A Special Porncast for PRNCPTL: X3BUTTERFLY in Conversation with Rakans

Rakans: When enters x3butterfly a room, it’s not quiet. It’s wings, glitch, glitter, chaos. The kind of presence that makes you whisper to your friend, “Who the hell is that; and how do I get invited to their afterparty?” From Detroit roots to CalArts experiments, Berlin drag stages to New York sweatboxes, butterfly has built a career out of refusing to be predictable. Genre? Fluid. Gender? Fluid. Fashion? Fluid. Energy? Off the charts. This is not just another DJ. This is the rave in human form.

Interview by Rakans – Answers by X3butterfly

Rakans: Salam butterfly love!! What’s your mood today; chaotic, angelic, or both? Also, hit us with your pronouns and the one track you’d happily let haunt your dreams forever.

X3BUTTERFLY: Helloooo sweet !! Thanks for the chat and kind introduction. Today is certainly chaotic– but we can say chaotic lawful. We haven’t made it to chaotic evil today, fortunately. A tinge of angelic? Mostly just anxious 😉 Pronouns are they and either energy flow by Ryuichi Sakamoto or Debussy’s Claire De Lune. 

Rakans: Your life has been a triple espresso of scenes: Detroit basements, CalArts experiments, Berlin drag chaos, NYC raves. Be real: which city gave you the most scandalous story you’ll never admit to your parents?

X3BUTTERFLY: Well, Berlin was certainly the messiest era of my life… Which probably equates to the most scandalous. Can mess and scandal be mutually exclusive or are scandals inherently messy? I guess that depends on who is defining what is or isn’t scandal. The most innocuous things make headlines these days, that are packaged as scandal. Anyways, we don’t need to go into gritty detail here, but everyone knows what’s happening in Berlin. Let’s just say I could write three autobiographies worth of juicy content by now. Or depressing.

Rakans: You started in performance art and spoken word, and now you’re making clubs combust. If your sets are a continuation of your performance art, does that make the crowd your unpaid cast members, or are you the diva starring in their fever dream?

X3BUTTERFLY: Let’s get them unionized! They deserve pay. 

..I just can’t afford it. 

Rakans. You threw Guanajuato’s first queer party. Wild. Historic. Probably messy. Was there a moment that night where you thought, “Damn, we really might go to jail for this,” or was it pure glory start to finish?

X3BUTTERFLY: HA. The biggest laugh is that the guy who lent the equipment ruined the party. I wish I could say that it was pure glory, but it was actually insurmountably disappointing for me. The guy was insistent on cutting my set short in case the police showed up, but Guanajuato city is relatively small. It’s not completely unlikely, but police intervention isn’t as rampant there as some of the neighboring cities. At around 45 minutes in, he just plugs in his USB and begins track searching. When I didn’t let him take over seamlessly, he whispered to me that I needed to practice more. Since it was early on into my career, it really upset me. I left my own party after that. The worst part is that he was able to play a six hour tech house set into the sunrise for his non queer friends.. And of course, zero police.

Mm..The beginning was fun!

Rakans: We know you’re genre fluid, style fluid, gender fluid; basically fluid as hell. But tell us: what’s one thing in your life that is not fluid? The weirdest, most non-negotiable hill you’ll die on.



X3BUTTERFLY: Ugh, my diet. I’ve been gluten and dairy free for over 10 years now. The connotation of being GF still feels embarrassing to me so instead I just emphatically own it. I will certainly climb the largest hill possible, alone, through a blizzard, just to die rather than feel the inflammation and itchiness from gluten.  

Rakans:  Tabloid corner: true or false; there was once a gig you almost canceled because the green room didn’t have oat milk? And if we let you go full diva, what’s the most outrageous rider request you’d actually slip in, just to see if people would cave?

X3BUTTERFLY: Girl how lame do you think I am?! Oat milk?! Never. No sparkling water would be a different story however….

I think I am a diva, but don’t act like one. Someone recently suggested I should request supplements since I don’t ask for alcohol. Vodka? No thanks. But please, I need some more Iron and Slippery Elm.

Rakans: NYC nightlife is a monster: beautiful, sweaty, exhausting. What’s the most unhinged thing a raver has screamed at you mid-set? And did it make you laugh, cry, or want to change careers?

X3BUTTERFLY: I guess the degrading comment in Mexico was the most unhinged comment. NYC? Aside from some annoying requests, nothing too unhinged. At least that I can remember. I did laugh when the first track I played during one of my sets was only around twenty seconds in until a guy came up to the booth to tell me I’m killing it. I was just like wow, thanks.. I guess

Rakans: Your sound feels like techno folklore but also like a rave exorcism. If electronic music in 2030 had an actual flavor, what’s it gonna taste like; sugar crash, burnt wires, tequila, battery acid, or grandma’s cookies?

X3BUTTERFLY: That depends on which corner of electronic music we’re talking about. It certainly ranges from battery acid to grandma’s cookies. It’s like Bertie Bott’s Jelly Beans. Good luck!

Rakans: And for the grand finale, give us your spiciest DJ booth memory: the moment so unfiltered, so chaotic, you probably shouldn’t even be sharing it… but you are sharing it.

X3BUTTERFLY: Sometimes when I have an anxiety attack, I forget everything. I recently played a set where I was overstimulated by some noise pollution that fueled my already present general anxiety. I literally forgot how to DJ for a few seconds. I turned the channel off completely and back on again, and then off before turning up a different channel. I felt very disassociated for the remainder of the set. Is that spicy? That doesn’t feel as unfiltered as you’re looking for. If you wanted something juicier.. You’ll have to ask me IRL 😉

Cheers to that hopefully never happening again !!

On my behalf & of the PRNCPTL family, we love you & can’t wait to dance together!

When the wings close and the booth lights fade, x3butterfly is never really gone. They’ve already scattered pieces of themselves across the dance floor: sweat, laughter, maybe a scandal or two. And that’s the beauty of it. Every set is both a confession and a transformation. If you’re lucky enough to catch one, don’t just dance. Witness.