You know that scene in Blade 2 when they’re at Club Hell? Okay, now take away Ron Perlman and think about a scary femme leather outfitted person. Now add two more people. Cool, you have the Chicago trio, Pixel Grip. Their forthcoming third studio album, Percepticide: The Death of Reality, is full of songs to dance to under a blood-filled sprinkler system.
Known for their seductive, avant-garde aesthetic and electrifying live performances, Pixel Grip has cultivated a cult following through relentless touring and an unapologetic exploration of themes rooted in desire, power, and liberation, amassing over 7-million streams to date. In 2024, they toured as direct support for HEALTH and DEHD, followed by a sold-out North American headline run, including a standout performance at Chicago’s Riot Fest.
Pixel Grip's underground anthems “ALPHAPUSSY” and “Demon Chaser” have caught the eye of high-end fashion houses and have been featured on runway shows for Versace and Alexandre Vauthier.
I caught up with Pixel Grip's Rita Lukea and Jonathon Freund to talk about the new album, their history together, and everything inbetween.
You just released a music video for your new single, “Split." What can you share about that track?
Rita Lukea: I suppose it started when I was noodling around on my Novation Bass Station. When I composed the bassline I knew that I was onto something. It felt menacing and dark, and it reminded me of the feeling you get when you’re obsessively ruminating about something. The punchline, “split," popped in my head, and I realized all the different meanings behind it.
I had to reverse engineer the joke. How do I set this up? From there everything else locked in. The verse, the pre chorus, the lyrics all came to me very quickly. Sometimes songs are slow and fickle, and sometimes they drop out of the sky. This one was definitely extruded from the cosmos and came together very naturally.
Jonathon Freund: We took Rita’s demo into Joo Joo Ashworth’s studio space in LA- for the first time, we all worked together on this song after essentially breaking up. It felt like the first time we were able to come together in years and work creatively on something new.
There was magic in the studio the day we recorded it, I got to use an old dusty synthesizer i’ve never played to create some sounds I’m really proud of (thanks to the mushrooms I ate beforehand).
How was that different from the last two singles you’ve released, “Stamina” and “Bet You Do."?
Rita: “Stamina” and “Bet You Do.” were written on the spot in Joo Joo Ashworth’s studio when I went out to LA to do a three day session with him. We wrote "Bet You Do." the first day, "Stamina" the second. Those two songs were definitely more collaborative and more improvisational.
Compared to “Split," which I wrote alone in my bedroom. I recorded this shitty little demo and then showed it to my bandmates and producers asking them “what do you think? Should we finish this?”, and luckily they thought it was worth a damn.
How has writing “Split” felt compared to when you started and were writing your first single, “Soft Peaks”?
Rita: I think the lyrics I wrote earlier in my career are less refined and less honed in on a central theme. I think I was still figuring out how to write songs and hooks, and what a chorus really means. I definitely had a more stream of consciousness, diary entry style writing. I like the line “when you look into the water do you see yourself or do you see coins?” referencing the Greek myth of Narcissus.
But ultimately I don't really know what “Soft Peaks” is about. And that's okay! But I like this new style of writing I’ve crafted. You know exactly what “Split” is about.
Jonathan: “Soft Peaks” feels young, naive, and wide-eyed, in the best way possible. There’s been so much learning and refinement since that song came out in 2017. We’ve all just seriously upgraded at our craft, which is why “Split” sounds so good.
It’s been six years since your first album, Heavy Handed, came out. How have you changed since then? What’s stayed the same and feels like second nature on Percepticide?
Jonathan: Wow, so much has changed, and those six years feel like so much longer. Heavy handed was very much a DIY affair, and now with Percepticide, we have looked to additional musicians and producers for help. Personally, my biggest takeaway with the new release is harnessing “it takes a village” energy.
It was a challenge for me moving from such a home-grown project to something wider reaching with more outside input, but witnessing the end result, it truly feels like the project has grown larger than the sum of its parts. It feels very special.
I think a lot about behind the scenes videos of Studio Ghibli; Miyazaki is spearheading the process and direction of the films, and at the same time, there is such a cohesive and united team of animators, editors, soundtrack composers, and so forth.
