Sage Carnage - Interview

Interview recorded 3/6/2025

Kathy: Hello! Welcome to Katy’s Post. Today we are interviewing a very special guest... everyone welcome Sage Carnage! Hi, how are you doing?
Sage: Heyyy so I'm feeling great! This is my first interview ever so I'm excited! How are you doing Kathy?
Kathy: I’m doing great, thank you. It’s an honor for me to have you here today and I’m very excited to interview you!

Q: You are a Costa Rican drag persona, producer, DJ and performer. You create deconstructed club music that fuses industrial and experimental sounds. I was very intrigued by your production, can you tell us more about your music production journey and your biggest inspirations in your sound?
A: That's a great question! My music production journey started a few years ago, I've been always been a fan of electronic music so I felt kind of attracted to this certain demographic of creators that were experimenting with all the elements of it, tearing them down and making something different and revolutionary. When I started producing I started making simplier sounds, it all started with house music! Then when I got the basics laid down, I went "Okay, let's tear this down to pieces and reconstruct it" and that's how it usually goes for me. My biggest inspiration has been Aphex Twin and Autechre for a long time, but when I got familiar with Arca's music my perception of sound changed completely, I realized there were no rules. I also take a lot of inspiration from SOPHIE obviously and also from Ayesha Erotica's rap style
Kathy: That’s very interesting and it really reflects on your drag persona too!

Q: Talking about your drag persona, we would love to know more about this creative side that really captures our attention, what’s the story behind your drag persona? Was there someone that encouraged you to start doing drag?
A: SAGE is an acronym for Self Autonomous Guidance Entity. She is an artificial intelligence created as a virtual assistant, given a body but betrayed by her creator and taking revenge on humanity by creating chaos in the internet. Her story is told throughout my first EP "sage_carnage.wav" but it is far from being finished! Her story continues as more details will be revealed in the future. Everything I do artistically has a purpose and a meaning, it all started as a social critique on the dangers of AI and also as a metaphor for queer resistance. The artist who encouraged me to do drag was my favorite drag queen of all times, Sasha Velour, who same as Arca, taught me that there are no rules when it comes to drag.
Kathy: That’s incredible! And that’s such an intriguing perspective to look at and a meaningful message that you’re sharing.

Q: With Rupaul’s Drag Race being a very popular reality TV show, would you like to be a part of the cast of one of their seasons in the future? If so, do you see yourself winning?
A: I expected this question and came prepared haha, auditioning for Drag Race is definitely on my 10 year plan. I want my drag to evolve enough so I can prepare for the show. Although my drag is alternative, I can shape it around the Drag Race standard and I think I could show all of my talents there! I do see myself winning because I've been a fan of the show for years so trust me, I've been studying it! Alternatively, if I don't get cast on Drag Race, I would try Dragula as it is more fit for alt queens like myself
Kathy: You would fit so good in Dragula too! I’d definitely see you win there!

Q: Talking about your music, did you ever made a diss track? If so, towards who? Would you do another one someday?
A: Kathy! I would neveeer! But in all seriousness, let's give the girls the answer they want: Yes! My rap debut on 1X Recordings first compilation, Hidden Gems, was a diss track to the Take The Impact girls. Everything started because of a catty unserious drama that has been squashed ever since, I apologized for the chaos I caused back then and the girls and I are now in a better place! I think they are all amazing artists and I can't wait to see what the future holds for their careers. I am actually writing a new diss track but obviously not for them. But I don't want to give much away for now, just expect a new rap track from me soon!
Kathy: Oh I am very intrigued by this new diss track... can’t wait for it!

Q: In 2024 you released your EP sage_carnage.wav, what was your inspiration behind this project, and which artists inspired you to create it?
A: This is a fun story! So ever since I started making music, I was experimenting with a lot of different sounds and genres, I had 6 finished tracks that I wasn't planning to release but to use for background music for my reels, but then EMBR999 messaged me and said "Hey, do you wanna be part of my digital set and play some of your songs?" and I thought to myself, I definitely should release these! On that set I met EMBR, Rilta de Hora, Emma Experimental, 1800nymph and Bjorkitos. It was really my first impression of this tiny musical scene and community we have. As for the tracks, they are very different from each other. My main inspiration for the first two, Awakened and Escape, was SOPHIE's metallic bubbly sound. I wanted to make a darker twist on it and I didn't know about sound design at the time so I remember I just started recording myself hitting the aluminum pots and pans from my kitchen in order to make these metallic samples, it was fun! I also made escape into a reggaeton beat using these sounds. for Chastisement, my inspiration was Portishead. For KVNT&, the original version was a remix of a ballroom voguing track and for the last two, destroy_vincent_chromwell and armageddon, my inspiration was Crystal Castles’ more experimental era
Kathy: That’s so cool!

