When drag performer M1ss Jade So talks about her newest single, “Esoterica,” and the party she’s throwing to celebrate it, it sounds like she’s evangelizing, except I’m inclined to believe everything she says.
“I believe that my god is myself,” she tells Rolling Stone Philippines.
Months after appearing in FKA twigs’ “Perfectly” music video as a performer, Jade is staking her claim in the music world with “Esoterica.” It’s her first release since 2025’s “Cvnty 2.0” with Stef Aranas and her 2024 debut single, “Power Top Na Bratzy.”
For the new track, Jade teamed up with producer and artist Naive Supreme, whose work with Spanish artist Virgen Maria she has long admired.
Jade says she first contacted Naive after posting a video in which she performed one of their songs. “Surprisingly, nagmessage sa akin si Naive Supreme na ‘Thank you for using our track,’ and she loved the performance. And then napunta ‘yong convo namin sa ‘If you need tracks, let me know. We can collaborate.’”
“Esoterica” was a year in the making. Jade began writing the lyrics in January 2025 and planned to release the track in May that year, ahead of the planned Philippine debut of “WERQ THE WORLD,” a tour featuring a selected cast of RuPaul’s Drag Race. After the cancellation of the Manila and Cebu shows, Jade realized she wanted to spend more time working on the track.
The result is a prayer in the form of fast-paced hard techno overlaid with a reggaeton beat. Here, Jade looks back at her journey as a trans woman and, through deliciously rolled Rs, calls on the god in her self, which she calls “Goddessa,” to come out.
Esoterica Experience
The drag artist says the past few months have been transformative for Jade. “May nangyari sa akin in October, parang awakening ko siya to my higher self,” she says. “Nahanap ko ‘yong purpose ko to gather all the dolls, the trans women, and also the esoteric queers.”
In November, after hosting a gathering with her friends at home, she decided that a party would also accompany the release of her new single as a way to celebrate the queer community. “We do this out of love and passion,” she says, talking about her friends helping her organize the upcoming rave. “In the -ber months, everything that happened to me was a bayanihan moment.”
Jade also recalls getting an eye tattoo on her crown chakra on her birthday, which just happens to be on Christmas Day. “So Christmas, everyone was celebrating, [habang] ako, tina-tattoo-an sa kama ko,” she says. “I felt like pinanganak ako ulit. I had a rebirth. I felt like I [was] Jesus.”
Now, Jade wants to turn her “rebirth” into a shared experience through the Esoterica Experience, happening on Saturday, January 31, at QU Poblacion, Makati.
On Instagram, she describes the Esoterica Experience as “a transcendental belief, miraculous manifestation, and an arcane embodiment in a beautiful chaos.” In explaining the party’s concept to me, Jade says that she wants an event that’s “magulo pero maganda” and that the vagueness of the Instagram post is intentional.
“Kailangan mo siyang pag-isipan,” she says. “Pagkabasa [ng audience] na ‘Ano ba yan? Hindi ko maintindihan ‘yan, ayoko nga,’ ibig sabihin hindi siya pasok sa Esoterica realm.”
She adds, “I want to attract the thinkers. I love the thinkers, people who think, people who brainstorm, people who dive deep.”
Esoterica Experience is, more importantly, oriented towards the queer community. It boasts a lineup consisting of DJs D Waviee, Pette Shabu, Dignos, Isis, and Soul Armas, with trans women as the priority audience.
“Kailangan ng more spaces and more visibility for trans women,” Jade says. “‘Yong song na ‘to is about my life, and it’s an advocacy song for trans women and non-binary individuals. Gusto ko rin talagang dalhin ang mga trans women with me to be up there. Isa ‘yan sa mga mission ko, even noong Drag Race Philippines: doll domination.”
Jade is looking to expand Esoterica into a global moment. She says Naive Supreme has already offered to help bring the rave to Madrid, Barcelona, and Paris, while an album is in the works. “This Esoterica Experience, introduction pa lang talaga. We’re introducing ourselves to the world, to the rave scene here in the Philippines. Hopefully, maraming bumilib sa vision namin.”
