exude records is the first all trans label in Germany. Can you take us back to how and when it was founded?

mx.pinky: exude started as a community event series in 2023. My partner Mel and I wanted to create a T4T space in Berlin nightlife that is organized, produced and led by and for trans people. So, we started hosting community gatherings, inviting people to come and share their perspectives and knowledge. exude is the kind of space we were looking for and did not find – so we created it.  

The way you describe exude, it is very much centered on an approach of joy, trans joy, and T4T joy. Why is that so important?

mx.pinky: In nightlife in general, there is still very little space for us. To succeed in this industry, you need resources and privilege, which queer and trans people – especially QT*BiPoC – have been, and are still being denied. Nightlife is also a way of experiencing joy and forming connections. Being a T4T space means that you don’t have to justify your identity to anyone because people understand, including cis allies who are welcome. That is the base for joy and the kind of network of care that we want to create with exude.

Enana: Yes, there is such a lack of spaces where we can feel safe. As trans people, and especially BiPoC trans people, we are always on guard and trying to protect ourselves. And T4T, even though we all come from different experiences, makes it easier to let our guard down. 

Why did you choose exude as the name? What does it mean to you?

mx.pinky: exude refers to something you are radiating, something that comes from within, something emotional. Especially in the current climate, there is rightfully so much anger, grief, and fear about the dystopian situation the trans community and other marginalized groups are facing. exude is about collectively tapping into those emotions and breaking free from them. By coming together, we hope to also exude joy because it is something we need. 

Enana: exude is also about authenticity. Something you exude can’t be faked. It makes sense for a T4T label and space because transness comes with a huge amount of authenticity. We literally have to fight to become our authentic selves and to be respected as such every day.

Against Repression

Both as exude – the label and event series – and as individual artists, Enana and mx.pinky, you are both outspoken about the genocide going on in Palestine. Looking at the current situation in Germany, solidarity with Palestine is being met with violent repression, criminalization, and erasure. As artists, what has your experience been like working in Germany at the moment?  

mx.pinky: I think all of us are struggling to access funding in Germany. Grants are often seeking projects that are marketable to the mainstream and what makes money. If you are deemed “too radical” because you advocate for basic human rights and against genocide, that excludes you from many of the financial resources. In the past years, we faced an invisible wall of people not wanting to work with us or ghosting us. 

Enana: I also experienced silencing and being cancelled as an artist. Before the genocide started, I was getting opportunities, which then all just stopped. But I cannot hold back because it affects me – as it should affect everyone who is paying attention. I will use my platform to talk about what is going on.

But by being outspoken, we also attract people who share our values, views and struggles. The people who come to our events are engaged in what is happening and opposed to the repression in Germany. That creates a sense of community and the feeling of being together in this. – mx.pinky

Magical Synergy

Becoming. is the first release and exude’s debut as a label. How did the collaboration come about?

Enana: I was in a very bad place when we first met. As a Syrian-Palestinian artist who is outspoken about free Palestine, I experienced so much racism in Germany, and I was canceled to a point where I could not afford life anymore. Other things I needed, like top surgery, felt completely out of reach. Hanna (mx.pinky) and Mel were doing fundraiser events, and we got introduced through a mutual friend and they organized a party for my top surgery. Then, when I saw Hanna play for the first time, I was absolutely amazed. I could relate so much to her sonic expression, and turned out, she could relate to mine as well. So it made sense for us to work together.

What was the workflow like?

mx.pinky: The whole EP came about organically and through a lot of spontaneous jams. During the recording process, we created a space that allowed us to experience and exude the joy we were talking about. We gave each other permission to be ourselves completely. The outcome of it is that every syllable is tailored to every musical moment and aligns perfectly in time and space.


We have a magical synergy. It feels like we are the same sonic mind with different skills.
– Enana

Putting It All Out There

Enana, when you write lyrics, does that come from a certain topic or emotion you want to write about, or is it more of a spontaneous process?

Enana: It is more something that comes to me in the moment when I listen to music that fuels my emotions. With this EP, I came from feeling very lost and not able to create, especially since the genocide started. Because of that, I had bottled up emotions and experiences that I needed to express. Working with Hanna, I was able to let out all the things I had been dealing with. That’s where the lyrics come from.

When you rap, you have such a natural flow. But you actually come from a classical music education background, right? How did you go from that to rapping?

Enana: Music has been a lifelong journey for me. I grew up in a family that cared very much about art and music, even if it wasn’t seen as something that could be a career. My dad would always say: Art is not to feed the stomach; it is to feed the mind. Still, I had lots of musical training and started singing and theatre when I was 10 years old. But when I tried writing my own songs, I was always missing something until a friend suggested I try rapping. It was never something I considered because nobody encourages Arab women or queer people to rap. But it clicked immediately. Through rap, I found my voice. When I rap, I can put it all out there. For me, it’s the most authentic tool for expressing my high intensity emotions.

Becoming Together

The EP is called Becoming. What does the title mean to you?

mx.pinky: The title, for me, refers to becoming more and more confident in the woman that I am and becoming the artist I want to be. After coming out and starting my transition, many people did not accept me. I had to sit with a lot of loneliness and feeling lost, as in who are my people and where do I belong. With Enana, we found a base of mutual appreciation, which allowed us to start the process of becoming together.

Enana: Yes, it is very much about the process. After having gone through all that darkness, I am finally shedding the shit that the world was trying to tell me about myself. I am taking back the space it has denied me, being Syrian, Palestinian, queer, trans. I am who I am, and I will allow myself to take up space in spite of a world that’s trying to diminish and extinguish us.

The EP represents the stages of growth in stepping into one’s power, into the self you are destined to be, which allows for deep connection with others – through becoming whole ourselves we were able to merge. It also reflects the journey and ongoing process of becoming yourself, prevailing, and finding joy beyond the struggle. – Enana

All photos by Ilo Toerkell.

Becoming. is out now via exude records. If you are based in Berlin, come around ACUD on 1 August at 10pm for the release party. Follow exude records, Enana and mx.pinky on Instagram to stay up to date.