Gagged (EP)

Gagged is an extended play (EP) recorded by American drag queen Violet Chachki, released on June 30, 2015, by Sidecar Records and Producer Entertainment Group. It was made available following her crowning as the winner of the seventh season of the reality competition series RuPaul's Drag Race. Chachki was inspired to create the record in order to have her own music and visuals for her performances. Consisting of five dance-pop, electronic, and avant-garde tracks, Gagged was released as a digital EP, and was also made available via streaming services. Its lyrics emphasize sexual fetishism and gender identity, based in part on Chachki's personal experience working as a dominatrix's assistant.

Gagged
EP by
Violet Chachki
ReleasedJune 30, 2015
Genre
Length16:17
Label
  • Sidecar Records
  • Producer Entertainment Group
Producer
Singles from Gagged
  1. "Bettie"
    Released: June 2, 2015
  2. "Vanguard"
    Released: June 30, 2015

It spawned two singles "Bettie" and "Vanguard", which were promoted through the release of two accompanying music videos. The EP was praised by music critics for its upbeat sound and its single and their music videos; it was noted as a departure from music released by other contestants of RuPaul's Drag Race. In the United States, it charted on the Heatseekers Albums, Independent Albums, and Dance/Electronic Albums Billboard charts.

Background and composition
I wanted to create something as a sort of soundtrack to the avant-garde visuals I create. I love fetish because the line between right and wrong is blurred in a controlled, safe way. It is harmless fun that can really give new meaning to someone's otherwise humdrum life. I also love the fashion!

Violet Chachki, discussing the development of the EP[1]

In an interview with the website GossipGay, Violet Chachki explained that Gagged was intended to build "a full creative experience" for her performances in terms of music and visuals.[2][3] Chachki said the decision to record music was partially inspired by the way in which American drag queen RuPaul released music to act as "a full package". She attributed the process of creating the extended play (EP) with helping her become more "well rounded".[3] Oscar Raymundo of The Huffington Post wrote that the project reflected Chachki's ambitions to be an "auteur with complete creative control."[2] Chachki also found inspiration in clowns, saying: "I’m a very visual person, and I feel like a clown half the time."[4]

Gagged was mastered by Tom Coyne and produced and mixed by Tomas Costanza.[5] The song "Bettie" was produced by American drummer Tommy Lee. Concerning her working relationship with Lee, Chachki commented: "I'm so honored to even have the opportunity to do it. I've listened to lots of different music that has that same kind of (industrial) feel to it."[6] Chachki described the music as "dark and industrial."[7] The songs were influenced by the work of EDM artists: Purity Ring, Ladytron, Miss Kittin, and The Presets.[8] When discussing her vocal performance on the EP, she described it as "more sexy talking and raspy vocals, dark and fetishy."[2] While promoting the project, Chachki distanced herself from being identified as a singer, and said: "I never set out to be a popstar."[9]

Gagged consists of five dance-pop, electronic, and avant-garde tracks with "thumping" beats.[10][11] Music critics viewed the EP as a departure from the music released by previous RuPaul's Drag Race contestants, describing its sound as more experimental or moodier.[11][12] The songs are heavily influenced by sexual fetishism and sadomasochism.[1][2] Through their lyrics, Chachki addresses "gender roles and conformity, power play, exhibitionism, sex and confidence."[1][13] She found additional inspiration from her time working as an assistant to a dominatrix and a "mistress in a dungeon."[1][14][15] Oscar Raymundo wrote that the EP's title reflected how Chachki is "a fetish queen at heart."[2] The song's titles were noted for their explicitly sexual connotations by Salt Lake City Weekly's Tiffany Frandsen, who described them as "hid[ing] no shame, no secrets."[10]

Release and promotion

On June 30, 2015, Gagged was released as a digital EP.[17] It was also made available via streaming services, such as Amazon Music, Tidal, and Spotify.[18] During an interview with South Florida Gay News, Chachki said that remixes were being created for her songs.[7] She expressed a desire to incorporate the songs as a part of her aerial silk performances.[9]

The EP spawned two singles: "Bettie" and "Vanguard". The lead single "Bettie" was released on June 2, the day after her crowning as the winner of the seventh season of the reality competition series RuPaul's Drag Race.[12][15] Written by Tommy Lee, the song explores fetish roles, such as "dom versus sub, masculine versus femme", as well as "presentation versus reality."[19][20][21] The music video, filmed by director Michael Serrato, was released on June 1.[22] The video explores the theme of a double life, which Chachki said was inspired by Bettie Page's conversion to evangelical Christianity and her retirement from work as a pin-up model.[7][21] Images of whips, spanking, and boys wearing only underwear, are shown throughout the video.[19]

