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Dani and James of Porcelain Stars

Porcelain Stars is no small project. Their debut album 'Rosemary' included contributions from more than 20 musicians, drawing from a wide network of emo and emo-adjacent bands across the scene, most notably the recently disbanded Gingerbee. Led primarily by Dani Giguere alongside former bandmate James Witte Cooke, Porcelain Stars is a force to be reckoned with.

I sat down with Dani and James to discuss navigating such a unique creative process and unpack the themes of 'Rosemary'. Throughout the conversation, the two reflect on collaboration, breaking out of comfort zones and what's next for Porcelain Stars.

Kade: First of all, thank you for joining me this morning. Who am I here with?

Dani: You're here with Dani.

James: What band are you in, Dani?

Dani: I'm in Porcelain Stars with James.

James: I'm James. I'm also in Porcelain Stars.

Kade: And what instruments or elements you guys contribute to Porcelain Stars?

Dani: I do vocals. I do screaming. I do accordion. I do piano. I play guitar, bass, glockenspiel, I think that's it.

James: Nice. And you write the songs.

Dani: That's true.

James: I play upright bass, drums, flute, saxophone, clarinet. I think that's it.

Kade: All right, awesome. First things first, let's talk about your album, Rosemary, which as of the time of recording is nearly two months old. How are you guys feeling now that it's out in the world?

Dani: James, how are you feeling?

James: Feeling great. I'm definitely appreciative of the warm reception that it seems to have gotten. Seems like a lot of people enjoy it. I mean, definitely, I think I'm dealing with the usual anticlimax of releasing stuff on the internet. Because you kind of just hit upload and then most of the reaction to your work in the world you don't see or don't have access to. But people leave nice reviews and comments and messages and things. So, lots to be grateful for.

Dani: For sure. Yeah, I feel the same way. I don't know.

Kade: I feel like one of the most interesting things about Porcelain Stars is the sheer size of the band and the number of contributors. On your Bandcamp, I counted a total of 23 different contributors to Rosemary across all the different tracks. Then even more if you include the instrumental release that comes along with the purchase of the digital album. With all those moving parts, how do you manage to keep everything together?

Dani: That's a good question. I think for the next release, we'll definitely have a more streamlined process because for Rosemary, it was basically just me cold DMing every instrumentalist I knew and asking if they wanted to do shit and then I'd kind of harass them in DMs for the stems back. It was a mess, but it was sort of a beautiful kind of mess because I got to talk to a lot of people I probably otherwise wouldn't have. It took a while.

James: I basically agree with that. I mean, I was pretty insulated from all the collaborations, and I feature pretty heavily on it. This really is like Dani's project for the most part, at least administratively. So yeah, I kind of just added what I was asked to and what I felt would fit. Mostly bringing my jazz background into it. Just pretty, jazz ballad type of stuff, you know, piano trio style bass and drums, like brushes on the drums.

My usual method with a Gingerbee was just doing a bunch of layers of woodwinds, you know, different flutes and saxes and things like that. But yeah, I mean, it’s a continuation largely, I would say, of the Gingerbee process of working online, just sending a bunch of stems over Discord and having the process be sort of improvisational for the most part.

Kade: Dani you mentioned how you messaged a bunch of different instrumentalists that you knew. Were there specific ideas that you had in mind when you spoke to the different musicians or were you just thinking, let's just get as many people as possible on this?

Dani: Yeah, it was sort of both. I mean, let's say someone I was mutuals with would post a story of them playing trumpet or something, then I'd reach out like, now that I know that you play this instrument, do you want to play on this project? Usually, it was a few months before I'd even send them the stuff because I would have it planned out, but I wouldn't have the music yet. So, I sort of built up around that.

Once James got on the project, I feel like his contributions really are characteristic of the final project, you know, because he features on every part and he contributed a lot of mixing notes and ideas. I would just send him shit and then ask for his opinion.

Kade: Not only were all the songs very collaborative, but the album cover was as well. Where did the inspiration come from for that album cover and if you could tell me a little bit more about it?

Dani: For sure. Yeah. So, in terms of the process of making it, I didn't really have a set vision going into it, but I knew that I wanted to incorporate that layered, patchwork element to it. I started with one of Freud's essays about OCD and religious OCD, which resonated with me. Then I took some notes from Sylvia Plath's letters to her mum, and I put that on top of it. This artist I really like, their name's Kimi. They did the character. Then I did the moon and cut it out, and sort of just pasted it all together. It didn't really come together until I think that I had all the different pieces and I digitally altered it all.

Porcelain Stars - Rosemary album art

Kade: So, you pasted it all physically together or digitally?

Dani: It was partially physically, partially digitally. What I did was I took the original, the picture I took, the background was sort of a coffee stained beige, you know, just the pages, but then I went into GIMP and I hit the magic marker tool and made the background disappear, which I thought was cool because it made it look more like space.

Kade: I also wanted to ask about the character included from Kimi, and if there was any deeper meaning behind her?

Dani: Yeah, she's sort of gazing upward, looking at the stars and the moon, with this text in the background about religion, spirituality, obsession, and mental illness. I wanted it to feel like she's overwhelmed by higher powers and conveying a yearning in the way she's looking upward at the moon. The counterpoint to that as well, is the ambivalent, higher forces that are above us, you know?

Kade: The next thing I wanted to ask about was the seventh song on the album, which is a Roy Orbison cover of his song In Dreams. What’s the significance of that song?

Dani: So, I had been on a sort of a David Lynch kick because I had watched Twin Peaks and then I watched Blue Velvet after I watched Twin Peaks. I found a sort of dreamlike cinematography to be really inspiring and also sort of in line with the thematical direction I was taking it [the album] in. So, and I also really love like 50s doo-wop. That was sort of the music I grew up listening to. I thought from a writing, lyrical, and thematic perspective, it fit the vibe.

Kade: At the end of February, you released the music video for the closer and lead single of the album, Endless, Dreamless. What can you tell me about the story that the music video tells?

Dani: Honestly, the process for making it was sort of in line with the way that I did the collaborative elements for the music, which was just kind of me getting ahead of myself, DMing people. I had this vision of a woman in a white dress in a field recording on an old digital camcorder at sunset. And I thought that was cool. That's kind of the visual direction that I wanted to take the project in. So, a friend of mine from high school actually reached out to me like, I do recording, I can do this. I have a friend that could be the subject for it.

So, Sammy and Aubree recorded that part. Then my friend Libby from Athens, we met up in South Carolina and recorded that, the other half of it. My point with saying all this is, I really didn't have a point to it, it was more just I thought this would look cool.

James: It's like jazz. Yeah, it's like you just get a bunch of people together and you're like okay go.

Kade: While we're on the topic of the song Endless, Dreamless, do you mind telling me a little bit about the story that the lyrics tell?

Dani: Yeah, of course. That was the first song that I wrote for the album. I think it sort of acted as a thesis statement for the lyrical direction I wanted to take the rest of the songs in. So, I think it mirrors the overall lyrical meaning of the rest of the album. It's definitely supposed to be abstract and dreamy, and I mostly just wanted to convey the imagery of yearning for someone that you view as higher than you.

Or rather, something that you view as higher than you, as well as the frailty of love and mental stability. I guess similarly to the music video, I didn't really have much of a intended meaning going into it, but, you know, sort of whatever the individual listener can derive from it, I'm cool with that.

Kade: Pivoting away from studio recordings and into a live setting, you guys some shows coming up. By the time this goes up, the first one will have passed. How are you guys feeling about those?

Dani: Doing good. James won't be able to make it to the first one because it's in Atlanta.

James: I'm too broke. I'm too broke to travel. If you want me to come to your city, PayPal me. [email protected].

Dani: I didn't have the money to hire James for this one, but the Chicago show will be James. The members of Your Arms Are My Cocoon, except for Tyler.

James: Oh yeah, it is all of them, that's funny.

Dani: And then James' cellist friend.

James: Yep, who was on the Gingerbee last show also. I'm pretty nervous for this one because this is my first show on upright bass. I picked up like a cheap, shitty plywood upright bass off of Craigslist over COVID. And actually, I just spent more money getting it repaired than I paid for it originally. But it plays really nice now, actually. But yeah, just an instrument that I always liked from my jazz days and as I'm entering like what feels like phase two of my musical existence – if everything up to this point was phase zero and one – where I'm playing more of a supporting role.

