musical project that celebrates
the gifts and stories of trans and non -binary
artists from various genres and generations.
Through Tronza, Elia collaborated with the following
icons. Sam Smith, Jeff Tweedy from Wilco, Andre
3000, Sade. Yes, THE SADE. Stoney fainted twice.
And many more artists. Our conversation took
place over Zoom, so the sound will be adventurous
and a gift from the internet. I'd like to start
with a thank you. Thank you, Elia. Elia and I
met in college, and he used to help me with my
music theory homework and skills, and somewhere
between my wrong notes, he'd mentioned this cool
girl named Amy. And he lights up like he found
a missing chord to complete his song. It was
beautiful. Always rooting for love. Always all.
This is the cover of You Make Me Feel Mighty
Real by Sylvester. The artists are Moses Sumney,
Lyra Promuck and Sam Smith. Just one of the many
dynamic tracks marching you straight into a rhythmic
revolution. I think of this album as an ear candy
buffet that will take you on a musical journey.
You really did a lot for me at university. to
see you and Amy and Conway and to know that all
of that came together for you because I remember
hearing about famous Amy I was like this sounds
amazing it's just beautiful to see people's dreams
come true that you got you're both each other's
human you just cannot replace love oh thank you
for the beautiful words and and it's so great
to see again it's been too long and the time
we spent in school is so precious you know and
that time was so formative right in our in our
lives like being at school for those years and
hanging out and learning from each other it's
amazing well i owe you so many thanks because
i didn't know anything and i just had this passion
if i didn't have people like you or like my best
friend who never put me down you always encourage
me i think that's really powerful to artists
is to let them evolve well it's funny i mean
you're you're you're sort of downplaying your
ability and in a very humble way but you were
like you know you were like the the best blues
player and singer we had at school you know you
were amazing i remember going down to the south
side to see you at that bar and hanging out and
i was like fuck she's like a proper musician
whereas me i was like you know some like long
-haired fool carrying around an acoustic guitar
trying to you know i did not know my skills i
just learned i was told who cares though Like
a lot of my favorites are not technically, like
they can't sit down and dissect chords and stuff
and chord channels, but they're still the best
because they just have a feeling for it that's
better than maybe the scientific breakdown of
it. Let me do what my therapist tells me to do.
Exhale and thank you. Thank you. Boom. There
you go. Love it. So what systemic changes, or
why did you do Tronza? Did you notice something
socially or politically? Because it's a beautiful
project. Thank you. Yeah, so there's two lead
producers on Tronza. Dustry, who I mentioned
earlier, who's the one who brought me in to Red
Hot, and then Massima Bell, who's a trans woman
from Iowa and lives out in LA now, and she's
a musician. She tours with the fantastic Nina
Keith. And she's an actress and a model. Masi
is the sort of Renaissance woman. And they had
been working on it for, I think, a few months.
And they said, Ellia, would you come on as a
co -producer? And I said, of course I will. And
for me, I had had a number of friends who had
transitioned. And I'd had this powerful experience
where one of my dear friends named Riff had lost
someone that he really cared about who was also
trans and I was at the talk house podcast and
I thought we should really do a show around the
trans community for visibility and I curated
a conversation between Laura Jane Grace from
Against Me and Genesis P. Orange from Throbbing
Gristle and you know so many other amazing bands
too but this is maybe like 10 years back This
was a very powerful conversation. And I think
that that work kind of led Dustin Massey and
my other work in curation to invite me on board.
And so I was able to bring some incredible artists
on board and help produce some amazing sessions.
Earlier this year, I flew out to the Grammys
in Los Angeles. And there was a couple artists
who were wanting to work with us on transit,
but who were reticent to sort of self -produce.
They wanted a producer in the booth with them.
So the day before the Grammys, I had this incredible
weekend there. I rented a, I've never had a sports
car. I've always, you know, been like a normal,
I always drove tour vans. And because I'm a dad,
I have a Subaru Forester, like the safest thing
for my daughter. So I rented a Dodge Challenger
and I was just zooming around LA from session
to session. The day before the Grammys, I went
in with this amazing act of Hunter Schaffer,
and Moxie and I produced her vocals for a poem
she wrote that was written by Eileen Miles. You
may know Hunter Schaffer from Euphoria. Here
is a bit of the poem. I was joked. Up in nothing.