"Vanguard" was released as the second single on June 30; the music video was uploaded to Chachki's official YouTube account the previous day.[23][24] The lyrics revolve around protesting bigotry and hatred.[12] Filmed in Los Angeles, the music video was inspired by a negative encounter Chachki had in an Australian McDonald's.[20][25] In the video, Chachki forms a gang to fight back against a group of homophobic men. It also features scenes of Chachki performing aerial silk acrobatics.[26]

Critical reception

Gagged was praised by music critics for its sound and composition. Wire Magazine defined it as "the perfect soundtrack to her dark, sexy and daring persona."[8] GossipGay called the EP "refreshing" and "fun",[3] and Stephen Wyatt of Out & About Newspaper wrote that it included "dynamic club tracks that make you want to get up and dance."[4] The EP was described as "fierce and catchy" by Tiffany Frandsen.[10] The website Accidental Bear found it to be a collection of "hard-pounding, dynamic club tracks."[13]

The EP's singles and music videos received positive attention from critics. Frandsen applauded Chachki's confidence as the highlight of the music videos.[10] The music and the accompanying videos were praised by Glamcult and World of Wonder.[1][27] The release of the EP and the video for "Vanguard" were included in The Advocate's list of 7 Things That Are Everything This Week.[23] The single "Bettie" was chosen as an example of the best music released by a RuPaul's Drag Race contestant by the website Pitchfork's Andy Emitt. Emitt praised it for being transgressive, writing that both the song and the video represented "the boldness of the rising generation of queer and trans* artists who eschew comfortably 'safe' representations of sexuality in favor of discomforting the audience they still mean to attract… and arouse."[16]

Commercial performance

In the United States, Gagged reached a peak position of number 16 on the Heatseekers Albums Billboard chart, and remained on the chart for two weeks.[28] It peaked number 48 on the Independent Albums Billboard Chart,[29] and number 11 on the Dance/Electronic Albums Billboard Chart.[30] It was Chachki's first entry on a Billboard chart, and one of two releases from a RuPaul's Drag Race season seven constant to chart on Billboard. The second was Pearl's album Pleasure, which peaked at number 11 on the Dance/Electronic Albums Billboard chart.[31]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Bettie"
Lee3:09
2."Harlequin"  3:31
3."La Petite Mort"  2:53
4."Vanguard"  3:15
5."Show Off"  3:29
Total length:16:17
Notes
  • Track listing and credits from the album's liner notes. Songwriting and production credits for the following songs are unavailable: "Harlequin", "La Petite Mort", "Vanguard", and "Show Off".[5]

Personnel

Credits for Gagged per AllMusic[32] and liner notes.[5]

Management

  • Producer Entertainment Group LLC

Personnel

  • Tom Coyne – mastering
  • Tomas Costanza – producer, mixing
  • Violet Chachki – primary artist

Charts
Chart (2015) Peak
position
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[33] 16
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[34] 48
US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[35] 11

Release history
Country Date Format Label
Worldwide June 30, 2015 Digital download[17]
  • Sidecar Records
  • Producer Entertainment Group
Streaming[18]
gollark: Real programmers REMEMBER what type their variables are!
gollark: In CC, he calls everything `tRandomTable` and it is VERY IRRITATING.
gollark: Some days I'm tempted to rewrite half of potatOS to remove his evil formatting.
gollark: It would probably maybe work out.
gollark: Go back in time, stop dan200 from writing bad code, but also send SquidDev a copy of CC: Tweaked.