Dani: FaZe up bro.

James: Yeah FaZe up. I'm FaZing up and bassing up and I'm playing upright bass for the first time in front of probably a thousand people so that's a little nerve-wracking. I'm gonna bring the electric bass just in case something unpredicted happens, but we should be okay.

Kade: How do you guys think you're going to look in a live setting? Do you think your songs will translate similarly to their studio versions, or do you think you might play around with things a bit?

Dani: That's a good question, because I think in line with the process for the rest of the band, we're just making it up as we go along type vibes.

James: I feel like it'll be, well, I can't speak for the Georgia show, but I mean, the Chicago show is going to be pretty rehearsed, pretty comparable to the studio versions from an arrangement perspective. Yeah, what I'm more worried about is being on a bill with 3 screamo bands and then we come on and play our sleepy time, sad time music.

Dani: With out twinkle twinkle little star type beats. [laughs]

James: Yeah, it's like Gingerbee all over again, but even worse, because now there's no screaming. Well, I guess they're screaming on like a couple small parts. I mean, they asked us, so.

Kade: It'll be a good transitional in between a lot of screaming.

James: Maybe. Aren't we playing first? Dani, are we? I don't know. I have no idea. Yeah, but we're playing with like big bands. We're playing with Your Arms, Dead Butterflies, Stomach Book. Yeah, it'll be an interesting bill, you know, but if they don't like it, fuck them.

Dani: Exactly.

Kade: You got to bring that bill to Australia next.

James: Yeah, we should. Yeah, per usual, money is the ultimate obstacle. I got to figure out some kind of infinite money action replay hack for real life to.

Kade: You could start grifting.

James: I could start grifting. Yeah, I could go into like finance or something.

Kade: You could also get on the reels grind.

James: I could do. I've been thinking about as a promotional technique, making AI generated videos and having my music in the background. But then the problem with that is, you know, what's funny is that like a couple of years ago, this is totally unrelated to Porcelain Stars, but you brought up the reels thing.

Famed content creators James & Dani

There was like some account that was like “when homeslice wants to hit the John F Pennedy”. It was memes about weed pens and they would always have these like AI generated wizards and robots and stuff and it got a lot of followers. It turned out to be an attempt at a promotional thing for the guy’s electronic music that was the background music for all these videos. That was before people really en masse hated AI or the anti-AI sentiment had really proliferated.

[jokingly] So, probably a couple of years ago I could have gotten away with something like that, but now it's like, oh yeah, I'm using up all this water to promote my electronic music with AI content. Probably not a great look.

Kade: Dani's been on the reels grind.

James: Oh yeah. It's true. Yep.

Kade: Worldwide stardom incoming.

James: Kind of changing direction, yeah. Rebranding. I think that's the problem is our stuff up until this point has been too like high effort. I think we need to pivot to more content type stuff.

Kade: You could start engagement baiting.

James: Start?

Dani: We'll do gift card giveaways, on our stories.

James: Robux giveaways. We could have loot crates. Porcelain Stars loot crates! PayPal me $50 to enter into a loot crate, and you might get some rare skins.

Kade: You could do the ads where they tell you to play those games to make money. That could be a crowdfunding method to be able to tour.

James: Big idea. That's a huge idea.

Kade: Anyways, getting back on track. I wanted to ask you about the future outlook of the band and where you guys think Porcelain Stars will be heading in both the near and far future?

Dani: I think that in terms of studio releases, I think the next release is going to be a lot more maximalist and we're going to try to have even more collaborators on it. Just because, I think it'll add more sonic colour to have bigger variety of instrumentals or the instruments. I want the live shows to be big as hell, you know what I mean? Like 18-piece, like the Gingerbee last show, but like every show, you know what I mean?

James: We're really gonna have to post a lot of reels if we want to, you know, fund that.

Kade: I couldn't imagine the nightmare of mixing that live.

Dani: Oh yeah, yeah.

James: We haven't even mixed the previous live show. We gotta try to get like a G Fuel sponsorship or something. Then we can pay ourselves to mix. But as it stands, we lose money and time. We have to only be losing one of those, or ideally neither. I mean, it's hard to say for me. I'm just along for the ride. In all my projects, people just kind of hire me to play some instrument or contribute creatively in some way. I'm at a stage now in my life where it's not just because of money that it’s more difficult to travel and to play shows, but, you know, I'll try to make as much as I can happen.

Kade: What do you think might be some long-term plans, if you've even considered those?

Dani: James, what are your long-term plans?

James: Become a goat farmer.

Dani: I think the move is for us to move to China.

James: It does kind of seem like the U.S. is entirely collapsing, so it's hard for me to make long-term plans on that basis alone. But, I mean, just keep plugging away. I don't know, long-term plans for me creatively tend to just kind of disappear with the river of time. Like I kind of just fall into whatever project I'm working on. Yeah, at any given point. But certainly, more music.

I think it's just the beginning. I think like Dani said, the first album I felt was a very self-contained, coherent vision, aesthetically. So probably now time to push certain boundaries, get in the corners a little more, other instruments, more instruments. I feel like the groundwork has been laid and who knows, up to the river of life, I guess, to take us to the next place.

Kade: Dani, did you have any long-term plans? Or have you thought about any?

Dani: Yeah, I think honestly, just continue with Porcelain Stars. I don't really see myself really wanting to take on any other musical endeavours at the moment, but I think similarly to James, if I sort of happen to stumble into one, you know, I'm cool with that, but I think Porcelain Stars will always be my main thing.

James: My long-term plans are get better at these instruments that I've now sort of committed to playing by virtue of being on an album where I play upright bass and drums, which are definitely my hobby instruments and not my instruments that I would get on stage and play necessarily, except now I have to do that. So, we'll see how it goes. It could go completely catastrophically, and I could quit music forever or at least quit Porcelain Stars. Be super embarrassed, but probably not.

Kade: While we're talking about future projects, you mentioned how you want to include a wider range of instruments, more creative usage of those instruments. Are there any specific sounds or styles that you guys really would like to include?

James: Harp.

Dani: Oh yeah, yeah, harp. I actually found a harp player recently that I've been planning on asking to do stuff. Yeah, I don't know. I'd like it to be more.

James: Probably more strings.

Dani: I want James to go full jazz mode.

James: I think more involved string writing would be cool. Like there's strings on it, but it's mostly just violin or some violin counterpoint or cello. It would be cool to have a cohesive string section or even a full orchestra situation, even if it was recorded asynchronously.

Kade: Are there any types of genres that you think you might want to delve into a little bit that weren't present on the first project?

Dani: I'd like there to be more blackgaze influence, because that's sort of what I would go for, the more distorted parts. I think more dynamic song structure like blending blackgaze and heavy instrumentation with strings and these lush instruments.

James: Yeah, I can't really think of other genres that we didn't incorporate that I would like to. At least like genres per se. I like the idea of leaning into the piano bar style jazz even more. Yeah, I don't know. Hard to say. My bag of tricks, I can't imagine getting that much bigger. It's more getting better at different stuff. I hope that as I progress on drums, I'm able to pull a broader stylistic palette playing drums. Maybe I'll say that.

Kade: To wrap it up, guys, if you could both pick one thing to accomplish in the next year, whether that's musically or personally, what do you think that thing would be?

James: Right now, I'm in grad school hoping to get a master's degree in math so that I can teach community college math. I mean, for a long time, kind of committed to being financially independent from my creative pursuits, because I don't want to have to worry about money affecting the art that I make or having me not take certain risks. I don't really think it would even happen like that, necessarily, but the short answer is that I think being a teacher is like a pretty classic musician job to have because it gives you the summers off and some free time and then at least it's a steady paycheque coming in.

I don't know if this is true or not, but I get the sense that being a musician, you really cannot financially invest in your future, let alone even the present. There's stories, you know, I see on Instagram, of musicians that I really looked up to that were touring a lot in like the late 90s or 2000s or whatever and now they're talking about like they're in their 50s and they can't afford to go to the dentist. So, I'm trying to avoid that.

I don't necessarily care about being prolific per se, but I do like to kind of be consistently working on and releasing projects. So, a year from now, I hope to have a job that allows me to be a musician still.