Q: In “destroy_vincent_chromwell”, you said “Vincent Chromwell is a representation of the rich, white, cisgender men of power who has been at the opposite end of opression - we must fight back and destroy it.”, could you expand more about this concept?
A: Yes! So, in Sage's story, Vincent Chromwell is the CEO of Carnage Robotics, he stole SAGE from her original creator in order to give the AI a body and turn her into a product to be sold around the world. This is in a way a metaphor of how big corporations monopolize Pride month and how politicians are constantly playing with LGBTQ rights. Corporations see our identities as a product to sell and politicians do not see us as humans, but as a deviation of such. It's also a critique on the dangers of AI, as it has increased exponentially during the last two or three years and it doesn't seem to stop. Artificial Intelligences are dangerous for humanity and they should be tools that help us grow, but many people are using it for evil purposes as we have already seen this happen in multiple ocassions. Let's say Sage's story is kind of a "what if", in the worst of the cases, what could go wrong with AI
Kathy: That’s fascinating! I’d definitely watch a documentary about that.

Q: Will we see more appearances of the “Vincent Chromwell” character in the future? Maybe in your future projects?
A: The future of Vincent Chromwell is uncertain as of now. I would love to expand more on this character that is kind of a villain, so we definitely haven't seen the last of him!

Q: Talking about future projects, rumours have it that a remix of your EP “sage_carnage.wav” is in the works. What can we expect from this new project and which artists can we expect to be on it?
A: Hmmm insider tea I see! Well it's true, I am currently working on a remix record along with some of my fellow artist friends from 1X and with others who aren't exactly from 1X. Definitely expect crazy sounds, danceable tracks, robotic atmospheres and a lot of noise. I don't wanna ruin the surprise so much, but I think there is a really amazing lineup of remixers on this record. I'm really excited about this project!

Q: Since we are in the topic of collaborations. What artists would you like to collaborate with? Underground, mainstream or inbetween?
A: I love this question! Well, realistically and for what I can sort of believe one day could happen, I would love to collaborate with Machine Girl. My more stretchy dream collaboration would be Arca as well, I would love to model for one of her music videos, if not to produce along with her. As for artists from the underground, I would LOVE to produce for Yajaira la Beyaka, a Venezuelan artist who I adore and inspires me a lot

Q: You are signed to 1X Recordings, a record label who is slowly becoming very well known in the underground industry, where many small artists have the opportunity to get signed at no cost. Whats your experience with 1X Recordings, and would you recommend young, new artists to join it?
A: 1X Recordings is such a professional label! I have had nothing but good experiences with them so far. I think 1X offers not only a large catalog of different artists and variety but it also offers young, upcoming artists an opportunity to publish their music profesionally at no cost. I'd say that if you have a talent for music and want to apply, give it a shot! applications will be closing soon so better hurry!

Q: And lastly... I wanna ask you about a very specific topic that is dreamt about by many underground artists... Fame. What is your opinion on fame and success as an underground artist yourself? Do you dream of achieving a mainstream platform and success?
A: This one is a tricky one because I have many takes on it but mostly what I would like to say is that fame isn't all. Of course, we all want to make a name for ourselves but making meaningful art and putting it out there is really what matters. I believe that the type of music I make isn't necessarily commercial and my public moves more around the underground scene, which I love since all the experimental grimy material is there, but I also dream of making bigger shows in the near future. I want to create a local scene in Costa Rica where other experimental artists can showcase their artistry. To me success is finding a public that enjoys and appreciate your art, no matter how large said audience is. I do believe that some of my peers are material for a more large mainstream audience and I encourage them to pursue that!
Kathy: Very well said! Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to interview you! ♡ If I have to say... this is the best interview by far that I ever had!
Sage: Thank you so much for having me! I am glad to hear it was a pleasant interview. Hopefully we will have more in the future when I have new material and stories to tell!