Archer Asks: Jimi The Kween on mixtapes, horny ratbags and crunchy drag

By: Alex Creece

Oct 5, 2000

Archer Asks: Jimi The Kween on mixtapes, horny ratbags and crunchy drag

Known and celebrated as a vocalist, DJ, performer and drag artist, Jimi The Kween is a trailblazer in inclusivity and self-expression, creating safe dance spaces where everyone is free to be themselves. A dynamic live performer with a string of club singles under their belt who has worked with powerhouse producers on the EP, including Lucy Blomkamp (Banks, Khalid, Ninajirachi, Becca Hatch) and Henry Smithson (Diplo, Dua Lipa, Mark Ronson), Jimi has shared stages with Amyl & The Sniffers, Paris Hilton, and Kylie Minogue, equally at home on a festival dancefloor as in an intimate venue.

Jimi has previously lit up stages at BIGSOUND 2026, Groovin The Moo, Gaytimes festival, Melbourne Pride, Pitch Music & Arts, Sydney WorldPride, Summer Camp, Wine Machine, and played shows across New Zealand, Bali, Singapore, Europe, and Los Angeles, as well as warming stages for the likes of The Sugababes, Purple Disco Machine, Electric Fields, and many more. Her powerhouse presence has shaped their development as an “unmissable act on Australia’s festival scene.”

Ahead of the release of her mixtape, Pretty Club Girl, Jimi The Kween spoke to Archer Magazine about queer euphoria, genre-bending music and being ‘that bitch’.

All images: Zac Bayly, courtesy of Jimi The Kween

Alex Creece: Hey Jimi! Can you tell us about your upcoming mixtape, Pretty Club Girl? Also, why a mixtape instead of an album?

Jimi The Kween: I hold an album in such a high regard. I’ve been doing music my whole life; I’ve got favourite albums, and I feel like I would need to take a year to write an album. And there would need to be drama. I can imagine myself writing it in, like, a farm in the middle of nowhere for months on end, you know what I mean? I’d need to think, What is my album going to be?

So, I see an EP as an introduction to an album, and then a mixtape is an introduction to an EP. I’ve got many songs in my catalogue, and I really wanted to release a body of work. The through line is the whole journey to get to where I am today, who Jimi the Kween is, and how she lives – in the cluuurbs. Hence, Pretty Club Girl.

The mixtape is super fun – it goes through different genres, and introduces you to my world, my soul and my perspective as it takes shape.

AC: That makes sense, and I love the connotations of a mixtape. It’s a bit retro, like something you’d give to a crush.

JTK: Exactly! A little CD that you play in the car! I love that because I have so many different genres that live within me and so many different inspirations that I draw on. So, I think it made sense to do a mixtape. At first I was like, How am I going to put the techno song with the cinematic intro? Then people were like, It’s all you, babe. It’s an introduction to you.

I think it’s really fun. Sometimes fans are like, Wait, I thought she was a pop star, but now she’s got a techno track?! That’s exactly right. And I will continue to surprise you.

AC: How would you describe Jimi The Kween’s drag persona? And how does your music expand upon and express this identity?

JTK: Great question. I’m gonna sound crazy, but Jimi The Kween is the result of all of the long, hard work I have done within myself to be that bitch. It’s taken a long time for me to channel that persona. And I can only be that bitch when I’m her. She allows me to be the sassy, powerful, unapologetic, most heightened version of myself. No one can touch her or bring her down.

If I go to the club as James, I’m like, Hiiiiii! [waves dorkily, laughs]

As Jimi, it’s my fucking club, and we’re all gonna have a good time.

AC: Speaking of which, how does being “that bitch” inform your sound and lyricism? How do you incorporate different genres and artistic experimentation into your music?

JTK: Absolutely. Often, in the middle of my sets, I find myself searching for a new track. I’ll wake up the next day to a voice note of me yelling random words like, Deep bass! Loud vocals! So, then I end up writing for what I wish I had.

When I’m playing festivals, especially like the larger multi-stage festivals, the crowd sort of has an expectation when a drag queen gets on the decks. They’re like, Oh, okay… she’s probably going to open with ‘Young Hearts Run Free’. But I’m like, Uh-uh, I’m gonna play what I wanna play. And it hits a sweet spot when you completely subvert their expectations.

AC: Cool! I’ve never seen this film, but it sounds like the premise of Limitless… Jimi lets you go limitless.

JTK: Totally, totally! I recently did a writing camp at BIGSOUND with Sweat It Out. It was such a fun session because the gals and I were all standing up, and then I was like, Let’s get some moves going! And everyone was able to let loose and feel the freedom to be a different character and a heightened version of yourself. To be able to write for that experience is amazing. I’m so glad that I’m a drag performer.

AC: Nice! I was wondering: does your DJ experience play into your sound? Spending so much time at clubs, I can imagine you’d have specific tastes.

Image: Zac Bayly, courtesy of Jimi The Kween

AC: I’m interested in your recent release ‘Give It To Me’. This song fucks – it’s horny, dank and club-ratty. Was it inspired by queer traditions of sex-on-premises venues, darkrooms, beats and public sex more broadly?