Dani: That's real. Yeah, a year from now, honestly, I hope to have the album, the next album, at least written, partially recorded, maybe even released. But I don't want to speak too soon.

Kade: Awesome. All right. Well, thank you guys so much for answering all my questions.

Dani: For sure. Thanks for having us.

In a world where the internet is the place to be for new music, it makes some people overwhelmed with the sheer amount of artists and albums to check out. Despite that, the diamonds in the rough manage to stand out and kaya! is a shining example of putting your name on the map. Hailing from the UK, kaya!’s debut album ‘internal dialogue’ released in late July last year and the mix of ethereal, glitchy soundscapes coupled with nicely complementing vocals creates quite a unique listening experience. Recently I sat down with kaya! to discuss his creative process, dig deeper into the lyrical and sonic influences in his music, and what the future has in store for him. !

Kade: So, let's start at the beginning. Who is kaya! ?

kaya!: Okay, so I’m currently 20 years old. I live in the UK, and I’m half African, half from here. I’m a university student right now studying Music Composition for Film and Game. So that's kind of what I want to go into. So this whole, me as an artist, kaya! exclamation mark, blah, blah, blah, that's all like kind of a hobby, I guess.

It's something I put a lot of effort and passion into, but I think I can put more effort and passion into it without worrying about it as a source of income, I guess. Then, you know my composition and scoring for film and game is what I make my money on, so I can afford to care a little less about it. Not that I don’t care about that, I love what I do, but I’m sure you get it.

Kade: The first thing I wanted to ask you about was your latest album, ‘internal dialogue’, which has now been out for a little over seven months. Now that it's been out in the world, received, discussed, how are you feeling?

kaya!: So, mixed, I would say, and that's not because of any reception to the album. The reception was really positive. As I made it I was getting a lot of feedback from a couple of guys, and obviously, because they're close friends who want to make music, they're going to tell me what's good and what's not. So, I was very happy with the project when it came out. That's changed a little bit - in the sense that over time, as I've kind of become better at production since then, I've realised that, oh crap, some of this sounds a little... sounds a little wonky.

The vocals on some of the tracks, you can't tell what I'm saying. And that sucks when I put so much effort into the album conceptually. But at the same time, there's a good three or four songs on there that I absolutely love and I'm so proud of, and ultimately I'm so happy it's out in the world. As a debut project from a guy who picked up music three years ago and made stuff on a beanbag in my bedroom, and then first started doing vocals a year ago, it's like, yeah, no, I'm really happy with it, I am. 

I got into a phase for a while where - I'm sure every music nerd who has a Twitter account has done this at some point - where you just start checking out AOTY scores and Rate Your Music scores and stuff like that. So, when the album came out and not every single person loved it, I was just like, “Oh my God, what have I done?” But I've kind of come out of that phase, a few months ago now, because I was just like, dude, I made this project for me. I've seen the impact it's had on some people, and that's what means a lot to me. So overall positive, but yeah, there's definitely some problems I have.

Kade: Speaking of what went into the album, I know that there was a lot involved visually. Could you tell me a little more about the artistic direction that you took with the album?

kaya!: Yeah, so my friend, one of my best friends, Parm, he's a musician. He's also a visual artist as well. He does a lot of stuff with film. And he basically just said, hey, look, man, I'm really passionate about this album too. I will do all your visuals for free. And I was like, okay, that's crazy, are you sure? If it makes any money, you're getting a big cut. And he's like, okay, sure. So, he did all my visuals for free, which is amazing, and I'm so blessed. I now owe him a massive favour. His brother actually also did the cover out. That was not for free, obviously, because it's bloody gorgeous. Not saying Parm’s stuff isn’t but you get what I mean.

the cover art for internal dialogue

In terms of visual direction, the sound of the music and its visual identity is something I want to keep really consistent. So, the sound of the music is really glitchy and weird - I don't want to say abstract, because that sounds a little bit pretentious…but I guess somewhat abstract. And I kind of wanted the visuals to be kind of a little art house-y.. I like weird and Parm’s very good at that. So yeah, he did a bunch of canvases, especially for the album.

I wanted, like, a cool little rollout with it because I was really passionate about the project. I'm like, okay, I know this isn't going to blow me out of the water commercially. That's not what I'm looking for. I want something where I can look back on this rollout and be like, dude, I put a lot of effort into this. Well not I, I shouldn't say, we did because I didn't put in half as much of the effort in that regard. I had the constantly changing banners on Twitter every day for a week leading up to the album dropping. And that's all been uploaded on my Instagram, obviously. That was something that I still think is, like, insanely cool. Parm’s idea. I'm so proud of Parm for doing that. Yeah, just kind of weird, wacky, melancholic, I guess, in keeping with the album. If that makes sense.

Kade: Going back to the more sonic side of it, when you released the album, you listed a bunch of your key influences in the making of the project, including artists like Jane Remover, Porter Robinson and Yeule, just to name a few. How did those influences bleed into the album and what do those artists mean to you?

kaya!: I'll start off with how they blend into the album because I think that's a lot more of a simple thing to explain. You can clearly hear in my production all of these different cues I've taken; I'm not saying it's like a rip-off of any sorts because I think, on the album, I've managed to mesh them together in a way where it definitely feels like me. But like for example, you can easily hear the influence on the title track, ‘internal dialogue’. The synth lead - I literally just transposed down the synth lead from ‘your clothes’ off of Frailty and then just threw it into my own track - and yeah it sounds great. I mean, you can't tell when you're listening to it? Or maybe you can, but it's not like, oh my god, what are you doing ripping them off like that?

Porter Robinson is my favourite artist of all time. I've written an entire big synopsis on why Nurture is a godsend to me. That doesn't even necessarily bleed through in any production, but there's an obvious interpolation of Musician on ‘paint the canvas white’. That’s my favourite track on the record, by the way. There's also an interpolation of Yeule's ‘ghosts’ on my own track of the same name, I say interpolation but I did kind of entirely nab the lyrics from. But I credited them as a songwriter as well. Call it a cover if you want. It just felt right.

That kind of weird; and it's beautiful; glitchy production, kind of indietronica-coded. That's always like, ever since I first heard like Frailty, and Wallsocket when that came out. It kind of showed me that you can have these beautiful electronic, crazy soundscapes and still have an emotional core and heart. That's what Nurture is to me. That's why that album is so incredible to me, because it is so emotionally potent while not casting aside any of those EDM leanings he had on Worlds. And that's powerful to me. That's so powerful to me. That's influenced my music a lot. It's shown me that I can do absolutely anything and still have my emotions bleed through on every track.

Kade: Going back to the production, some of the tracks have a lot of layers to the point where it could become overwhelming. How do you manage to maintain cohesion when in the creative process of making these tracks?

kaya!: That's a great question. I'd argue that sometimes I don't and that's the problem. But on the tracks I do, tracks like ‘the wrong idea!’, like the climax of that track, I'm so proud of. To clarify, I listened to a couple of songs before doing this interview, so I could have a refresher of the album. Anyway. The climax of ‘the wrong idea!’, it's so layered, but it all feels, like, so precisely constructed, I guess. The way I did that when I was actually producing it, was just by sitting with the song, rendering it out. Every single time I worked on it, I'd render it out, listen to it like five times on my way to uni, and just walk around, driving, whatever. And then I'd write down every single problem and comment I had with how it was constructed, anything I can make better.

I just did that time after time after time. So, I had that perfect base layer that I'm really proud of. I got, uh, Takuxo to do some of the synths on that track as well. And she sent those over and obviously they're just stems. And I was like, oh God, how do I mix them in? But I think having the stems there made that track so much better to mix because I could just phase these elements in and out and just have these synths flying everywhere, coming and going. And because it's not me making those, I don't have as much of an attachment to them, I guess. So, I'm more willing to just let stuff go and come in and come out. Her synth design is insane by the way. Check her stuff out. If she ever actually drops music. Intense side eye. Anyway, I think that craziness kinda made for a perfect example of what I can do with that more maximalist mixing

Same with something like ‘engulfed’, where there's obviously a lot going on, it's a very full song, but from a technical standpoint, when mixing, I knew what every instrument was doing in every frequency range, and I just have to keep that in mind when I'm actually making a song that I can't have stuff overlapping, because then it's just going to sound like mush. Obviously, that's a bit boring when I should be making a song, to look at it from a technical frequency range standpoint, but I think it's important. Yeah, so that's the main way, just like listening to it over and over.