Beautiful. And then I went to the Grammys the
next day and then the day after that I went in
with Fleet Foxes and I produced Robin Pecknold,
Fleet Foxes vocals for a track called TM that's
a collaboration with Cole Paliche and Lynn Avery,
a Charles Lloyd track. And that was amazing and
Robin invited me to sing on it too so I'm singing
one of the high parts. with Fleet Foxes on that,
which was a very generous offer that I couldn't
refuse. And so, you know, spending time in the
studio with artists like that was incredible.
I was in the studio with Sam Smith when they
were recording with Beverly Glenn Copeland here
in New York. Incredible, I mean, just tears in
every fucking eye, literally every fucking eye
when Sam was singing. Ever knew Beverly Glenn
Copeland's sort of iconic, what do you even call
it, light velocity track? So you know it was
really powerful and to get to be able to use
my Rolodex to say like we were talking to Eileen
Miles and Eileen I said, who's your favorite
artist? Who would you want to work with? And
they said, I love A Lotto Negro. So I texted
A Lotto Negro and said, Eileen Miles loves you.
Would you want to be on the project? And Roberto
texted me back and said, of course, let's do
it. And now there's a track coming out in two
weeks with those two. It's just incredible. And
they've become friends and have talked about
doing more things together. So it's been incredible.
And I feel like, you know, the trans community
has been so unfairly politicized. It's like,
just let people fucking live. Let people fucking
live. Whether that's black people in the 60s,
whether that's women trying to vote, you know,
last century. It's like, just fucking let people
live and have equal rights. It's just logical.
Looks like it's time for my unrequited opinion.
So, some politicians, you know who you are. You
decided that the biggest threat to society are
not climate change, the lack of healthcare, fixing
potholes that now qualify as small lakes, and
poverty. No, you chose to blame the trans community
and people with melanin. and a voice. Even a
child can see you're using us to avoid doing
your homework. Well, play it. Actually, not really.
But I do acknowledge your effort. We all see
what's happening. But on a serious note, who
hurt you? And you know, it takes a lot of strength
to step down from any position and take care
of your mental health. It's the responsible thing
to do. Now that is boss level. So leave trans
people the fuck alone, you know? And so I hope
that trans is a way of us letting A, supporting
trans and non -binary communities and helping
build community amongst many artists. B, platforming
artists who are overlooked in a lot of ways because
they're trans. And for a lot of the tracks we
paired trans artists with very big cisgender
allies, you know, so like there's Jeff Tweedy
from Wilco performing with Claire Rousey. And
then, you know, I think one of the most beautiful
songs on Tronza is from Sade. Sade gave us an
original that she wrote for her son Isaac. This
trance, it's called Young Lion, and it's an apology.
The whole song is this gorgeous, heartbreaking
apology for not knowing what Isaac was going
through. And I hope, my dearest hope is that
parents will hear that and either think A, I
don't want that to be my family. I need to listen
to my child and what they're telling me about
who they are. Or B, if it's already happened
that they've maybe rejected their loved one because
of their transition, they can say, oh my God.
I see where I was wrong here and I see where
we can make amends, right, in the way Sade did
so powerfully. And you know, Sade is someone
who speaks to people across political divides.
And that was something that Dustin, I talked
about a lot when we were curating Tronzo, it's
like not just having an echo chamber of artists
on the left, but having artists like Jeff Tweedy,
like Sade, like Andre 3000, like Sam Smith, who
are listened to by everyone. And when they say
something, they're heard by everyone. And that
was... something that we felt so proud that we
had all accomplished, you know, the five of us
who produced this record. You're right, Elia.
These artists unite and heal. Ah, healing. Not
on the political agenda, since it serves the
people. So, artists are out here building bridges
with baselines and truth, while the president
remixes the constitution In the wrong key. Maybe
that's why they tried to censor the chorus. Hey,
nothing threatens the system like a catchy tune
with a conscience. Anyway, power to the people.
