Author. Actor. Journalist. There are many strings to Tom Rasmussen’s bow, and all of these were strummed in unison during the making of his new remix album High Wire, featuring an all-star trans and queer lineup. Rasmussen starred in the music video to TAAHLIAH’s spiritual trance reimagining of “Will You Be Mine”, he spearheaded an open letter expressing solidarity with the UK’s trans community in the wake of the country’s draconian Supreme Court ruling, he secured the support of Canadian queer art collective General Idea for High Wire’s iconic cover; and now, below, he’s recorded conversations with each of the project’s globetrotting collaborators.
Together, these elements form a snapshot of queer existence in 2025 – one that emphasises joy and ingenuity in the face of wider backsliding across the UK and America. “It seems this moment calls for solidarity and togetherness,” says Rasmussen. “These songs are for the club, for the headphones, for moments of dancing, crying, loving, or simply being. So much of queer life is lived on a high wire: balancing joy and grief, celebration and resistance. That spirit runs through every track on the album.”
It’s a politics built on feeling – or rather feelings that have become politicised – that is also manifested in High Wire’s subtly subversive cover. Originally created by General Idea in 1984, who explored themes of sexuality at a time when LGBT spaces were being increasingly targeted by authorities in the US and Canada, the image of three poodles has since become emblematic of queer resistance, and it was during the making of the recent project that Rasmussen thought to approach the art collective’s last surviving member – AA Bronson.
“The three artists of General Idea – Jorge, Felix and I – created this self-portrait as Poodles at a time when admitting being gay meant death in the art world, but we wanted to display it loud and clear,” Bronson explains. “Note that the poodles have neither sex nor gender: in my opinion they are trans, and gloriously trans. The art critics thought our image stood for ‘working together.’ But I say it was love, that is L-O-V-E. And who represents love better than Tom Rasmussen?”
Indeed, in this spirit of love, Rasmussen has recorded conversations with the global network of trans and queer collaborators featured, each recontextualising Rasmussen’s deeply personal and choral original project into an eclectic dance-floor ready behemoth, spanning spoken word, techno house and more.
Below are excerpts from these correspondences, ranging from the relationship between marxism and clubbing to steamy stories set in a gay bar cubicle – and everything in between.
Tom Rasmussen: Is the organ innately gay?
Jeremiah Stephenson: Lots of organists are gay, but that’s art isn’t it? I would say the organ is innately trans, specifically trans masculine. Obvious phallic imagery aside, the organ is basically a sonic Gundam. It’s like a mech suit for someone who wants to be bigger and louder than they currently are. The roles available to professional organists are still highly male-coded, closely linked to traditional institutional power and demonstrations of a dominant kind of competence. Getting good at playing was my way into occupying a more masculine position in my immediate relationships as well as the only pleasurable embodied experience to someone suffering with untreated gender dysphoria.
TR: Have you seen the future? Where?
TAAHLIAH: In trans liberation.
TR: Do marxism and clubbing collide?
Karlie Marx: When someone takes conscious, practical steps in the direction of justice through their promoting, DJing, producing or partying… that’s where we get the spark. Anyone can throw a good party, or play a good set, but what are you trying to achieve? The joy of an incredible party can brighten someone’s month, but if you’ve not considered the economic angle of accessibility, or the social angle of representation, then not everyone will be there to receive that light. Clubbing – just like housing, healthcare or work – is simply another part of life where we have responsibilities to care for each other.
TR: What’s your favourite tempo? Mine is 150bpm. It’s halfway between 140 and 160.
KM: Anything between 100 and 130 – I love dance music and Northern Soul, it’s what I was raised on. It all exists there. But also 138 – I like to resist my own instincts, and so 138 is not between 100 and 130.
TR: What’s the weirdest thing you know about the synth?
Margo Broom: In the firmware of a prophet 5 rev3.3. I found the mantra ‘om mani padme hung hrih’ which is the mantra of Avalokiteshvara, the great bodhisattva of compassion. Dave Smith implanted this mantra when he coded the computer in the synth… for good luck. He also put little graphics on the circuit boards – like Shiva, sort of little easter eggs for future tech heads.
TR: Should all music have a purpose?