Kade: In your creative process with such grand arrangements sometimes, do you tend to start more with vocals or instruments first?

kaya!: I think that’s where a lot of the problems with internal dialogue came from. I say problems, my issues came from the fact that I don't start with vocals, that's what I've changed a little bit recently. I started with instrumentals. I built up like the full instrumentals and then I'd go like, oh, shit I need vocals on this. Then the vocals don't sit in the mix because it’s already full. But even now I definitely start with instrumentals. I focus on the soundscape first. I don't even touch melodies for a while. I'll just build this perfect soundscape now and just make sure that everything's going into just sounding as beautiful and pretty as possible. Then I might do a vocal melody or like a synth melody, a guitar melody, whatever. But it's really focused on texturing first for me.

Kade: In that same vein, when it comes to the vocals, do you focus more on finding vocals that work as if your voice was an instrument or do you really tend to get into the nitty-gritty of the songwriting aspects with your lyrics?

kaya!: So when I first started out doing vocals, I had the idea of them being purely like an instrument. That's partly why they're so auto-tuned and messed with. While I was doing that, I was also writing lyrics that I felt were really emotionally potent.

Because the first song I worked on for the album was the title track, I think the lyrics are much more simple on that song, but they're great. They've kind of got like a tsubi club or like even a Porter Robinson type vibe to them where, like, they're straightforward and easy to understand, but they've got the emotional potency to make the song actually hit like that. So, I think I do focus a bit more on them being like an instrument of sorts. I did anyway. But that's changing now. I'm still focused on lyricism, but I do also think songwriting is really important to get right with lyricism.

But the way I was often crafting my narratives on internal dialogue was through the song structures, and that was something that’s really strong throughout the album. I think that's where the best songs came from - I would tell the story of the track, not only through the lyrics, but also through how the song is structured, you know, with all these linear, progressive structures that change and warp as they're going along. I think that's where my favourite parts of that album are when I really nailed the telling of the story through the song structure as opposed to my lyrics. If that makes sense.

Kade: Recently you were part of the Parannoul fan compilation Hundreds of Us. Could you tell me what it means to be a part of that compilation and also a little bit about your contribution to the project, Nondistinct?

kaya!: Yeah, of course. So my other friend, Taniza, who also had a song on the album called Afterglow, which is amazing, they messaged me out of the blue one day and they go, hey, do you want to work on this Parannoul Discord fan compilation? I’m like, oh God, I don't have time for this right now. But a couple weeks later, I joined anyway because I was like, I want to see what other people do.

I started listening to people's songs and it kind of reminded me why I fell in love with making music in the first place, just hearing all these demos that so many people were sending around. In that same vein that Parannoul himself comes in, where it's like... God, this is so passionate. You can feel the emotion, it's so palpable in those songs. You can feel that every single one of these people who look up to him so much that they're willing to, you know, make a fan song for him, making these songs and pouring their hearts out. And I heard those and I just go, God, I need to take part in this.

And some of those songs like, I think leuterio’s track was called ‘lie with me’?. That one’s, like, immaculate. And there’s artists like Asian Glow and Turq that I listen to all the time and love and look up to that were taking part. So I felt like I'd be missing out on something that people may even be talking about in a few years.

And even then, even if not, it's like, I wanted to make a song for it, in tribute to an artist that I adore so much. I've been listening to Parannoul since maybe about a year or two after I started seriously getting into music. I found him, I don't know, I think it was when After the Magic came out. I heard that when it came out and I was like, God, this is really great. Like the only shoegaze I’d heard before that was mbv (my bloody valentine) and Slowdive. And I went back to To See the Next Part of the Dream and also Paraglow, because I’d heard Weatherglow as well around that time. This was just before After the Night came out, the live album. Then that came out and I was like, this is the best album of the decade. That live version of Into the Endless Night is so flawlessly incredible and powerful. And it's just like, God, how? How did he do this? So, to make a song in tribute to an artist like that is amazing.

I've never really dove fully into that shoegaze bag before. I've done it a little bit on the title track of internal dialogue in the back half. But I have a guitar and I just don't play it on songs. I’m still in the early stages of learning to play. So I was like, why don't I make a shoegaze song? Why the hell not? So yeah, I did. I still kept it in with my, you know, a bit more electronic stylings. But I think I managed to nail that kind of indietronica shoegaze vibe, especially the stuff that he was going for on After the Magic. It was kind of just about me in the aftermath of internal dialogue, realizing, oh, this didn't solve my problems. I just kind of want to be okay, I guess, is kind of the message of the song. The vocals sound lovely on there. That's something I'm really happy with. That's my favourite part of the song. It's just, oh God, these vocals sound really good. I can sing well. Still some clarity issues, but I think I just need a new mic. It’s time to move on from my NT1.

So, I made a post about it in the aftermath where I was like, God, this is, I'm so happy to be included on this. Even if people listen to my song and they don't care, it's like, God, there are so many talented people I'm alongside here. It's like an absolute blessing. So happy and proud to be part of it.

Kade: Speaking of Nondistinct, you mentioned a little bit there about the sonic direction that it was taking, saying that when the track came out that it was a bit of a stylistic departure from internal dialogue. What do you see yourself creating in the near future as you continue to develop your sound?

kaya!: So, I've been listening to a lot of indie folk recently. In particular, The Microphones, obviously, Bright Eyes, Low Roar. I stumbled upon Low Roar – 0 recently. That album is so flawless and everything. The production is a godsend, his vocals are a godsend. I just kind of heard that album and I went, I really want to make folktronica. So, I've got a song I've been... I say I've been working on it. It's nearly done, but obviously I want to keep it for a while until I've got a full project to release alongside it. But it's got a mix of indie folk, indietronica, folktronica, a couple industrial elements, I guess.

I've realised this recently, I have a lot of revelations in my musical career that don't actually lead to anything, where it's like, oh, this is what I've been doing wrong, this is what I've been doing wrong, it's just like copium. But I've realised recently that when I try to focus too much on a genre, I just don't make music that I'm happy with. Because when I make a song and it exceeds my expectation, that's like crack, right? And when I'm trying to make a song that's going to blow me away, having an understood expectation of what I'm going to be making before I start doing it kind of kills it for me, I think. The song I'm working on now is called ‘Sheep in Wolf’s Clothing’. I didn't know what I was doing. I think I found a splice loop for a guitar, acoustic guitar. And I was like, God, it's, like, actually pretty. Like an actual interesting splice loop. So, I just build and build around that and build a whole song out of that. And you know, crazy drums come in and it's like, Blah, blah, blah. Oh my gosh, wait, how did I make this? And I look back at it and I'm like, dude, how did I think of this? That's the greatest feeling in the world. I have that with ‘paint the canvas white’ as well. I'm like, how did I do this? So yeah, I don't want to boil myself down to a genre. I have, contradictory to that, posted that I want to make a folktronica album multiple times. As well as like a little Spotify playlist of influences that I can send you if you want. The Lily Chou-Chou soundtrack as well. That movie changed my life. And Arabesque from it is great, I heard the Ichiko Aoba version as well. Oh my gosh, it's so pretty. I've got a song that's kind of inspired by that that I want to work on more now because I'm nearly finished with the first one. So, if you want to boil it down to one word, folktronica, I guess. But I'm weird and I'm me and that's all that I know for sure right now.

Kade: We spoke a little bit earlier about some artists that have influenced your sound. But what are some other artists that may not have influenced your sound, but you still hold near and dear to your heart?

kaya!: So, stuff you wouldn't find immediately obvious, I guess, by looking at my production stylings. Stuff like Sufjan Stevens, who is probably my favourite artist ever, or maybe it’s still Porter Robinson, I don't know. I heard Illinois for the first time and it just opened my eyes to like how beautiful and varied and magical music can be. All the way back to the start of my journey into all of this, there was - ignoring Kanye West - Car Seat Headrest. I listened to Twin Fantasy back in 2020, and it kind of like, again, opened my eyes to what music can be. Because before then, and this isn't any hate to any of the artists I'm about to say, because I still love some of them, but I was very big on like, you know, the emo trinity of Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, Twenty One Pilots, all of that. And again, they make great music, especially MCR. But I didn't really go outside of that.