References
  1. Dalton, Paisley (June 29, 2015). "Violet Chachki's Album "Gagged" Drops Today + New Video "Vanguard" (NSFW)". World of Wonder. Archived from the original on November 23, 2016.
  2. Raymundo, Oscar (June 1, 2015). "A Conversation with Violet Chachki, Drag's Unapologetic New It-Girl". The Huffington Post. Archived from the original on June 2, 2015.
  3. "Interview with Violet Chachki". GossipGay. March 29, 2016. Archived from the original on November 23, 2016.
  4. Wyatt, Stephen (August 3, 2015). "An interview with Violet Chachki". Out & About Newspaper. Archived from the original on August 21, 2015.
  5. Gagged (Media notes). Violet Chachki. Sidecar Records, Producer Entertainment Group. 2015.CS1 maint: others (link)
  6. Petkus, Shelby Clark (July 16, 2015). "Roses Are Red, Violets Are Blue". Between the Lines. Archived from the original on November 23, 2016.
  7. Nahmod, David-Elijah (July 22, 2015). "Drag Race Winner Violet Chachki To Perform at The Manor". South Florida Gay News. Archived from the original on November 23, 2016.
  8. DJ FR8-O. "Gagged Queen – Violet Chachki Dominates South Florida". Wire Magazine. Archived from the original on November 28, 2016.
  9. Durden, Victoria (July 13, 2015). "Violet Chachki Talks Being The 'Shadiest' Drag Queen". Galore. Archived from the original on November 26, 2016.
  10. Frandsen, Tiffany (December 2, 2015). "Violet Chachki: The drag superstar brings her music (and larger-than-life persona) to Saltytown". Salt Lake City Weekly. Archived from the original on November 23, 2016.
  11. "Violet Chachki Releases 'Gagged' and "Vanguard" Music Video". Drag Near You. July 1, 2015. Archived from the original on November 23, 2016.
  12. Preston, Dominic (June 30, 2015). "Violet Chachki Launches 'Gagged' EP and Video for 'Vanguard'". Frontiers. Archived from the original on November 23, 2016.
  13. "Drag Race Winner Violet Chachki Reveals All In 'Kiss & Tell' Burlesque Tour". Accidental Bear. October 7, 2015. Archived from the original on November 23, 2016.
  14. Vivinetto, Gina (June 30, 2015). "Watch: Drag Race Winner Violet Chachki Drops Debut EP, Shares New 'Vanguard' Video". The Advocate. Archived from the original on November 23, 2016.
  15. Preston, Dominic (June 2, 2015). "Drag Race' Queens Violet, Ginger and Pearl Simultaneously Debut Their Music Videos". Frontiers. Archived from the original on November 23, 2016.
  16. Emitt, Andy (June 26, 2015). "The Best and Worst Music of RuPaul's Drag Divas". Pitchfork Media. Archived from the original on November 30, 2016.
  17. "Releases". AllMusic. June 30, 2015. Archived from the original on November 21, 2016.
  18. Gagged was released on various streaming services upon its release on June 30, 2015:
  19. Brix, Sabine (June 9, 2015). "Watch: Boys, Bondage, Bettie Page! It's Violet Chachki's New Music Video (NSFW)". Gay News Network. Archived from the original on November 23, 2016.
  20. Bricker, J. Denton (July 31, 2015). "'Drag Race' winner Violet Chachki is feeling in the pink, with a figure that leaves queens green with envy". Dallas Voice. Archived from the original on November 23, 2016.
  21. Reynolds, Daniel (June 2, 2015). "America's Next Drag Superstar Is 22, Genderqueer, and a Trans Activist". The Advocate. Archived from the original on November 23, 2016.
  22. "Violet Chachki – Bettie [Official]". YouTube. June 1, 2015. Archived from the original on November 25, 2016.
  23. "7 Things That Are Everything This Week". The Advocate. July 3, 2015. Archived from the original on November 23, 2016.
  24. "Violet Chachki – Vanguard [Official]". YouTube. June 1, 2015. Archived from the original on November 25, 2016.
  25. Holland, Scott. "Violet Chachki – RuPaul's Winner". Hot Spots!. Archived from the original on November 23, 2016.
  26. Hernandez, Justin (June 30, 2015). "RuPaul's Drag Race Winner Violet Chachki Is A "Vanguard" In New Music Video". Queerty. Archived from the original on November 23, 2016.
  27. "Violet Chachki gets cozy with Jules Faure". Glamcult. May 26, 2016. Archived from the original on November 23, 2016.
  28. "Chart Search". Billboard Heatseekers Albums for Violet Chachki. Archived from the original on November 21, 2016.
  29. "Chart Search". Billboard Independent Albums for Violet Chachki. Archived from the original on November 21, 2016.
  30. "Chart Search". Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums for Violet Chachki. Archived from the original on November 21, 2016.
  31. Caulfield, Keith (July 22, 2015). "'RuPaul's All Stars Drag Race' Returning for Second Season on Logo TV". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 23, 2016.
  32. "Credits". AllMusic. June 30, 2015. Archived from the original on November 21, 2016.
  33. "Violet Chachki Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
  34. "Violet Chachki Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
  35. "Violet Chachki Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
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