Their performer name is Niña Chispa, their band is called Perrx, and they go by Ju. You can find their music on Spotify and they currently play solo shows virtually as well as in-person in outside spaces in New York City. When I first met Ju they were fifteen and we attended a concert together. While dancing next to each other, suddenly, the lead singer pulled Ju onto the stage. They were backlit by the bright lights while I stood below gazing upward. It was as if they were cherry-picked from adolescence by forces outside of ourselves: destined for stardom. From that day forward, I (like many others) assumed the position of an adoring fan. Their music career took on a concrete form when they began playing shows in their punk band at fifteen as pictured below.
Flash forward from fifteen to twenty-three, Ju sat alongside me earlier this year in an outdoor picnic alongside the North-East Los Angeles hillside. Their evolution as an artist has shapeshifted and evolved from the scene in LA to NYC. They are both a vocalist and producer creating experimental pop. In the genreless age, a mixture of electronic/dance music is soon to set the stage in music spaces as the sounds of Arca, FKA Twigs, Santigold, Mula play on a loop in Ju’s mind. The infusion of other genres is a reconciliation process for the multiple musical spaces Ju inhabits. Punk has an underlying presence as the genesis story for Ju as a performer. But, the development of their musical practice began through exploring Son Jarocho, a traditional music form from Veracruz (the South of Mexico). The practice is a call and response where taking space through sound requires projection of voice and presence. This grounding act catapulted Ju into a state of presence while in musical spaces that were unknown beforehand. “What Son Jarocho did was show me how powerful music was in creating community,” Ju said. From this tradition, they created their punk band Perrx. The practice of community was rediscovered through Son Jarocho tradition. Ju described the process as “Being heard and having your voice reflected back to you.”
This fandango pictured above was a meet-up between the Son Jarocho and Bullerengue (traditional Afro-Colombian music) communities in NYC that Ju organized in the summer of 2019.
Having a leading presence in traditional music spaces can be difficult as a woman. Furthermore, as a queer/non-binary person, the defining lines get even blurrier. Ju’s presence within the NorthEast Los Angeles music community as a Mexican American woman had meant so much to me in terms of admiration. This iteration of themselves as a non-binary person might be even more meaningful in the healing effects it could have on the music community overall. Gender has been an ever-present thought for Ju but, it came to the forefront upon further self-introspection. Although gender has always been circulating within Ju’s mindscape the conclusion was that being non-binary aligned with who they are. As a queer person entering these traditional music spaces, the biological role as a female may not currently resonate as a non-binary adult. But, Ju distills the positives from traditional music such as community above all else. Then the pandemic hit and all of the outlets where they usually expressed themselves in music shut down.
Pictured above is Ju and their bandmates from Perrx.
This worldly shift gave new meaning to Ju’s solo work. Being heard and taking up musical space in a room alone is just as present as it was in a crowded jam. Music for Ju currently has been a healing space where they can simply show up and create. Each song is an experience of processing, unpacking, and healing. Their music invites others into a self-reflective state where the sonic intertwines with the soul. Drawing on the meditative simplicity of punk where a sentence is repeated continually just like a mantra, Ju’s music has the strains of multiple genres compounding in on one another. Alternatively, Ju also has music drawn on the grandiose poetic sound structures of Latin America. Both exist paradoxically in Ju’s work which is as multidimensional as the artist themselves. Stripping away the preconceived notions of what a song “should” sound like, Ju aligns their notion of non-binary presence to music itself.
“Being non-binary for me means recognition of an expansiveness that can’t be put into a binary. It isn’t a fixed thing; it allows me to be fluid and flexible with my own multitudes. I hope I can embody that in my own music as well.”
What can we expect from Ju’s new music? Currently, it takes form in a meditative practice where they are connecting with their own voice recording themselves, being aware of the vibrations of voice in their body reverberating throughout. The power that our voice has to move energy is found in the grounding works of Ju. These vocal layers are raw time capsules of the different spaces Ju navigated within. From uprooting their life in New York to move to Los Angeles, to asking their parents to use they/them pronouns in a language that is heavily gendered, Ju’s music captures the moments that are most affecting them. Their work both solo and in a band invites healing and grounds listeners. If you are interested in hearing them play they are currently based in New York City. Their performer name is Niña Chispa and their band is called Perrx. Follow them on Instagram as nina.chispa perrxband
Interested in seeing them perform?!
Here is a link to Niña Chispa x Transcelestial Performance:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ef2AKvW74I
Here is a link to their music:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/61wwxzdbDPX2ui3b0cuSgt?si=fc862220780549f2
Here is a playlist of some musical inspirations made by Ju for interested listeners:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3KRDB0bBIvpe6iLV94AuTh?si=b6a454fddb4d457e
Written by Paloma Macias