Most club sets are designed to give people exactly what they expect, keeping the room in a comfortable, predictable groove. Sirui Chang prefers to do the exact opposite.
Performing under the moniker Princess XIXI, the writer and multidisciplinary artist has built a practice entirely out of bucking trends and ignoring whatever tastemakers, art institutions, and self-appointed gatekeepers have decided is fashionable this week. An early pioneer of the live/DJ hybrid set, Princess XIXI doesn't play for mass appeal. If you book her, she will likely deliver a performance that precisely six people in the room will cherish for the rest of their lives, while leaving the rest of the crowd stranded somewhere between deep confusion and genuine concern.
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OPEN ON YOUTUBE ↗But trying to pin her down as just a contrarian misses the weight of the ecosystem she disrupts. Princess XIXI is the co-founder of BUMPAH, London’s premier QTPOC-led bass collective, and her razor-sharp, confrontational rap, which she perfectly sums up as an "HR violation soundtrack", has been platformed everywhere from gal-dem and Polyester Zine to the late Benjamin Zephaniah’s BAFTA-winning Life and Rhymes.
Her footprint spans the subcultural landscape, collaborating with heavyweights and vital collectives like Pxssy Palace, Nine8 Collective, ESEA Sisters, and Tropical Waste. She’s brought her beautiful friction to underground institutions like FOLD, Corsica Studios, and Colour Factory, standard-bearing art spaces like the ICA and Southbank Centre, and massive festival stages at Glastonbury and Green Man, all while bridging the gap internationally at hubs like Oil in Shenzhen and Pillbox in Beijing.
When it comes to her process, Princess XIXI cuts straight through the usual artist mystique. She openly admits to preparing her music "badly," choosing to skip the over-calculated curation in favor of something much more visceral. For her, the real joy of the selection process is "figuring out exactly how I intend to antagonise, divide, and otherwise perturb those unfortunate enough to bear witness."
It's an aggressive stance, but one rooted in a desire to pierce through the usual club complacency. Where most artists aim for euphoria or escape, Princess XIXI is actively aiming to evoke a sense of "concern" from the floor. And she has the tools to do it. When asked what her deadliest weapon is, she doesn't point to rare dubplates or expensive gear for Princess XIXI, it boils down to "audacity and/or a microphone."
Artist: PRINCESS XIXI
MC: MIC, REPTILE B & PRINCESS XIXI
Production: STUDIO INTROE
Series: INTROE SONIC
Location: London, UK