Thank you to all of you for organizing protests
and anyone who was out there in the protesting
choir. You sounded beautiful. And if you were
not there, thank you for protesting in your way.
Making signs, writing articles, making art, refilling
your emotional batteries to keep this world running.
Because someone has to keep the wifi on. And
the group chats emotionally regulated. Oh, hold
on. Moment. Stephanie just handed me a note.
And it says... Enough talking, human. I love
you, but we need snacks. Meow. I listen to my
cot. I know my role in life. We'll be right back.
Hey, are you oddly angry at others for living
their best lives? Does your blood pressure rise
when you see bilingual signs? Does someone else's
joy feel like a personal attack? Ugh, your happiness
sickens me. It's insulting my ancestors. If you
find yourself experiencing those symptoms, you
may be suffering from existential bitterness
with chronic judgmental disorder, also known
as EBCJD, and may be eligible for a lifetime
supply of therapy. It's like detox for your brain.
Unlike hateful social media posts, therapy actually
helps and has been shown to reduce passive aggressiveness
by 98 .6 % and increase in mirror pep talk by
150%. Side effects include clutching your pearls,
twirling your hair while muttering, maybe not
everything is my fault, screaming into a pillow
that says, live life love, clenching your buttocks,
realizing you were mean when you thought you
were just telling it like it is, surprise feelings
of joy, and accidental kindness towards yourself
and others. In clinical trials, patients reported
puffiness around their eyeballs after a mysterious
salt water leakage. On rare occasions, some patients'
mascara ran down their face and mistook their
reflection for Alice Cooper. For that, common
sense and doctors recommend washing your face
with soap and water, followed by any moisturizer
and having a snack. Disclaimer Only Alice can
effortlessly pull off that look. You may also
experience laughing hysterically due to feelings
of accomplishment. taking yourself out for ice
cream like the damn legend you are, realizing
that crying is genderless. The worst side effect
that has been reported is realizing your problems
will take time to solve. It's time to face your
trauma before your next meltdown and start therapy,
because healing is cheaper than bailing you out
of jail. Oh, welcome. So tell me, when did you
start blaming others for your lack of serotonin?
This message is brought to you by Stoney. Welcome
back. Today we're speaking with musician and
curator, Elia Einhorn, who is one of the producers
of Tronza, a project spotlighting trans and non
-binary artists. During our snack break, Stoney
looked at me, blinked once, and said, I just
decided. Elia is the unofficial diplomat of the
Nation of Artists. Holy fantastical poppy cuteness.
I agree. Let's get back to our interview. It
wasn't long ago that you and I could now be in
the same room if we were, or that I could now
be married to my husband because I'm a person.
Music did so much to move us forward. And we
forgot how we spoke of people of other skin tones.
Really, it was not long ago. And so to talk about
our fellow humans in such a degrading way, it
doesn't make sense that you would not have equal
rights. It's embarrassing. And you know, I was,
as we're speaking now, you're in Germany, and
I was just in Germany last week, this time last
week, I was in Cologne to do an artist interview
weekend fest. And I was literally embarrassed
by the way our country was going at that point.
And, you know, I got back the day before the
election, and of course, our country made the
decision it made, which I find reprehensible
and heartbreaking. But it's embarrassing. When
I go back to my other home of Britain, I'm embarrassed.
I'm embarrassed about what America does. And,
you know, it's not just us, right? I mean, there
is civil rights issues in every country. around
the world, but it's embarrassing, so unnecessary.
Hopefully we're making a tiny difference, right?
Moving the needle a tiny bit. Here is how trans
and non -binary people contribute to the world.
If you've ever used a phone, thank a trans woman,
Lynne Conway, who helped invent modern microchip
design. This is just one person. So if you really
are anti -trans, that means no phones, no Spotify,
no YouTube, no Interweb, and good luck out there.
Why wouldn't we want to include others? But since
we are all about money, including trans and non
-binary people is the right thing to do. It's
great for the economy. More jobs, more innovation,
more Spotify playlists, more kindness. So being
inclusive is good for business and for your soul.
