Experimental Synth-Pop Project Tra$h Magnolia Explores Power and Gender in “Video Game Song”

Tra$h Magnolia, the brainchild and alter-ego of jazz vocalist and producer Sasha Masakowski, brings forth bold, adventurous sonic explorations combining elements of dreamy synth-pop and electronic art-rock.

“Video Game Song,” inspired by a friend who had seduced her boss in order to gain power in the workplace, plays on gender norms, sexuality, and power: “I wanted the track to feel like a working woman’s power anthem — women embracing their sexuality and using it to get what they want from weak men in positions of power,” says Masakowski.

The kink-flavoured music video, directed by Thomas Lowery, was clandestinely filmed with a Craigslist dominatrix and a hastily-assembled camera crew in Lowery’s high-end office firm in midtown Manhattan.

“We arrived at 8:00 pm and wrapped as the sun came up,” says Masakowski. “In the video, I attempt to seduce my money-hungry boss into signing a contract escalating me to president of the company. After a failed attempt, I come back with a crew in latex and leather to take off his clothes, hog-tie him on top of his desk, throw money all over him, and force him into agreeing to my terms and conditions, so to speak.”