Moses Sumney and ANOHNI have teamed up to cover SOPHIE's "Is It Cold in the Water?" for Red Hot's TRAИƧA compilation, celebrating and honouring trans artists. The album arrives this Friday (November 22).
The cover is mellow and beautiful, swapping out SOPHIE's intense electronics and Cecile Believe's skyward vocals for something more measured — I don't necessarily see anyone preferring it over the original, but it's a lovely tribute.
In a statement about the cover, ANOHNI said:
Such a blessing to have a chance to sing with Moses Sumney, on his gorgeous rendition of SOPHIE's mistresspiece. Thank you Red Hot for the love and care you have put into this project, at a pivotal time of trans visibility, and trans vulnerability.
She continued:
Our bodies have been used and weaponized in malevolent ways by people who wish the worst for us. That malevolence is an unwellness that is affecting all living things now. Many spirits across the planet are experiencing this same siege of stress, loathing and bullying.
One of the greatest indications of a society's psychic health is reflected in the way that each family holds its LGBTQI children. I pray for the safety and health of trans kids in the US and around the world in years to come.
Dear Ones, know that treasured friends and beloved chosen family already wait for you in your future, if you can just hold on until you reach them.
Love from ANOHNI
Sumney added, "I have loved the Red Hot compilations since before I started making music. Dark Was the Night defined an era of my youth. It means a lot to be able to finally pay tribute to SOPHIE, whom I met early in our careers, and it's an honour to contribute to a cause so near and dear to my heart. Trans rights!"
In their own statement, TRAИƧA producer Dust Reid said:
We started talking about all the gifts that trans artists have been giving to the world, and wanted to create a Red Hot project that centred and celebrated those gifts. We hoped to create a narrative that positions trans and non-binary people as leaders in our society insofar as the deep inner work they do to affirm who they are in our current climate. We felt this is something everybody should do. Whether you identify as trans or non-binary or otherwise, if you took the time to explore your gender, get in touch with the feeling side of yourself, maybe we would have a future oriented around values of community, collaboration, care, and healing.
Red Hot has already shared a handful of covers from the compilation, including Sam Smith and Beverly Glenn-Copeland's new take on Copeland's "Ever New."
Listen to Sumney and ANOHNI's cover below.