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With #BUKU quickly approaching, I wanted to feature an artist that I stumbled upon within the New Orleans nightlife. I came across Bouffant Bouffant randomly one night while he was playing the notorious venue The Saint. I have followed his music and journey ever since and have not been disappointed. Check out the interview with him and bop one of his mixes at the end.
Can you give readers a glimpse into who you are, where you're based and your style of music.
Hi! I'm Brett LaBauve aka Bouffant Bouffant. I'm from Hackberry, LA but live between New Orleans and New York City now. I'm 1/3 of queer rave collective Trax Only and 1/2 of diva house DJ duo, Babygirl. My sound spans Electro, House, and Techno. I like to think I can play any room big or small. How did you get into music, was there an artist that you can think of that really inspired you? I got into dancing all night at The Saint bar in New Orleans listening to Disko Obscura label boss Joey Buttons. Later I discovered House and Techno music traveling through Europe for my first time, at parties like Cocktail d'Amore and Berghain/Panorama Bar in Berlin.
You are a part of a lot of events in the New Orleans and New York circuits, can you tell us a bit about those events and what you have coming up.
My monthly party, Gimme a Reason has been running for about 7 or 8 years now. It plays host to national and international DJs as well as the local kids coming up, mostly queer but not exclusively. Trax Only is a rave collective that I'm part of that produces larger, one off parties, usually in warehouses. My DJ duo Babygirl consists of myself and my best friend Johnny Sanders and we snagged a monthly residency at Black Flamingo in Brooklyn this year. The day after I play BUKU I'm heading to NYC then Europe to kick off a one month tour that I'm very excited about. What does it mean to you to be on the BUKU 2020 lineup?
It means a lot to me to be recognized and appreciated as a gay man that mostly plays underground queer parties through the year and to get the chance to play a more mainstream festival. Gay it up a bit. As a queer artist, what is your perception of queer representation in events and festival circuits?
I think that BUKU and other festivals and clubs are definitely making visible efforts to include a more diverse lineup of performers including women, people of color, and artists from the LGBTQ+ community. The mainstream market is still dominated by white men but it's nice to see strides being made towards a more diverse and inclusive moment.
What do you hope to see in the industry in this coming year?
I hope to see the push for more diverse lineups, including more marginalized artists on the lineups. I mean what's more fun than a raging queen doing her thing.
What is coming up in 2020 that you are absolutely stoked about?
I'm really excited about touring Europe and continuing to travel in the US to party with my tight knit web of underground queer party people. I've been working hard in the studio producing original tracks and remixes and look forward to them being heard this year.