Howey: I think it’s maybe a lil dictatorial to expect music to serve a specific purpose. A person will lend it their context; a break up; being high; running fast; and I like that it can affect in a million different ways.
Choral music always felt so posh and inaccessible to me. I’m working class so I did it as a fuck you to my internalised classism. Why can’t I write psalms about gay sex and trans love?
– Tom Rasmussen
TR: Your remix is so full of hope. Where are you finding hope today?
Lulu Manning: I’m finding hope today in potential, it’s a beautiful thing. I think it requires hope to locate a space for possibility in the many different aspects of our lives right now. I feel a lot of hope in my relationship with my partner; to get to do life with someone in this way, to talk about the possibilities of the future together, is something I never thought I’d have. So, the world we have together brings me a lot of hope.
LM: There are 3 gorgeous psalms on Live Wire. What inspired you to write these as psalms?
TR: I love choral music, but it always felt so posh and inaccessible to me. I’m working class so I did it as a fuck you to my internalised classism. Why can’t I write psalms about gay sex and trans love? I had help from Kieran Brunt, who was mind blowing on choral lore.
TR: What makes a bad piece of art?
Jeanie: Imitation, inauthenticity, desperation for visibility. It’s all about intention.
TR: How did you make this song so sexy? Was it sexy to make?
I.Jordan: It was very sexy to make. For the bass line I followed a YouTube tutorial on ‘how to make a Benni Benassi – satisfaction bass line’ as that’s a pretty sexy one, isn’t it? I also wanted to create layers of sexy sounds and textures, like slight ruffles, breaths and movement. There’s a bit in the breakdown where there’s some reverb of a crowd and I imagined that part to be when we go handheld from the dance floor into the darkroom…
TR: Have gay bars changed? Should gay bars change? Should they last forever? Should gay bars make mistakes?
Jeremiah Atherton Lin: I’d say gay bars should last forever if they constantly evolve the meaning of ‘gay’. And of ‘bar’, for that matter. If they’re doing that, whether in huge or tiny ways, yes, vive le bar gay! But one thing I hope they keep on doing is to challenge notions of good taste.
JAL: What’s the first gay bar bathroom memory that springs to mind?
TR: The first one that comes to mind was at an amazing party called Sextou earlier this year. I met a handsome man, and we spent maybe two hours in a bathroom stall. It was unforgettable. If you’re reading this… text me back xx
TR: What does really good love feel like?
Tsatsamis: Getting absolutely railed and knowing you always have someone’s shoulders to go on at a festival.
TR: What’s the most fabulous thing you’ve ever seen on the dance floor?
Luke Howard (Horse Meat Disco co-founder): [It] was at Sound Factory Bar in NYC back in the 90s. Two beautiful Black queens were hustling (partner dancing) to ‘Dancin’’ by Stephanie Mills. The lead did this move where the queen following was spun down to the floor, facedown, and then whipped back up to standing in one fell swoop. It was a stunning bit of choreo.
TR: Where do you start on someone else’s song?
Planningtorock: I always just ask for the vocal. Never use any of the music from a song. And I love to write a whole new song around vocal – sometimes pitching the entire vocal or even each syllable to create a new melody.
TR: What’s the most beautiful thing you’ve seen from the DJ booth?
J. Aria: When my eyes lock with with people I love and they who know exactly why I’ve played the song they’re hearing and who I’m playing it for.
TR: If we were to make a video for this song, what would we be doing in it?
Saint Torrente: Me, you, full leather, a lime scooter, the blue hour before night becomes night, which in the summer can go on for ages. Romance ensues.
TR: Should writing be harder or easier than life?
Travis Alabanza: You know I’m not a binary thinker, baby! Life is hard and writing makes it easier. Writing gets hard, so living life then makes the writing better. It’s all a cycle until I get dizzy and need to sit down in the smoking area.
TR: What are you happy about right now?
Jen Cardini: Despite everything that’s happening in the world right now, I truly believe this. I’m happy about how people are risking their lives and jobs to fight for the things they believe in. I’m happy about my friends or when I hear incredible music or see powerful art. I’m happy in the park on a sunny day. I’m happy because I get to do what I love every day, still, after 30 years. I’m happy because I’m in love.
Tom Rasmussen’s High Wire is out now.