When We See Each Other
When We See Each Other* is a bi-weekly podcast hosted by Nikkiesha McLeod that ran from July 2020 to August 2021. It focused on work by Black, queer, trans, and non-binary artists from a broad range of genres – stretching from indie rock, pop, and alternative, to noise rock, hip hop, and more.
Below is a listing of the artists that Nikkiesha interviewed for the show. Unfortunately, the audio is not currently available for public listening, but we're working on that!
All illustrations are by Bryan Bruchman.
*as in, "When we see each other in the streets..."
Anjimile
// July 29, 2020
Nikkie interviews the Black Trans artist Anjimile, whose album, Giver Taker, will be released on September 18th by Father/Daughter Records.
NYALLAH
// August 12, 2020
Nikkiesha interviews NYALLAH about their debut EP, Reflections, as well as their experience in the music industry as a Black queer/GNC femme.
Witch Prophet
// August 26, 2020
Nikkie interviews Leilani of Witch Prophet about their album, DNA Activation, as well as their experience in the music industry as a Black and queer artist based in Toronto.
Blxck Cxsper + Trans Trenderz
// September 23, 2020
Nikkiesha interviews Black Cxspxr, artist and founder of the Black/trans label Trans Trenderz.
The Black Creatures
// October 21, 2020
Nikkiesha interviews The Black Creatures, a multi-genre duo from Kansas City, Missouri. We also hear a couple of tracks off their album, Wild Echoes, which is available from Center Cut Records
Billy Dean Thomas
// November 4, 2020
Nikkiesha interviews the rapper Billy Dean Thomas, born in Harlem, but now living in Boston. We also hear a few tracks off their new EP, For Better or Worse, which is available on all platforms.
Tender Creature
// November 18, 2020
Nikkiesha interviews the indie folk duo Tender Creature. We also hear a few tracks off their new EP, An Offering, which is available on all platforms.
Big Joanie
// December 2, 2020
Nikkiesha interviews the Black feminist punk rock band Big Joanie, who joined us recently from the UK. We also play a few tracks of their album, Sistahs.
Delila Black
// January 27, 2021
Delilia Black is a queer Haitian musician and performance artist originally from Port Au Prince, but now based in London. While hopping among genres, the music could be called Alt-Americana, or as Delila puts it: “Electro-Mountain, Country-Noire, Punk-Country, Afro-Billy, Roots-Rodeo-Rocknroll.”
Stephen Jackman-Torkoff,
of The Queer Songbook Orchestra
// February 10, 2021
The Queer Songbook Orchestra is a 13-piece chamber pop ensemble based in Toronto that focuses on surfacing queer narratives in pop music. They released “Medicine for Melancholy” with Christine Bougie in November of last year. Nikkiesha spoke with Stephen Jackman-Torkoff, a poet in the group in mid-January.
Mackenzie Shivers
// February 24, 2021
Mackenzie Shivers is a NYC based independent singer/songwriter. Her latest album, Rejection Letter, will be out on April 2nd.
Nikki Aliah
aka Aliah Sheffield
// March 10, 2021
Aliah Sheffield is the singer/songwriter also known as Nikkie Aliah. Her song “Earth is Ghetto” recently went viral and she chatted with Nikkiesha about what led her to her viral moment, her musical inspirations, and what she hopes and plans to do next… oh, and tequila.
Sci-Fi
// March 24, 2021
Sci-Fi is a Trans rapper based in Minnesota. Her album Too Late Nights dropped in 2019 and she recently released the single “Bloom,” which is available now on all streaming platforms.
Mel Fine
// April 7, 2021
Mel Fine is a non-binary singer/songwriter based in Boston, Massachusetts. Their single “In Between,” which served as their coming out announcement, was released in January.
Shenna
// April 21, 2021
Shenna is a Syrian-African American pop artist based in New York City. Her single, “Try Another Taste,” dropped last year and is available on all streaming platforms. And she has new music on the way soon!
An Only Child
// May 5, 2021
An Only Child is a singer-songwriter, dancer, and filmmaker based in Los Angeles. His album, Prepare The Body, came out in December and was played enough on [redacted] programming that he was named Top Artist of the Week on March 19th of this year.
Katie Kuffel
// May 19, 2021
Katie Kuffel is a singer-songwriter based in Seattle, Washington. Her album, Alligator, came out in March of this year. She spoke with Nikkie about it’s production during the pandemic, the stories behind the songs, and her experience as a queer artist.
Giulia.
// June 30, 2021
Nikkie speaks with queer singer/songwriter Giulia. about her new EP, Night Before, as well as how her various creative paths inform each other and how those and her identity influence her music.
Mia Pixley
// July 28, 2021
Nikkie speaks with Bay Area cellist/singer-songwriter Mia Pixley about her just released full length, Margaret in The Wild. They discuss how her music is informed by her training as a psychologist and background as a transracial adoptee of Venezuelan and Nigerian descent, among other things.