Let's Talk About Chemsex EP Launch

Let’s Talk about Chemsex Listening Party is the public launch of the 12-inch double A-side single: Anticipation = Anxiety and A Warm Hug. The two tracks have been collectively produced by participants of a series of workshops exploring experiences of sex on chems and broader themes of desire, intimacy, consent and respect in the LGBTQ+ community.  Conceived and led by Harold Offeh and supported by artist Jak Skot, participants used writing, drawing and performance to identify key issues. All those contributing to the two singles have demonstrated extraordinary honesty, bravery, candour and intimacy about experiences that can be clouded in silence or shame.

Music production and recording have been facilitated by Brighter Sound, and producer Niall O’Conghaile aka The Niallist.

Let’s Talk About Chemsex, was inspired by American Hip-hop group Salt N Pepa’s singles ‘Let’s Talk about Sex’ and ‘Let’s Talk about AIDS.’ Both singles used popular culture as a platform for breaking a culture of silence around women’s sexual desire and then the perceived taboo of HIV/AIDS. 

Anticipation = Anxiety 

Is an unashamedly electro-synth fantasy that speaks directly to anticipation, desire and sex. We hear multiple voices calling for needs and desires as anticipation and expectation of fulfilment build. However, the dance beats take us to another place. The track highlights not only a real need for unconditional acceptance and personal freedom but also associated anxiety and fears. 

A Warm Hug

Is an extended laid back 8-minute track that speaks of longing and desire. The track is a mellow musing on an absence of intimacy. Contemplative and reflective, the voices speak like a stream of consciousness. ‘Paddling in the warmth of possibility’ the track invites and seduces listeners to reflect on their own longings, desires, hopes and fears. 

The Listening Party at Manchester Art Gallery is presented in the context of a lounge party, with cushions, mats and bean bags available allowing people to experience the sound in a relaxed, companionable environment.

Harold Offeh’s lyric generator will allow you to write and formulate your own lyrics based on the key themes emerging from the day.

The event will also include a discussion with key contributors including project participant Bradley, Cheddar Gorgeous, Niall O’Conghaile and Professor Rob Ralphs. The discussion will reflect on the production of the music tracks, developing work in response to experiences of Chemsex and a wider conversation about intimacy, desire and consent. 

Let’s Talk About Chemsex is led by Portraits of Recovery in collaboration and partnership with Manchester Art Gallery, Brighter Sound and music producer Niall O’Conghaile aka The Niallist.

Listen to the E.P. on Bandcamp here.

Speaker Details:

Cheddar Gorgeous (A.K.A Dr Michael Atkins), is a Drag performer, visual artist and academic based in Manchester. He is a founding member of Manchester’s monthly home of the fabulous, Cha Cha Boudoir, and defines himself on Instagram as a Unicorn and super-hero and idealist. In his performance work, Cheddar is particularly interested in disrupting the gender conventions often inherent in UK drag, by mixing and playing with signifiers of masculine and feminine beauty.

Niall O’Conghaile aka The Niallist is a music and podcast producer with over two decades of production experience. He is based at Salford’s Islington Mill and is Resident DJ at the legendary Manchester queer club Bollox. He has released music under a range of names over the past decade and currently produces the monthly “Islington Mill And…” podcast as well as the weekly Dead Air live DJ streams.

Bradley is a participant in the Let’s Talk About Chemsex workshops. Based in Manchester for over 15 years now, it’s the place he now proudly calls home. Originally, from Lancashire, growing up in the magical shadow of Pendle Hill, it was inevitable he wasn’t going to turn out quite ‘like the other boys’! He is learning now what a gift and opportunity that is. Cinema, music, literature and art amaze him and bring daily joy, comfort and expression.

Rob Ralphs is a Professor of Criminology and Social Policy at Manchester Metropolitan University. He has conducted predominantly Greater Manchester-based research on drug use, youth gangs, drug markets, drug treatment and drug policy since the late 90s. Rob leads the annual research project ‘Greater Manchester Drug Trends (GM TRENDS)’ funded by the Greater Manchester Mayor’s office, which last year included a focus on ‘chemsex substances’ (‘G’ and crystal meth) and he recently conducted a Manchester Chemsex Partnership funded research project for the LGBT Foundation on the development of a digital chemsex space.

Jonas Roberts (Senior Programme Manager, Brighter Sound) leads the curation and delivery of Brighter Sound’s emerging artist programme. He is in addiction recovery, interested in ways of navigating the music industry, with a focus on club music and culture in particular, through a recoverist lens. Brighter Sound is a music development organisation rooted in Manchester and open to the world. For 24 years they’ve been creating transformative experiences for young creatives, emerging artists and up-and-coming music professionals.