Think of it as investing in kindness with excellent
returns and discrimination. Well, that is actually
a really big budgeting error. The title of the
background track is, Something is happening,
and I may not fully understand, but I'm happy
to stand for the understanding. This is a collaboration
between Andre 3000, Carlos Nino, Dear Tony Parks,
Nate Mercero, Diego Gayeta, Matthew David, Shabaka,
and BCR. You work on such beautiful projects.
You really do a lot for humanity. You and your
friend. Oh, gosh. I find myself wanting to disagree,
so I'm going to take your therapist's advice
and exhale and say, thank you. Helena, thank
you. I love it. I will say this. There's a show
on Broadway right now here in New York called
Sucked, and it's about the suffragist movement
and my daughter has become obsessed with it.
I've never seen her become obsessed with anything
like this. We've seen this show three times on
Broadway and we also went to their DD release
party and she got she's gotten to like meet Shayna
Taub who wrote it and it's amazing to see a seven
-year -old girl understanding oppression but
also seeing this opportunity change the game
right and there's this lyric in it that makes
me cry every time and my daughter laughs at me
because I weep every time they sing this in the
show but the women in the show are they're marching
against injustice on the Washington Mall and
they're saying I want my daughter to know I was
here you know I want my sister to know I was
here and I want that with this struggle For the
trans community, I want my daughter to know I
was here. And the same for climate justice and
the same with helping people who have drug addiction
problems. I wanna be part of a tiny part of something
pushing back against these problems. And I want
my daughter and her kids, if she decides to have
kids, to know that I was here and that I was
doing that. We are ridiculously proud of Elia
and his mates, Massima Bell, Dust Reid, Katie
Garcia, Terrence Thomas and executive producer
John Carlin. Thank you for producing Transur,
an album that's uniting humanity and keeping
trans and LGBTQIA+ rights in the headlines.
Transa demonstrates the power of conversations,
being yourself and the beauty of collaborating
for the best interest of humanity. This is a
big loving in your face to all the people who
say get a real job, a career. Art does not do
anything for society, especially music. To them
Stoney and I offer a message wrapped in colour.
cushioned with kindness, a grooving bassline,
and a little chaos. Because we've seen you out
of rhythm, and we know you love the glitter.
So stop fighting by a rhythm, and you'll no longer
be bitter. Oh wow, look! You've got great rhythm!
But in all seriousness, we exist in a world where
living authentically can be life thrashing. So,
stay safe. Safety first. Always, always. And
Stoney and I, we're not just rushing for you.
We're also imagining the outfit you're wearing
while changing the world. And wow, you look amazing.
Not that you need to dress up to do so, but we
can tell you feel great. Aw, you even inspired
Stoney. She's sewing us matching outfits. Ah,
I'm so excited. Yes. And if you ever need help,
here are two resources. More are linked in the
episode notes. The travelproject .org is 100
% confidential and free to LGBTQIA plus young
people. And transequality .org, where you can
find legal resources. Rhythms of Progress is
not sponsored by these organizations, but you
deserve to know what is available for you. And
seriously, you are not alone. I know it may feel
that way sometimes, but you are not. And if anyone
says otherwise, send them our way. Stoney wears
many hats. She has a PhD in psychology. But first,
they must have a snack. Then the therapy begins.
So, stay soft when it suits you, be loud when
it moves you, and don't let them confuse you.
Stoney and I are celebrating anyone who worked
on Transa. by knocking this glass of water off
the counter and into a plant. We're not wasteful.
It's full circle here. Enjoy listening to Tronza.
It is a haven of sounds and safety with friends
sharing their journey towards empowerment. This
episode was produced, mixed and recorded by Shozzett
Silva. transition music, parody commercial and
soundtrack was by them as well. Special thanks
to 91 .3 WVUD, the voice of the University of
Delaware, where parts of this episode were recorded.
And special thanks to Dave and Steve for being
my accidental mentors and helping me figure things
out. And as always, honuor your rhythm.