Princess: Out There at The Tank

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Princess: Out There | Nov 2 | 8PM | The Tank | 312 W 36th St NYC

It’s Album Art, but Not the Way You’re Thinking
Princess Will Trick You Into Listening to Their New Album by Making You Want to Watch It

In the age of waning attention spans, an internationally-recognized artist and a queer musician have joined forces to create a love letter to, of all things, the full-album format. It’s also a critique of masculinity in a time of reckoning for men.  

Alexis Gideon and Michael O’Neill are Princess, a performance art band with a new “sci-fi feminist rock opera” that is performed live alongside an immersive narrative video in museums and rock clubs alike. Between the two of them, the duo has shared bills with artists as diverse as William Kentridge and Peaches, and they bring all of that experience to this project. 

Their new concept video album, Out There, is being supported by two national tours, culminating in a final live performance at The Tank, an off-broadway theater in NYC on November 2.  The album official drops the same weekend along with the third video single, “Rise Up (featuring JD Samson & TEEN)”.  The song is a metaphor about relinquishing male privilege as Princess passes the mic to listen to their female collaborators.  “Rise Up” was was co-written with JD Samson (Le Tigre/MEN), whose vocals represent a call from the Divine Feminine planet. The ethereal choral backdrop comes courtesy of TEEN, the alt rock band composed of three sisters.  

“We know a full album is a hard sell in 2019. But the idea of a big video element opened up the possibility of holding people’s attention on some big ideas,” said O’Neill. 

The album is in large part a self-reflective exploration of toxic masculinity. Party culture and reckless egotism get special attention in the critique. The first video single, “Party Party Party,” shows two overconfident men destroying the landscape with their laser penises as they dance the night away. “Far Away” is structured around a bitter band break-up, culminating in an intergalactic stop-motion animated fist fight. 

In the third video single, Princess passes the mic to JD Samson & TEEN. “Rise Up” was co-written with JD Samson (Le Tigre/MEN), whose vocals represent a call from the Divine Feminine planet. The ethereal choral backdrop comes courtesy of TEEN, the alt rock band composed of three sisters. 

“It seems like nobody listens to albums anymore, and yet we were all inspired by Beyoncé’s Lemonade.  Audiences are sophisticated enough and ready to embrace the long-form album. Out There is meant to be a whole narrative. It’s like Jesus Christ Superstar, but with bangers. And leotards,” said Gideon. O’Neill added, “In a culture of toxic masculinity, love and listening can be revolutionary. It’s time for men to take more responsibility. This album is an attempt to do just that.”

"Princess is creating some of the most innovative, multi-disciplinary performances today. Weaving together music, art, technology and choreography, their work is both dazzling and thought-provoking, engaging audience in immersive explorations of current issues, such as the evolution of gender and identity."
-Alice Gray Stites, Chief Curator
21c Museum

“An extraordinary work of art. I couldn’t help but see Matthew Barney, David Byrne, Warhol, Rauschenberg. [Out There is] an entirely fresh approach by using those influences to say something completely fresh and new about our time.” 
-Lawrence J. Wheeler, Former Director, 
North Carolina Museum of Art

“Princess’ energy demands attention and will activate your senses. While the commentary in this show is serious, the experience is far from it.” 
-Sara Lee Burd, Art Writer
Nashville SCENE

“What’s exciting about the project is it takes up these issues through science fiction and is really harkening back to seminal music videos, which you may recall from early MTV or early concept albums.”          
-Sara O’Keefe, Assistant Curator,          
New Museum

“It walks this interesting line of being a bit D.I.Y. and rough, yet sophisticated in its editing. There’s a punk sensibility to it, and a homemade sensibility, and yet [when] it comes together, it’s really polished.”
-Ben Harrison, Performance Curator, 
Andy Warhol Museum