Renowned Indigiqueer artist Roger Kuhn has officially released his much-anticipated album, “Running With This Dream”, today in collaboration with Velvet Code. Distributed by So Fierce Music, The Orchard, and Sony Music Entertainment, the album is now available on all major digital platforms. It acts as the official follow-up to Roger Kuhn’s single “Kaleidoscope” and Velvet Code’s collaboration on Venus’ single “NOT ME”.
“Running With This Dream” marks a significant milestone in Roger Kuhn’s career, reflecting his journey of self-discovery and personal liberation. The album delves into themes of sex, love, expression, activism, and the influence of capitalism, offering listeners an immersive and thought-provoking experience. Kuhn, a bi-racial, bi-cultural, Two-Spirit artist, drew inspiration for the album from his own self-help book, “Somacultural Liberation”, which examines how culture shapes bodily experiences.
“I had taken a break from music and performing while I was writing the book and pursuing my Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology and then my PhD in Human Sexuality and clinical practice,” he explains. He says the sojourn made him realise how much music and performing were tied to his sense of personal expression. “It has long been my dream to share music and art with others. While my book encouraged others to follow their heart and live life as their authentic self, it occurred to me that I needed to honor what is true in my heart and embrace my love of creativity, too.”
The album’s creative process was notably swift, with Kuhn writing and recording it in under a year. Beginning in July 2023, the songs were crafted in various locations, including Provincetown, Mykonos, Positano, Sitges, New York, San Diego, and Alabama. “Running with this Dream” is fundamentally a melodic house dance album. The title comes from the opening song, “Come Alive”, where Kuhn sings about the inspiration he derives from his husband of 18 years. The album showcases Kuhn’s ability to blend deeply personal themes with Velvet Code’s engaging and rhythmic melodies.
Starting off with the one that inspired the album’s title. “Come Alive” makes an electronic statement from the get-go, defining the rest of the album and letting his listeners know exactly what to expect from these 11 tracks. Enlightening, confident, and full of positivity, Kuhn doesn’t hold back as he delves in honestly about how he feels alive whenever he is with his husband. The strong vocals follow into the second track, “Kaleidoscope” which has a more dream-pop electro vibe to it allowing him to showcase his awesome vocal ability – you can find out more about what we thought of this single by clicking here.
“Ziggy” follows next which was inspired by the book “Ziggy, Stardust and Me” by James Brandon—a young adult novel about two boys who connect over their love of Ziggy Stardust, one of them is Caucasian and the other is a Native boy. The song “Ziggy” focuses on the Native boy and what he would be like at the age that Kuhn is now. Unsurprisingly the track is paired with prominent electro-rock guitar chords and an electro-drum beat. Kuhn impresses with his narrative storytelling and his gorgeous vocal runs, unleashing positive vibes throughout.
Next up is “Only A Dream”, which infuses an industrial techno beat into the mix, around a progressive rhythm and Kuhn’s perfectly held notes, giving it this hard-dance addictive spotlight. Track five is “Rise Up”, which goes down a more alternative route easily following on from the industrial techno found in the previous track. It has an empowering energy about it with some iconic encouraging lyrics that are bound to make an impression on his listeners, especially amongst the LGBTQIA2S+ community, and it’s especially songs like this that go on to become pride anthems—so add it to your pride playlists as we sure will be listening to it every June (Pride Month).
“The Future” follows next which was his latest single and an accompanying music video will be dropped soon, as extra promotion for the album. It is a melodic techno track that explores themes of capitalism and the importance of love, liberation, and empathy. Kuhn shares that he wrote this song on his traditional homelands, the reservation of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, reflecting on the societal impacts of capitalism on Native, Two-Spirit, and LGBTQIA+ communities.
His natural storytelling ability through music comes to the forefront in this song and the backing track is clearly just there to support, heightening his voice and effortlessly making this an extremely important and monumental track. The spoken-word verse steps the track up another notch, proving his artistry truly has no bounds. This one hits us right in our hearts and is set to do the same to every single listener.
How do you follow that track? Well, “This Moment With You” does a great job, taking us right back to the electro-dance sound we know and love from Kuhn. The addictive beat meshes with his beautiful soulful voice as he fuels positivity and love, clearly inspired by his husband, fully showcasing how deeply in love he is and within this moment there’s no one but him. “Love Again” is the next track which is full of strong vocal energy with sexy lyrics as Kuhn explores sex positivity and sultry vocals as he requests to make love again and again.
“Touch” is the next song on the album, which was written during a cross-country road trip from California to Maryland. He believes he was in Indiana at the time and he was reflecting on what his life may have been like had his father overcome his alcoholism and not died during a drunk driving accident—this flourishes into a ruminative lyrical track surrounded by dreamy-electro vibes and soulful vocals. Full of empowerment behind the words, Kuhn delivers the genre-blending track beautifully.
The ninth and penultimate track is “Alone”, which is a highly relatable track due to loneliness being prominent in the LGBTQIA2S+ community but Kuhn sends out encouragement, positivity, and empowerment that gives us the courage to believe in ourselves, love ourselves, and have strength in our own choices and that happiness is something we all will find. The trance beats only add to the conviction from Kuhn, making this a standout track. “Dance Our Cares Away” ends this album in pure dreamy dance-pop bliss, with addictive beats, positive lyrics, and Kuhn’s unforgettable vocals. We all can shine bright no matter what they say.
Pure dreamy electro-pop perfection, “Running With This Dream” is an iconic and unforgettable album that truly puts Kuhn on the music industry map. His flawless songwriting and incredible vocal delivery match brilliantly with Velvet Code’s electronic production style. This magnetic team truly are unstoppable and this incredible album is highly relatable to the LGBTQIA2S+ community and is filled to the brim with anthems that deserve to be on pride party playlists,
Kuhn’s artistic vision has been deeply influenced by his background, growing up in rural North Dakota with a mix of German, Russian, and Poarch Creek heritage. His work explores Two-Spirit identity and non-binary gender, promoting a kaleidoscopic view of gender and sexuality.
With his new album and upcoming tour, Kuhn continues to be a powerful voice for the Two-Spirit community. His tour will include major stops such as New York, San Francisco, Guerneville, Boston, Rapid City, Fargo, Minneapolis, and Puerto de la Cruz in the Canary Islands, with more dates to be announced. You can book tickets for his tour by visiting his official website by clicking here.
“Running With This Dream”, by Roger Kuhn and Velvet Code, is available to download and stream, right now, across all platforms, via So Fierce Music, The Orchard, and Sony Music Entertainment. It is a celebration of identity, creativity, and the enduring power of music.