Gavin Russom, a musician and synthesizer designer who’s been part of LCD Soundsystem since 2010, has opened up about her identity as a transgender person. According to a long profile with Pitchfork, Russom—who recently appeared with LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy on Saturday Night Live, and who’s previously released music with Black Leotard Front, Black Meteoric Star and The Crystal Ark—will perform her first public show as a trans woman next week, DJing at the monthly Femme’s Room party at Berlin Nightclub in Chicago on July 13.
“I feel very blessed because the world that I operate in is relatively open-minded,” Russom said in the interview. “I mean, the electronic music world can be extremely bro-y and also close-minded and sometimes even worse than maybe a more traditional office job. However, at least where I’ve found myself, the people who are around me have been very supportive.” Russom—who’s built synths for a number of New York electronic artists, earning herself the nickname “The Wizard”—also had to deal with her own inherent prejudices. “I have spoken publicly about trans rights previous to my transition,” Russom notes, “And if anybody would have asked me, ‘Do you think a trans woman can be a synthesizer technician?’ I would have said absolutely—a trans woman can do anything she wants. But I noticed as I started transitioning, there were all of this internalized transphobia and all kinds of other garbage that I actually carried with me.”