Then I heard like, I don't know, Eminem and Kanye West, and I was like, oh, rap music is cool too. I swear I’m not white. And then I heard Car Seat Headrest, and I was like, wait, music in general is just really cool. And Twin Fantasy has changed my life, and it's saved my life and it's an incredibly potent album. Beach Life-in-Death is maybe my favourite song ever made. Who else? Fishmans as well, obviously, because I'm a music nerd online. Underscores. I don't think this comes through as clearly in my music, but I've been really big into fishmonger specifically recently, and the new album is going to be bloody incredible. (kaya! in post here - the new album was in fact incredible).

I've been getting into rage recently, which I never expected. Slayr and Lucy Bedroque and stuff like that has been really cool. Beach House. I adore Beach House. I've listened to every one of their albums like a billion times. Oh, and Ichiko Aoba has been my most streamed artist of the past 12 months, I'm pretty sure, and I haven't stopped listening to her, like, at all. Incredibly calming music keeps me, like, grounded. It kind of speaks to how much you can do solo. I’m going to her Royal Albert Hall concert at the end of March with my girlfriend and I’m so excited.

Kade: With so many visual aspects to your music that we were speaking about earlier, are there any visual mediums that you really enjoy? Movies, TV series, etc?

kaya!: Yeah, so I was never like a big nerd about it until recently, in the same way that I have been with music for like 5 years now. Like every kid my age, I watched a lot of anime growing up. I got into Dragon Ball when I was really young, and then like every 12 year old stumbled onto, like, Tokyo Ghoul, and Sword Art Online. Neither of which have aged the best in my conscience. In that field, I'm basic and I love Attack on Titan so much, and I think it's a masterpiece. I've been watching the new season of Jujutsu Kaisen with my friends, and I've read the manga, and it's just really nice to see their reactions to everything that's going on. That's being adapted insanely well right now, better than I thought it would be. I’m not even that big on the manga. In terms of live action stuff, I'm really big into Better Call Saul, Succession, I watched Beef on Netflix pretty recently and that was incredible.

Film wise, I love Wes Anderson, I was really big into all the classic animated films growing up, Pixar and that. I love what I’ve seen of Studio Ghibli as well, I've been getting into that filmography recently - I watched Princess Mononoke when my girlfriend and I started dating a year back, and I’ve been hooked since. The Boy and the Heron, Whisper of the Heart, Grave of the Fireflies made me want to kill myself. All About Lily Chou-Chou, again, got into my veins recently. It's my favourite film now, I think. The Spider-Verse movies really captured my imagination when I saw them in cinemas, especially the first one. I was like, God, like movies, wow, I didn't know, like, this could be this cool. I'd say I'm into everything, just probably not in the same way that I am music, but I'm trying to get into film a bit more right now. I’ve watched a lot of the film-bro classics recently. Tarantino’s stuff (to mixed thoughts), Fight Club, Shawshank, Everything Everywhere All At Once. I’m working on it.

Kade: Is there anything that you think really brings forth any type of influence into your work the same way, like Porter Robinson does into your music?

kaya!: Lily Chou-Chou. I watched that film near the end of internal dialogue, and it's kind of the entire reason ‘paint the canvas white’ exists. I don't know how I can explain that more without actually going into the song for way longer than I can right now. Photography does, because sometimes when I'm making a song, I have a photo that I think kind of represents the atmosphere of what I'm going for up on my other monitor. But I don't know if I'd say it bleeds into it in the same way, I guess.

Kade: Then to wrap things up, looking forward, what are three things that you would like to achieve within the next year, whether that be musically or personally?

kaya!: Okay, so... I need a minute to think about this. So, I'm going to Korea to study abroad this coming September. So, I just want that to go well, I guess. I'm a little scared, but I'm also really excited. I'm quite extroverted, so I think I'll be fine. But, you know, it's the whole thing of ditching your friends for a year. So, I want to be confident when I'm away there, pretty proud of myself. just a little more secure in my talent, I guess. I know I'm good at this, but sometimes when you make a bunch of slop, it's just like, what am I doing?

So, I think my second thing would be to actually make music. Just like, I haven't made music I'm proud of for a while until recently, and I just want to make a lot of music I'm proud of, really. It's kind of why I'm here. I want to kind of give people escapism through music, like how it gave me, I guess. And I can't do that if I'm not happy with what I'm doing. So, I want to be happy with what I'm doing.

Number three, I want to collaborate with people more. I've been asked a couple of times, and I've turned people down just because I've got so much uni work going on. But I'd really like to do that. I think there's so many talented people I'd love to work with. So, I want to get a couple of collabs out. I'll probably do that before I drop another album, I think. Yeah.

Kade: All right. Well, I think we will probably wrap it there, if that's all good, thanks for you time!

sweet boy

sweet boy is one of those artists that gets better with every single release. His debut album 'car chaser' has finally released after much anticipation, and it shows sweet boy at his creative apex. Meshing slowcore and shoegaze influences together, he's produced a project that takes the most interesting styles of his previous works, and gets the best of both worlds. Prior to the release of the album, I sat down to talk to him about the creative process of the album, how the collaborations came about, and the central motif of Fear on the project.

Kade: So, to start us off, please introduce yourself.

sweet boy: Hello, my name is Tommy, also known as sweet boy. The man is sweet, apparently.

Kade: And what type of music do you make?

sweet boy: That is a good question. It started off like slowcore sort of music and then kind of went into more of a heavier sound and then now it's kind of a mixture of every single thing I've ever made up until now, mixed in with some new fun stuff. We'll just call it alternative music, that’s the best way I can describe it, I think.

Kade: I wanted to start off first by just saying, congrats on the release of the album.

sweet boy: Thank you

Kade: How does it feel that you finally made it to the release of this project?

sweet boy: It feels good. It feels really fucking good. It's been a while. It's been a long time coming to finally do an album. But yeah, it's good. It's very exciting to finally be able to put together something bigger than like 6 songs. Because you can only do so much with six songs. But no, it feels good. It feels very cool being able to work with cool people on a project and really try and expand the sound, which has been difficult, but very fun to try and figure out. Very fun. So, I'm very excited. I'm very keen for the world to hear it, finally.

Kade: The first track I wanted to ask you about was ‘nothing on you’, which has a feature from sign crushes motorist, aka Liam McCay. The last time we spoke, you mentioned him as one of the key influences in your sound, specifically the slowcore stuff that you had created.

sweet boy: Yeah.

Kade: How did it feel to be able to create a track with someone that had been one of your major influences?

sweet boy: It was cool. It was a long time coming because I remember when, before I even did sweet boy stuff, I was a fucking huge fan of Liam's music and then I remember I sent him a song in maybe early 2023. I was like, “Yo, you should jump on this”. And he was like, “oh, nah, not now”. And looking back; so fucking valid. Like that song, I listen to it now and it was before I'd figured anything out. And it was still relatively early on in his career as well, I think. But it was cool. That song, [‘nothing on you’],  specifically was super special. So, before we went to LA, I sent him some of the songs. I was like, “Yo, this is what the album's sounding like. Would love for you to be a part of it”. Then he sent back the ‘how long do we have’ song with Charlie [carpet bed] and he's like, “yeah, I need to be on this”. I was like, all right, fire. And then he sent his vocals, but the ‘nothing on you’ song, I think I made the instrumental in LA and we'd linked up a couple times in LA, just hung out, played FIFA. I sent him that instrumental and he's like, please save this for me. Like, whatever you do, save this song for me. And I was like, all right, fire.

I think it was my second last day in LA. We finally linked up in the studio. And then he just; I don't know. I left the room for maybe half an hour, and then I came back and he wrote that and I was like, fuck, that's wild. It was beautiful, along with all the context behind it as well. It was a very special song, but he is a very talented human being. I feel like he needs more flowers. But yeah, it was sick. It feels cool to finally have that moment. It's a very special, very special song. But yeah, shout out Liam. He's a good guy.

