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Comment by gwbas1c | Hacker News Reader

> The trans synth pioneer changed music—and the world—forever

> it contained a nod to her identity, hidden in plain sight. There it was, on her 1968 album cover: Trans-Electronic

One thing that Wendy really didn't want to be is an icon for "trans" anything. I remember reading an article on her website years ago about her transition, but now I can't find it.

What I remember is that she wants to be known for her music, but not for her transition. She just wants to put the whole thing behind her. It's not part of her identity. (I really wish I could find the article, because her words are better than mine.)

As a huge fan of her music, I see her as a musician first and foremost. The gender change is just an interesting footnote, not her identity.

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> I remember reading an article on her website years ago about her transition

It may have been a link to her '79 Playboy interview, where she talks (shockingly for the year, IMO) frankly about her transition and the realities of being trans: http://transascity.org/files/history/Carlos_Wendy_Playboy_In...

It talks about her music, but also dives into things like masturbation post-operation, sexual encounters before and after, and more.

Her closing statement seems to align with your summary, but goes even further:

> Wendy: [..] I think I would feel happy if a reaction to this interview were a yawn. I mean, who cares? I've gone through a procedure. It's done with. Just let me live my goddamn life and I will let you live yours.

> Playboy: It's certainly not boring. And by doing this interview, you're showing that you do care.

> Wendy: I don't want to become a proselytizer. I don't want this interview to champion the cause. I think it's very important that my condition be acknowledged as very rare, so that it's seen as a highly unlikely solution for other people with an unhappy life, or suicidal impulses, as I had. The fact that there were some "successful' transformations doesn't erase the many tragic cases in which an operation was not the full solution for particular individuals. No one should follow this hellish path if an alternative exists. Try other options first.

It's incredible how much of today's discourse comes up in that interview. We haven't come very far since 1979.

Wow, this is a great interview. I didn't think I'd read the whole thing but I couldn't stop. What a candid and touching account of a person becoming themself.

> '79 Playboy interview,

The phrase "for the articles" immediately springs to mind.

I love Wendy so much and to me it is gross to even mention she is trans. It is the least interesting part of her.

Digital Moonscapes and especially Beauty in the Beast are two of my all time fav albums.

I am really not much of a fan of Switched-On Bach. Have to consider that people had not really heard synths before that album so I don't think it quite holds up.

It is a shame she is so reclusive. Her website use to be a wonderful source for news about her but hasn't been updated since 2009. In early 2000s she was sharing more online than most musicians and then basically vanished. I remember she hated youtube and would defend her IP to have things taken down more than any artist I recall when youtube started.

I always hoped to be able to see her play live but to no avail. I don't even know when the last time she performed in public. It must be decades.

Totally with you. Beauty in the Beast is incredible and incredibly underrated. I enjoyed Switched-On Bach for what it achieved, but, I listen to the former when I want goosebumps.

The page you are thinking of is probably https://www.wendycarlos.com/pruri.html

I agree, Wendy is a pioneer and has an incredible body of work. It’s a shame her music is mostly out of print and not available to stream. I realize that’s her choice but it leaves her legacy unavailable to modern audiences.

I would say she succeeded in that, because for decades I have listened and enjoyed and respected her music, and today is the first day I learned that she was trans.

I only noticed when I started out with the Clockwork Orange soundtrack and noticed her name varying in different releases. It's completely irrelevant to her work.

> It's completely irrelevant to her work.

I don’t think it is from her perspective. Lost connections, lost time, and she can’t even get her name on her work.

“By 1981, Carlos was known everywhere as Wendy: she had completed her gender confirmation surgery in 1972, and talked about it for the first time in a 1979 Playboy interview. Only two columns were devoted to her music in the piece, which she saw as a betrayal. Nevertheless, she revealed just how much “forced secrecy” had affected her career. Switched-On Bach’s popularity had made things hard for her, she said. She had “lost an entire decade” avoiding live performances and connections with other artists because she didn’t yet feel ready to disclose her gender transition publicly. Once, Stevie Wonder came to check out her synthesiser set-up, and Carlos hid as he knocked. Sewell writes in her book how Carlos still faces prejudice from record companies today: Warner Music has not still corrected her name on the soundtrack to A Clockwork Orange.”

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/nov/11/she-made-music...

Like the sibling comment, I saw the same work attributed to different names and got confused. When I was a kid, it was the kind of thing that was pretty much verboten to really discuss, but mockery was acceptable, so I can imagine it just wasn't really spoken about and I'm sure hampered her career.

The BBC has an archived interview[0] where I believe she was wearing fake sideburns to keep up a more masculine appearance in public while transitioning. The effect is a bit odd.

I actually first came across her work perusing the public library and actually found the technical excellence of her playing combined with the simplistic sounds of the early synths to be a bit off-putting; it sounded like a 90's midi file. But I could certainly imagine the interest of that in the 60's, and while it's grown on me a bit since then, I can see why it hasn't aged particularly well.

[0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsW2EDGbDqg

Exactly.

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