JTK: 100 per cent. That’s what the song’s about. When I walked into [producer] Henry’s studio, he had already had that super deep, dark, kind of minimal industrial sound going. And I was like, This song makes me want to have sex in the darkroom. That’s exactly what I said. And he goes, Perfect. And then I was like, Oh, where else do I like to have sex when I’m being a naughty person? Oh, at the park!

At times I was like, Oh, maybe I shouldn’t be so literal. Maybe I should be a bit more mysterious. But ultimately we were like, Nah. Just give it to them.

AC: And give it you did! I really appreciate the transparency of that song. There are lots of wonderful and wholesome queer anthems, but there’s also a lot of watered down ‘queer’ stuff nowadays, too. We need just as many songs for horny ratbags.

JTK: Horny ratbags, yes! I love the horny ratbags! They’re the most fun. In ‘Give It To Me’, I think it was so fun having literally no innuendos or metaphors. It’s not like, Do you feel the heat? It’s literally just, Fuck me in the park!

AC: I wanted to ask about another song from your repertoire, ‘Don’t Touch the Hair’. In it, you use your wit to advocate on the topic of drag audience etiquette. Tell me: How does being a drag musician allow you to explore lots of different queer-specific topics at once? And even school people a little bit?

JTK: Well, I think drag artists often take a position in the queer community as flag fliers and representatives at the forefront.

And I believe it is my duty to teach the younger clubbers how to do it correctly. The magic that’s in a nightclub is so important to queer communities because that’s where we find each other. If you move to a new location as a queer person and you don’t know a soul, you can go out and find your people. When I moved to Melbourne, I’d go up to the drag queens at POOF DOOF like, Hiii, I just moved here! And they were like, Girl, we got you. So, I think being leaders in etiquette is very important.

In the span of a show, I can go from being nice and sweet to rolling around on the floor, swishing my hair and swearing like an absolute troll. Only a queen can do that, and it’s important that the audience appreciates all those sides of us.

AC: I can imagine that the cultural impact of Drag Race means that you might have a lot of audience members who have experience watching drag artists on TV, but may lack know-how when it comes to a live drag show.

JTK: Totally. My drag isn’t meant to be polished and clean, or commercialised. I can look like an absolute wart of a human and still be a pretty club girl. That’s what makes it human and unique to me.

AC: Love that! Crunchy local drag is so under-appreciated with the influence of hyper-polished Drag Race culture. Gimme a bogan in a wig and I’m happy!

JTK: Yeah! And if I don’t have a full set of nails on, it’s because I can’t be fucked! And my stockings are ripped to shreds because I’ve been wearing them for two weeks straight!

Image: Zac Bayly, courtesy of Jimi The Kween

AC: I was wondering: As you’ve collaborated with several big names, and shared stages with Amyl & The Sniffers and Kylie, how have these experiences influenced your own performances?

JTK: Yeah, I mean, oh my god, what huge, huge influences. Watching them from the side stage, it was clear that they know exactly who they are as performers. It really inspired my own writing and performing.

With the title track of the mixtape, ‘Pretty Club Girl’, I actually wrote it with my collaborator Tim as soon as I got back for a big tour where I shared those stages with Amyl, Kylie and Diplo. I’d gone to a bunch of countries, and when I came home, I was like, I’m really doing the thing! My trailer was two doors down from Kylie! That was crazy! So, when we wrote the track, the lyrics were like, “All over the world / I’m a real bitch now.”

AC: Do you have anyone that’s on your bucket list to perform alongside?

JTK: RAYE, RAYE, RAYE! She started as a topliner in electronic music, and now she’s doing ‘WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!’ at the Royal Albert Hall show with an orchestra.

When I’m 65 years old, I want to be sitting on a stool singing with an orchestra! Right now, I’m a dirty club rat because that’s who I am currently. But a long career is all about like coming through different eras, expanding and being able to express yourself. And the amount that RAYE has done in such a short time is mind-blowing.

AC: What is the role of queer euphoria in your music? How do you ensure an inclusive and uplifting vibe at a Jimi show?

JTK: Such a great question. Queer euphoria is probably the most important aspect of a Jimi show, especially when I see young queer folk that looking up from the crowd. Some of them know the lyrics, which gags me every single time.

Seeing the audience experience a euphoria, where they can forget everything outside of this little environment I’ve created for us, is why I do what I do. As a young person, I was like always chasing queer connection, queer euphoria. And now it’s my whole entire being and personality.

As I’m getting more established, and just having done BIGSOUND, I notice how being a queer musician is so important to representing younger folks, helping them feel seen and not alone. I love being able to make music that speaks to the unsaid connections in the queer community that mainstream culture doesn’t understand.

AC: Thank you. That’s a beautiful response. Finally: what are the main elements at a perfect Jimi The Kween party?

JTK: My music has some serious perspectives, but the through line and the outlet is the party, baby! I want to bring out the heightened versions of everyone, inspiring people’s voices and inspiring baby queens!

Lighting is important for a good party! It needs to be super bright at some points, and then really dark at other points. I want to dance and get a bit crazy – you don’t want to see me too clearly!

And of course, a good diverse crowd means that everyone feels welcome to dance together and unleash themselves. That’s the best part.

Pretty Club Girl is out now, and Jimi The Kween will be touring with Gottmik in the coming weeks!