The films wouldn’t have the same magic if it were Miyazaki painstakingly animating every single frame, creating the storyboard and script all by himself. Simply less of those films would exist if that were the case! The structure feels completely Japanese to me, very non-American, and I like that. That’s a spirit that I try to embody going forward.
You said before that you linked up as a trio through mutual love of Chicago’s underground club scene. Has it grown alongside you since 2018? Do you still find inspiration there?
Jonathan: We knew each other long before we even knew that a queer club scene existed. It was a matter of just finding these spaces later in life- like it was always in alignment, I just had to grow into that part of myself.
I love queer club spaces and I’m very inspired by DJs, but I think Pixel Grip as an artistic entity exists in a different domain than these club spaces. I think that makes us more exciting- the queer club streak is there, but there are so many other elements we are free to incorporate.
With a stack of music videos, an Audiotree session, and a tour alongside a band you did a remix for all under your belt, what’s yet to come to fruition for you?
Rita: I’m not really attached to any outcome with the project, my dream is that I get to create music and bring people together. I have grown to love the production that goes into creating a live show: the lights, the sound, the stage design. The performance art. I would like to keep honing that craft and making the stage production bigger and more innovative.
I want to create a show for people that is absolutely heart stopping and riveting. There’s a lot of work to do in that regard and I have big dreams and big stages I want to play.
Jonathan: I’m hungry to get to work on the next album. Finally get to Europe. More lasers at our shows.
What can we expect in the near future? How about the not so near future?
Rita: Well our third album, Percepticide: The Death of Reality, will be coming out very soon. I’m absolutely brimming with pride about this body of work and I cannot wait to show it to the world. I’ve continued to write and collect demos since this latest album was recorded, and we’ve really locked into a groove, so I think there will be less time between this release and the next one.
Any local groups you’d like to shout out? What about influences near and far, musical or otherwise?
Rita: Since “Split” just came out, I’ll say that I was very inspired by Jack White’s style of writing lyrics. Specifically I had a come to Jesus moment when I threw on Get Behind Me Satan on a drive to the suburbs. I realized that every bar that Jack White writes has intention, has a punchline, or uses some sort of literary device - like alliteration or double entendre. I wanted to write a song that was clever and that had comedy sewn into the lyrics. I even do a southern drawl trying to emanate that energy.
There is so much talent in Chicago and It’s been so cool to see my friends grow and flourish. Shout out to Body Shop, AAAYYYAAA, Club Drugs, No Men, Blood Club, Ganser, None of Your Concern, Beau Wanzer, Cae Monae, Panic Priest, Divino Nino… I’m sure I’m forgetting some super obvious ones, no shade!
The last word is yours.
Thanks for listening and supporting Pixel Grip, stay cunty.
Yours eternally,
Lukea
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Percepticide: The Death of Reality is out June 12th (vinyl pre-order).
Pixel Grip on social media: Instagram
Tour dates:
9/23 - St. Louis, MO @ OFF Broadway
9/25 - Dallas, TX @ Deep Ellum Art Co.
9/26 - Austin, TX @ TBD
9/27 - Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall
9/29 - Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
9/30 - Durham, NC @ Motorco
10/1 - Philadelphia, PA @ Ukie Club
10/3 - Washington, DC @ DC9
10/4 - Brooklyn, NY @ Baby’s All Right
10/5 - Boston, MA @ Middle East
10/7 - Montreal, QC @ Foufones
10/8 - Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace
10/9 - Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick
10/21 - Minneapolis, MN @ Turf Club
10/22 - Omaha, NE @ Reverb Lounge
10/24 - Denver, CO @ Ophelia’s
10/25 - Salt Lake City, UT @ State Room
10/27 - Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar
10/28 - Las Vegas, NV @ Swan Dive
10/29 - San Diego, CA @ Quartyard
10/31 - Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theatre
11/1 - San Francisco, CA @ Substance Fest
11/4 - Portland, OR @ Revolution Hall
11/5 - Vancouver, BC @ The Pearl
11/6 - Seattle, WA @ Neumos
11/14 - Chicago, IL @ Metro
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