Kade: Speaking of the features, you had no features on your first couple of projects with sweet boy outside of sweet93 and carpet bed. On ‘car chaser’ however, there is a plethora of features. How do you feel about the creative direction that took the project towards more features?

sweet boy: Yeah, it was, I don't even know what happened, hey. I think when I started the record here [Melbourne], I knew the feeling I wanted to capture on the album. I think I was listening to, M83, the song ‘Wait’. I was listening to that, and I was like, dude, this song is fucked. There was just something in that song. I was like, I want to recreate the feeling I got from that song, and I was piecing it together. Then obviously I wanted to have a lot more drums and instruments. That's when I got my best friend Sass, Sasskia Batten. She's one of the best drummers ever. She kind of helped me write it and play the drums. And that's where that kind of collaboration started. Then writing songs with Charlie. Then when we got to LA, we started to bring more people in, work with more people. And then that's when Jake [Them & I] came into it as well. He started writing. I sent stuff to him. There were these holes that I couldn't fill. When I heard [those holes] I was like, these people would sound incredible in this, so I sent it out to the people I trust.

It feels good though. It feels cool being able to have people who are really good at what they do come in and enter the car chaser world, which is cool. It's very, very special. But I love it. There's a lot, especially on the back end as well, on the production side, there's so many things that it's almost like you'll blink and you'll miss it. There's a guitar part. in ‘get home safe’ that my friend scro did that's so subtle but it fully completes it and yeah it's cool. I like working with people. It's hard but it is fun at the same time.

Kade: With all the collaboration on the project were there any interesting stories from the way the collaborations came into existence?

sweet boy: I think on ‘how long do we have?’, that one was kind of fun to make because it was Charlie and I and we're in probably the best relationship, that is my human being. We just merge and mesh so well. So, we sat down to write a song and the song's called ‘how long do we have?’ so it was kind of like this bittersweet idea of, hey, let's write a song about questioning this entire thing that we have together. And that was kind of a fun and quite sad experience. We were trying to write this thing together and I'm like, this is kind of fucked up. This is kind of weird writing this. That is where the whole album stems from though, fear, which we can get into later. It was very interesting trying to do that. But I love that song and her writing is incredible and she helps push me with it so that was a cool moment, writing a song with someone. I haven't done that before. So it was cool.

Kade: You just briefly mentioned fear there. Do you mind telling me a little bit about the significance and meaning of the final track [‘fear’] on the album?

sweet boy: Yeah, that's a cool, track. Shout out my mum. That's my mum on the outro. But I was in LA and was maybe three quarters of the way through making the record. And I called my mum and I was like, hey, I really want to have you on this album somehow. I don't know how I wanted it, but I knew I wanted to have her, whether it's a phone call or a conversation. So, I explained to her the whole concept and meaning of the album and then she pretty much just said the exact same thing she says on the song to me. And I was like, wait, I need you to say that all again one more time, and I'm just going to record you saying that. Because it was like, I didn't know what I wanted her to say, but it was just so crazy hearing her be like, yeah, that whole concept reminds me of dot, dot, dot, and then just went on. And I know that story, but I was just like, damn. So that’s exactly what the album is about. So it was cool. It was very cool. But yeah, shout out my mum. She's a blessing.

Kade: You mentioned at the start how your music is somewhere in between the slowcore and heavier styles that you have previously approached in the past. How do you think you've gone about refining your sound into an in-between?

sweet boy: I don't know. That was like, that was one of the main challenges I faced. Because I love the whole genre of slowcore and even the extensions of it, all the siblings the genre has and even the way it falls into acoustic and the heavier sounding stuff. Yeah, that, trying to find a balance of that was difficult, but then also have something that feels authentic to myself. I kind of spent a lot of time being like, how can I expand on this? And I've said this before, but I don't want to reinvent the wheel. I just want to show how I can spin it.

I wanted to try and push the sound, try and push it to a place where people are like, wait, is this slowcore? I like his slowcore stuff, but I also like this. Is this slowcore? Is this heavy? Is this shoegaze? I want people to be like, damn, this feels like an expansion from the original sound that I am currently known for. We just had in our mind, can you play this in a stadium? Because, dude, imagine hearing a slowcore song in a stadium. That's fucked. You just think of a bedroom, quiet, sad, maybe like a small bar or something. But I was like, dude, what would this sound like if you played to 10,000 people? That was kind of the mindset. So, we thought, fuck could a whole crowd scream this back at you? If not, then it doesn't fit. It was a weird process, but I feel like we got there in the end. I feel very happy with it.

Kade: Talking more about your process, you spent a lot of time in LA working on the album. Could you tell me a little bit about what it was like being over in America?

sweet boy: It was very fun. Dude, LA just feels like a playground of just people who are so in their own bubbles compared to Australia where you have a lot of people who are really good at what they do and are incredible at what they do. But there’s this energy that people in LA have where they've built a whole world around that and this person might be a really good guitarist, but they have a whole community built like that. It's so odd I don't even know how to explain it, but it was good. I very much enjoyed it.

There was six of us in this Airbnb that we all flew out. And it was like waking up every day and just going. We built a studio in this house, and we had a full drum kit, a whole studio just built there looking out over LA. It was such a crazy experience just to wake up and then everyone's mind is like how can we make this album? What could we do? My friend Bazio was there helping me with it. He’s an insane producer. His knowledge and what he creates is so far past what I do. So, him coming in and saying “yo we should try adding this.” I'm like damn. I'm going to try that but bring it back to here and then it just meshed perfectly. So, it was cool. I love LA. It's a very, very interesting place. There's a lot of characters there. A lot of funny characters.

Kade: Taking a step back, the last time I interviewed you, It was just before the release of your EP, ‘the machinist’. Now, we're close to five months on from that project.

How do you feel about it and how do you feel about the styles that you approached on that project?

sweet boy: On ‘the machinist’, fuck. That was a, yeah, that was a cool one. That was like, we came back from LA the first time, and I was in a rut before I left. I was like, damn, I'm not sad. I don't feel sad. I have an acoustic project that I never put out that was me trying to say what I thought was sad and it just felt so just wrong and I didn't, didn't vibe it. And that first time I went to LA before the last one, I spoke to Liam about that. I was like, “do you ever feel weird trying, feeling like you're obligated to make sad music and this slow sound?” And he's like, yeah, it's a weird feeling. You can't just say I'm going to make this really sad, depressing song, but I am in the best relationship ever. I'm happy. I'm with my friends. So, it was weird.

So, coming back, I just want to make something that I just love and if I ever play this at a show, I want people to move to the music. So that whole project was just me trying to figure out what that sounds like. I think that project was made super-fast. It was very, let's go, let's go, let's go, let's get it done, put it out. But I love that project. I feel like that's a cool, part of me, a cool thing for people to come back to and be like, damn, you really made that style and then just went somewhere else with it. But yeah, I think I'm very keen to play that live, that'll be our opening few songs or so.

Kade: You've spoken a lot recently about your plans for live shows in the coming year. Could you tell me a little bit more about what you have planned?

sweet boy: We're very keen to play live. It feels like it's been a long time coming. But yeah, I think we're gonna play some headline shows in Melbourne and then just do a full Australian tour, just show everyone what we have and then, you know, hopefully play some festivals. I think 2026 will be a lot of just playing live and showing people what that looks like, especially with the ‘car chaser’ project being so heavily, arena, arena. What would that sound like? What would that look like? I think 2026 will be a lot of live shows everywhere. I feel like it'll be a big, big performing year, which I'm very excited for. I've got some beautiful minds helping us make it happen. But just live shows, live shows, live shows, live shows.

Kade: While on the topic of plans for the record, for the fans of physical media, are there any plans for a physical release of ‘car chaser’?

sweet boy: I believe so. I believe so. Yeah, I really want to do CDs. Because vinyl are very, very fun and are very cool to do. But there's just something about a CD where you can get more intricate with it. Or you could even just strip it all the way back and just have a plain CD case with a few stickers and a booklet. I don't know, but vinyl are sick. Vinyl are cool as well. But I think we might do both. Or one or two. I don't know. We'll see. We'll see. We'll have to keep an eye out. We'll find out.

Kade: I feel like I'm obligated to ask. But could you tell me a little bit more about the cover art and the story behind that?

sweet boy: That's so fire. Oh, I've been waiting for this. I've been waiting for this.

