Portraits of Tracy releases new EP ‘Q: From Where Do Our Primal Instincts Originate A: MTV!’

Portraits of Tracy releases her long-awaited new EP Q: From Where Do Our Primal Instincts Originate A: MTV!  After her music earned a cult following when she was a teenager in her bedroom in Baton Rogue, Louisiana, the elusive producer, singer and multi-instrumentalist continues to disrupt your expectations. It arrives with ‘Royal Courts (Great Misfortune)’, a shape-shifter which spans classic soul and psych blues projected from another time-space reality.

Experimental, loud and ultra-vivid, the EP draws on indelible memories: a childhood spent locked into DC hardcore, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater and when MTV reigned supreme. Its release follows ‘This Song May Or May Not Be About An Alt-Right Influencer’, a thrashing DC hardcore love letter and song of defiance which takes down a neo-nazi who had been enjoying her art while standing in opposition to her people and culture.

Speaking on the EP’s focus single, Tracy shares: “‘Royal Courts (Great Misfortune)’ is where my love for all things classic soul meets my love for all things folk! Pulling from Sly & The Family Stone, Rose Banks, Little Boy Blues, Elly Stone & even Patience & Prudence to bring you 3 minutes & 55 seconds of pure. classic. devil music.”

Tracy kicked things off with ‘Caught In A Jam’. Written for a space age lounge, with punchy, Gary Numan-style synths, the track has a belting power chorus that feels like Carole King astral projected into a Starfleet ship. With a suitably kitsch video, Tracy is in a 60s space suit, green-screened into a cardboard metropolis where she must fight an “alien” invasion.

Sharing on her vision for the EP, Tracy says: “Q: From Where Do Our Primal Instincts Originate? A: MTV! is a loud and playful glimpse into who I am as a person and a musician. Drawing from acts like Stereolab & The Beach Boys… to Dead Kennedys & Dag Nasty… you know it’s bound to be a fun time.”

Q: From Where Do Our Primal Instincts Originate A: MTV! Is a playful successor to 2023’s Drive Home. An extraordinary statement of autonomy and sonic freedom, the 18-track concept record is an analogy for Tracy’s own journey in accepting herself as transgender and finding her voice as a Black, queer teen raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Through the lens of Junie, the album’s central character, Tracy frantically whips between elements of classic rock, hip-hop, R&B, soul, and psychedelic indie rock to tell a story of family, belonging and the importance of staying true to your gut – all guided by her prodigious musical talent.

This EP marks a confident new stage in her evolution, one where she reintroduces herself in glorious technicolour. Get ready to hit play on a whole new level from Portraits of Tracy.