Before finding God in Chicago, Proxoxie hit the Detroit scene with 2021 EP “Dream Sequence,” in which a serial killer archetype yearns for deliverance in pop melodies over trap beats. Drawn to the sonic genre-blending of scenecore, yet repelled by its subculture, Proxoxie eclipsed her identity with uncanny personas inspired by the true crime, internet horror, and fanfiction she blogs about, finding not just escape from a toxic community, but agency in the vengeful victim to cold-case criminal narrative. After Proxoxie’s second concept, “Fanfiction EP” her first brush with burnout left her longing to push the boundaries of alternative music further than individualized reactions to disturbing grotesquerie. SoundCloud’s exclusive “Live, Laugh, Lobotomy,” in a series of singles, charted the path for Proxoxie to depart from angst and dig deeper beside trusted collaborators. Her debut, “Darling, It Wouldn’t Be A Party Without You,” packs Proxoxie’s authentic voice into a hardstyle EDM punch. That record gave us realism—forthcoming “Hotel Proxoxie” stages surreal journeys to self-acceptance in seven sinful acts, over twinkling elevator muzak.
—By Olivia J. Loftis