Kade: I'd be lying if I said when I saw it for the first time, it didn't catch me off guard.

sweet boy: Yeah, fire. That's good. That's really good. That's exactly what I want to hear. Yeah, that was. Yeah, that's a cool one. So that's not me. Just in case anyone was wondering, that is not me. If I explain the cover, I got to kind of explain the concept. So; it’s like every time I think about it, it goes a step back. I've got to explain that and that. But basically, like I was saying before, I’m in a happy place. I love my friends. I love my girlfriend, making sure my family's okay. I'm not in that sad space that I was. And I was just thinking, I think I've always kind of made emotional music or music that dives into that. I think one day I just thought, what would happen if I just lost all of that? And, that's kind of where I was like, oh fuck, that makes me not feel nice. It doesn't make me feel sad or depressed because I know I'll make sure everything's okay, but the fear creeping in, which every human being feels, whether it's the fear of, is my car gonna make it to work today? Do my friends hate me? There's this fear everywhere.

I think I was recording the song ‘car chaser’ and I was kind of just recording the way I do, looped it out, just recording over a span of time and I was saying these things about fear and just letting it come to my mind. Then, for some reason, I don't know if this is the universe or something, but my mum randomly texted me, just a photo of me and her when I was a kid. And I just lost it. I fully just was, I was just crying. Just like, fuck man. I don't want to lose that. And that's why in the song I say I hope you know I'll be here chasing cars.

Because the whole idea centres around a dog chasing a car, where, it doesn't know why, but it just does. And that could be like at anything, but what's it gonna do when it catches it? It doesn't know, but it just knows it has to chase the car. There's the fear of what if it doesn't chase the car? What happens if it chases it and it can't handle it when it gets there?

So, it's a lot of that symbolism kind of stemming from fear. That's where the whole car chaser thing began with the whole, a dog chasing a car and not knowing what to do when it gets there. Or was it even worth the chase? Did you make the right decision? So that brings me to the cover art. I was looking for what to make the cover art and I was kind of just scrolling through my camera roll. We had ideas of just stuff with cars but then it just felt too on the nose or too direct. And then I saw this photo in my camera roll of a friend of mine when he was a lot younger, and it was from a time in his life where he was definitely not chasing the right car, to say the least. He was not in the best world and mindset at that point in his life. I was staring at it and I was like, damn, this is a crazy image. Just him there with the money, the watch, the tank top. And then I remembered, I was like, oh yeah, he is, and you might not believe it, but he's a full converted Catholic now. He is definitely not about whatever's going on in that photo.

I was just looking at it and I was like, damn, he was chasing a certain thing that a lot of people don't always get out of or can change from in their life. But now he chased the right car and he's happy. He's never been happier. So, I was like, damn, that's a very striking image. I don't know, kind of just lined up off rip. And I was like, wow, okay. I think this is, this is the one, but that's the long answer for it. But yeah, that's the, I guess that's the story behind it. We're all chasing a car.

What is it? We don’t know. We're all chasing a car, many cars, but why? You have to see what happens when you catch it. That's pretty much the story of the cover. The long version.

Kade: Moving away from the music, something else I wanted to ask you about is one of your other creative endeavours, your videography. You got to shoot for Julie, Cigarettes After Sex and Montell Fish last year.

What was that experience like and what would you like to achieve with videography in 2026?

sweet boy: That was cool. That was like a random side mission. I got really big into film mid last year. I've always liked writing and directing the music videos and roll out stuff. I really want to make film stuff. Kind of just expand the world even more. And I've been into film since I was a kid and always wanted to be a director. So, I was like, I can do this. I just kind of dived headfirst into that for a little bit. And then, I would just see an artist is coming and then just find who the booking agent was and be like, hey, I can do this, I can do this and for some reason they said yes. Then I was able to be like, hey, I shot these guys, can I shoot this show? And they're like, yeah. And I was like, I'll do it for free. And then they said yes. Then I showed that to the next person and they're just like, yeah, this guy's, he's done it before. So that was a random outside mission. And I still do it from time to time. But doing photoshoots and video shoots for artists is a big thing I want to get into down the line.

Kade: Will there be a visual element accompanying the project?

sweet boy: Yes sir, there will be. We've shot a few things for the rollout that hopefully people realise is not real. Everything's okay, it's not like that. But yeah, we're definitely sorting out the music videos and the visual language for the album and what it looks like. Similar to the cover, diving headfirst into symbolisms and stuff like that. But I think I'll always direct and shoot my music videos to the most I can until I need someone else to help me. But luckily I got my best friends who do it. Zane and Joel, they're always keen to help me. Like the ‘please don't leave’ video, I shot the whole thing, except for the last bit, because obviously I needed to be in there. So, onsite, I can't really do that, but they'll always be there onsite helping me with it. But yeah, definitely some cool visuals. I'm super keen.

We get to hire a rabbit. So hopefully that makes sense when this comes out. Fingers crossed we actually get the rabbit, but if not, that's alright.

Kade: One of the things you mentioned that you wanted to do the last time we spoke was creating a short film. Where are you at with that?

sweet boy: It definitely is. It's a lot more work than I realised for a short film. I wrote one last year and was getting it all ready to film. And it's so expensive. I was trying to shoot in these places, but we needed licenses. And then you don't need a license, but then if you want it in a film festival, you need one, so I was just like, fuck trying to do all this by myself. But I’ll get to it. I would love to do a short film at some point. Maybe it will line up for this album. That would be cool. I don't know. But definitely, at some point, there will definitely be some sort of film in the world by sweet boy. But we'll see. We'll keep it going. We've got to play some shows first.

Kade: Then to finish it off, what's next for sweet boy after this album? What would you like to look forward to?

sweet boy: A world tour. That's where my eyes are at the moment, do a world tour and just show everybody what that looks like. Because I feel like, this might just be me, but I feel like they'll be pleasantly surprised at what it looks like. I've had a lot of people ask me, what does the live show look like? What does that look like? It's quite slow and sad music. But it'll be good. It'll be very fun. I'm very excited. So, if you're reading this, come to a show. If you see one, please, it would be cool. And say hi.

Kade: I think that’ll do it. Thanks so much.

Quedronol is a young independent artist hailing from San Francisco who first gained some traction with his Ambient Indie Folk album Fioritura in late 2023. This momentum would continue into 2024 and 2025 where he would make a statement with the release of Together in May. His music is emotional and sincere, blending personal experiences and beautiful melodies to create a bittersweet listening experience. As 2026 approaches, I had a chat with him to discuss his musical journey as well as what the future holds for him.

Kade: Let's start at the beginning. Who is Quedronol?

Quedronol: Quedronol is… I guess the name, the persona I made for myself when I was 11 and wanted to start making music by myself, wanted to start producing. I got Logic Pro pirated. And I've been writing music since I was like 2. That's like pretty much just been like my whole life. That's how I learned how to read from reading the backs of CDs that my dad would play in the car. Then I would start writing my own lyrics in the notes app on my mom's phone. Eventually that turned into learning how to produce and play guitar when I was like 11 or 12.

I just kind of chose the name Quedronol because I don't even know. I don't remember how I came up with that. I remember I was key smashing on a keyboard trying to come up with something and nothing really sticking. So, I just wanted to make it nonsense and wanted to give it no meaning. Today it's kind of a burden because I'm not 11 anymore and I kind of wish I came up with a name that rolls off the tongue better. A lot of people tell me that it's hard to remember or it just sounds like a drug and it doesn't sound representative of what the music is, but it is what it is.

Kade: The first thing I wanted to ask about was the album you put out earlier this year in May called Together. It's got a really sprawling track list with a lot of varied moods throughout. When you started creating the album, did you picture it as one cohesive journey or more like a collection of independent stories?

Quedronol: I guess both, but primarily it was one cohesive thing. It was originally going to be like a hard concept album about; and I don't know, I still might make this album someday; but it was going to be about a man and his horse and their journey from the East Coast of the US to San Francisco, which is where I'm from. It was definitely going to originally be one single vibe. I guess the closest thing to that that's still on the album is the song Picture in Picture. That was kind of what I envisioned, like the whole thing would feel like. But what it turned into was more of a combination of everything that I've associated with sentimentality and comfort. Thematically, it's more tied together than sonically

Kade: You mentioned there about the concept album, about the man with the horse, which makes me think of the note that you posted originally when the album came out. You said in that note that you wrote it for the people that saved your life over the last 18 months. I wanted to ask you, if you don't mind, what those people mean to you and how they helped with the direction of the album?

