''Vampire Fitness'' is the debut extended play by American drag performer Katya Zamolodchikova (known mononymously as Katya), released by Producer Entertainment Group on November 13, 2020. The EP features guest appearances by fellow '' RuPaul's Drag Race'' contestants Alaska Thunderfuck and Trixie Mattel.

Composition

The EP has five tracks, which Katya has described as "a dark and brooding international musical boat ride through the brain and mouth of famous cross-dresser". The overall sound of the EP is designed to resemble "the soundtrack to a late-night gym for vampires". "Come in Brazil", which features fellow '' RuPaul's Drag Race'' contestant Alaska Thunderfuck, has been described as a "divine intercontinental expression of lust as the pair crafts a lush soundscape inspired by incessant fan pleas for drag queens to perform in the song's titular South American nation". The song is about

anilingus Anilingus (from the Latin ''anus'' + ''-lingus'', from ''lingere'', "to lick", variantly spelled "analingus") is the oral and anal sex act in which a person stimulates the anus of another by using the mouth, including lips, tongue, or teeth. I ...

and has a Portuguese chorus. Katya has said of the song, "These are things I learned not through reading books or watching television programs, but through people screaming them at me all the time." Katya has described "ГЛАЗ" as "a very experimental song" and said, "At one point we recorded me having an orgasm and then shrieking as I was being violently murdered. Then we were like, 'What if an alien chipmunk were to go through that thing?' It's just fun. But it's a real groovy beat." "Ding Dong!" features ''Drag Race'' alumnae and frequent collaborator Trixie Mattel. Katya has described the song as a " bar mitzvah barn-burner" and said Trixie Mattel was "really cooperative" during the songwriting process. The song was influenced by

eurodance Euro-Dance (sometimes referred to as Euro-NRG, Euro-electronica or Euro) is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s in Europe. It combines many elements of hip hop, techno, Hi-NRG, house music, and Euro-Disco. This ...

and

Svetlana Loboda Svitlana Serhiivna Loboda ( uk, Світлана Сергіївна Лобода; born 18 October 1982), also known by the stage name LOBODA, is a Ukrainian singer and composer. Loboda represented Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 and ...

's song " Boom Boom", and references Jame Gumb, the real name of the fictional character

Buffalo Bill William Frederick Cody (February 26, 1846January 10, 1917), known as "Buffalo Bill", was an American soldier, Bison hunting, bison hunter, and showman. He was born in Le Claire, Iowa, Le Claire, Iowa Territory (now the U.S. state of Iowa), but ...

in Thomas Harris novel '' The Silence of the Lambs'' (1988). "Ravioli" is about the pasta of the same name and has been described as "a milestone for fluid representation as it touches on five different variations of the bodily liquid, ranging from that of humans to dogs, cats, and even rodents". Katya has said the body fluids are mentioned "mostly for the purposes of rhyming in the songwriting". The spoken word track "Be Your Own Dentist" has Katya offer advice for removing one's own teeth in "linguistic construction that's not really a song, but not really full slam poetry, either". She has said of the piece:

Release and promotion

The EP was released digitally on November 13, 2020, preceded by the release of the lead single "Come in Brazil" on November 6. Following Katya's announcement of the EP, Trixie Mattel tweeted, "Can I just say I have heard this whole thing and none of you have any way of preparing yourselves for the sounds featured on this lively EP." A music video for "Ding Dong!" featuring Trixie Mattel was released on November 20. A music video for "Come in Brazil" featuring Alaska Thunderfuck followed on December 18.

Reception

'' Entertainment Weekly'' Joey Nolfi called the EP a "musical experiment" and a "digital distortion of European dance, sex, orgasmic wailing, the sounds of murder, spoken sermons about self-administered dentistry, and, of course, Italian cuisine, all tied together as a 'multi-pronged, many-tiered assault' on listeners with 'consonant clusters' found in Russian pop songs". He called "Ding Dong!" "a stark genre departure from Mattel's typical brand of folk-rock realness". Christopher Rudolph of Logo TV's ''NewNowNext'' said the EP sees Katya giving "serious '' Nosferatu'' vibes".

Track listing

Remix EP

On April 23, 2021, PEG Records released a four-track

remix EP A remix album is an album consisting of remixes or rerecorded versions of an artist's earlier released material. The first act who employed the format was American singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson (''Aerial Pandemonium Ballet'', 1971). As of 200 ...

entitled ''Vampire Fitness (Remixed)'', consisting of remixes of ''Vampire Fitness'' songs "Ding Dong!" and "Ravioli". The Vigiletti remix of "Ding Dong!" featuring Trixie Mattel was released as the EP's lead single a week earlier on April 16, 2021.

Track listing

References

{{Reflist 2020 debut EPs Albums produced by Tomas Costanza EPs by American artists Electro-industrial albums Electronic albums by American artists Electronic EPs Industrial albums by American artists Producer Entertainment Group albums Progressive music albums by American artists