EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW: moon baby and Pittsburgh producer Troxum collaborate on upcoming new track "Yours Truly"

Despite moving to Philadephia a few years ago, drag queen and music artist moon baby still has a deep connection to Pittsburgh. It was here that moon baby — the persona of Sam Perry — performed for years and created music with local producers like Wise Blood.

Now moon baby has a new single “Yours Truly” and forthcoming album dedicated to the raves, parties, and general nightlife that she says inspired so much of her work.

“I want to show appreciation for, honestly, where I wrote most of this music,” says moon baby. “So much of what I write is in direct response to being at a party and listening to DJs.”

Hear a preview of  "Yours Truly" below:

“Yours Truly,” a dreamy, sumptuous electronic track defined by moon baby's soaring vocals, marks her first time working with Pittsburgh-based producer Troxum, even though they were fans of each other's work. The two collaborated from their respective cities across the state, and moon baby says the project has given them something fulfilling to do during the pandemic when live events are not an option.

“It's been really fun because we're sitting around for a year with little creative outlet,” says moon baby. “I think we both were so ready to do something.”

While the track is new, moon baby says she originally wrote the song around six years ago when she still lived in Pittsburgh and even performed a simplified version of it.

“A lot of people who went to my live show in Pittsburgh will know this song when they hear it,” says moon baby.

For “Yours Truly,” she says Troxum took on the challenge of building a song around her vocal tracks. From there, Troxum suggested they embark on a three-song EP, and he sent moon baby a Google Drive folder of some unused music.

“I was like, I think I already have five songs for these,” says moon baby. “We just kind of went for it, and it's been really fun to have that back and forth.”

She says the collaboration also marks a new chapter in her music, describing it as a bit of a departure from the work she did with Wise Blood.

“That music is very bedroom pop, which is lo-fi and kinda feels like a house party,” says moon baby. “This music really grows from mine and Troxum's mutual love for the rave, for queer nightlife, for those moments where you really lose yourself.”

The other tracks that make up the album fit with the theme of celebrating the club and party culture, particularly in Pittsburgh, that moon baby holds dear. For example, she says one track, “Blue Eyes,” is about meeting her partner at Hot Mass, the popular after-hours dance party that has been a mainstay in the city for years.

She and Troxum will also release a remix of “Yours Truly” — a career first for moon baby, who says she has never remixed her music before — to reinforce the theme. The remix comes courtesy of Tom DeBlase, a Rochester-based DJ who also runs Sole Rehab, described on its Facebook page as a monthly, queer-focused rager that "showcases regional talent in the underground techno and house community."

Overall, Troxum describes the album as "an experimental synthesis of ideas."

"My older work was colder instrumental electronic music and moon baby's previous releases were driven by Wise Blood's psychedelic collage sampling style of production," says Troxum. "So we are both doing something very different. I knew I wanted to make a synth-pop album, but I think we've both pushed each other to radicalize the songwriting we do."

“Yours Truly” will officially release on Fri., March 5. On that day, fans can also expect what moon baby describes as a “beautiful CGI music video” for "Yours Truly" by Stacie Ant that will see an exclusive release through Gayletter Magazine.