Quedronol: I started working on this album right after I dropped Fioritura and that was one of the worst moments of my life. That was; I don't even know. I was mostly just riddled by depression and there were a lot of things going on with my friendships at the time and uncertainties. Then over the course of the first few months of 2024, as I started working on the album and writing and trying to find inspiration, I ended up making some friends and getting closer with people who had been in my life for a really long time. Then on top of that, around that time, a close family member died. So all of those things combined just had me thinking about the people in my life a lot more than ever.

That was mostly what the main inspiration was. It just came out of love. It's so corny, which is partly on purpose, but at the end of the day, it was just about how much I loved people and how much I was thankful for people in my life and what they did for me around that time in early 2024, when I was starting to write. Over the course of writing this album, a lot of those friendships stayed, a lot of them didn't last, a lot of them changed. All of those things ended up impacting various tiny lyrics or little moments on the album. Pretty much every moment or shift or lyric is in reference to a different moment, thing, experience, object or person in my life. So, it's very collage-y in that sense. A lot of the songs and the lyrics were put together based on things that happened months apart from each other.

The album eventually became about a group of really close friends who I'm still super close with. Especially around the time the album came out I was really, really thankful for them because they did save my life from early 2024 to mid 2025 and I realised who the people who meant the most to me in my life were; it became clearer and clearer.

Another part of that is the movie that I made for Together, the visualiser, which was the epitome of my realisation that I made over the course of making the record; of who the people in my life were that mattered the most to me and why they mattered so much to me. For that visualiser I made, I invited four people who I wrote a lot of the songs about on a little road trip. I asked my mom if I could borrow her car for a day, and I had to fight for it a little bit. It took like six months to plan, but we ended up making it to this spot that I had in mind called Wilbur's Watch, which is down in Pescadero, California. It's like a really small town, and I think Wilbur's Watch is like a weird little tourist attraction around there. It's this lighthouse. That lighthouse, that destination, and having a day where I could drive my friends somewhere and show them the album. That ended up being a beacon for me while I was working on the album.

That was part of the realisation, the eventual kind of moment where I started to understand what the album was all about. It's really weird how I wrote those songs over the course of like a year. The first one that I made was the title track, which I made around March 2024, and it was about one of my best friends and a specific moment with him. It was really interesting to see how a lot of this stuff that I was writing about really early on when I had nothing about the record or even my life on a larger scale figured out, a lot of that was recontextualised and clarified the more I lived and experienced. The person that the song Together is about was on the road trip with me and was all over the visualizer for it. They took us to this really good burrito spot in Pescadero, and it was so gas. I'll never forget that.

Kade: Speaking of the visualisers, you also had one for your previous album [Fioritura] and a lot of the tracks that you write and release almost seem like they could belong to a film soundtrack. Have you ever thought about the possibility of scoring a film, whether that's a short film run by an indie production, or any other type of visual medium outside of your albums?

Quedronol: Yeah, I really want to, and that's really true about Fioritura. I kind of had visuals in mind over the time I was making it, and it started to feel like I was trying to make music that embodied a place. I don't know, that's always meant a lot to me on all of my albums, trying to make music that feels like a place that you can see. In that sense, all of my music is trying to be a score or a soundtrack.

Fioritura was about this place right by my grandparents' old house, this pasture. So, that became the basis for the entire album. For Together, it was the 280 that runs from San Francisco down to San Mateo. So, both of those albums were directly inspired by places and things that I saw in those places.

For all of the music I've been making since I got to college, which was earlier this year, I haven't had the chance really to record vocals. I’ve also just been kind of demotivated to write lyrics and vocals. The vast majority of what I've been making is instrumental. I’ve been meeting a lot of people here who want to make movies or are going to school for film. It's been really cool to see other people also really see the music as film score music, or just something that could soundtrack a visual, have a loop.

Kade: Speaking of more instrumentals, on your previous album, Fioritura, there's a lot more ambient influences, it feels like. How did your creative mindset or intentions change between that album and Together?

Quedronol: I think for the ambience, it honestly comes back to the same visual element of the music that was talking about. The ambient influences that I have are definitely the same on both albums, but I think they came through on Fioritura more just because the atmosphere of it was so much slower. To me, Fioritura feels like sitting in one place and taking it in and understanding it deeply, whereas Together feels way more transitory, as if you're moving along a highway. I think the ambience that comes through in Fioritura was inspired a lot by the [pasture] and how slow I felt when making it too. I think I wanted the album to feel like it was washing over you. It was really like enveloping, and that helped a lot.

Kade: Another thing about the creative process was the fact that you seem to handle most of it yourself, from the writing to the producing, to the mixing and mastering. I wanted to ask you what the biggest challenges are, but also the most rewarding parts are of being a DIY artist?

Quedronol: That is something that I've been reconciling a lot the past few months, being in college and like meeting a ton of people who I want to work with. It's not really something that I've ever had the option of. So, I think I've kind of been bred since I was born, since I started writing music in the first place. I've kind of taught myself to do things independently and do things by myself, for better or for worse, because there's so many times where I've wished I could outsource or not even outsource parts of the creative process, but be able to take in other people's ideas. I think that's just something that I've never really let myself get used to or had the opportunity to do.

It's hard for me to do that, over the internet, which is up until now, pretty much the only thing I've had access to in terms of collaboration. It's a lot easier to do that in person when you have resources and ideas right there. So, lately I've been kind of reconciling why I haven't collaborated with other people that much. And it's been really fun to start to get better at that, at least in terms of the creative process. As far as the other aspects of the music and putting out music, like marketing and the graphic design that comes with it and stuff. I've definitely gotten used to just doing all that myself because of a lack of knowing people pretty much. That's definitely changed recently just because I've been meeting a ton of people who are way better at graphic design than me and way better at painting and way better at marketing for sure.

There is something that I'm still like really proud of. It makes me feel happier with the final product when it's, you know, something that I can say I was fully my vision from start to finish like in terms of Together. The other two albums, both of the album covers were shot by my brother and that picture from Fioritura was actually taken in like 2013 or something like that, when he was first getting into photography. I didn't discover it until like two months before Fioritura came out. There was no album cover for it. So that was one of the few times that I kind of saw something else that just embodied what I wanted and kind of sampled it together.

The same thing for the visualiser on Fioritura. My friend Levi, who was so talented, shot that entire visualiser and we talked for a super long time about exactly what we wanted it to look like. That was kind of my first experience with letting other people in on creative aspects of the music. And it was really sick because it did make it feel more like a movie, like I was just one part of this whole thing that we were making together. It wasn't like the music was the main focus, but it was all one thing together, one cohesive thing. So that kind of changed my perspective on the large-scale collaboration with people, especially when I know people who are more talented at a certain thing than I am. Like Levi was an obvious choice for when I was trying to figure out how to make a visualiser like a movie for Fioritura because I've known her for a really long time and her photography is unbelievable to me.

Then for Together, I kind of did the opposite approach. Like I said, it was so personal to me and about people in my life and what they meant to me that I kind of wanted it to feel more like a gift or something when I was releasing it. And in order to do that, I kind of got controlling over it. Now I realise that I think Together would have come out even better if I had let other people in on it especially in the recording and especially in the visualising because that thing is really tapped together. It was super fun to make but I think it didn't really do anything for my final vision of the record. The only feature on the whole album is Paddy, thisfindsyou, on Starry night, which is such an amazing feature and also something that I was really reluctant to have on the album because the album was pretty much done. Paddy was one of the only people who heard it while I was working on it and I showed him everything  pretty much that I would make. He became one of the biggest inspirations.

First of all, his music that he made as Clovehitch is some of my favorite music ever. It's been like that since 2022. So, when we connected for the first time on Instagram, it was kind of insane to me because they were such an inspiration. But when they wanted to, when we were talking about the final vision for the album in the last few months of making it, there was still no feature or anything planned, but I did want to show my appreciation somehow for how much impact they had on the record from start to finish. So they brought up in April or maybe late March of 2025 of this year that one of the last things that they really didn't feel felt finished was Starry night because the whole plan from the beginning was to have Starry night end with three minutes of instrumental pretty much exactly the same as it is now, just without any vocals at all. So, I started showing the album to more people around that time because I was pretty confident in how complete it was. Then that came up repeatedly as a thing that just didn't feel quite finished.

So, Paddy was obviously the person that was going to feature on it. As I said earlier, I was hesitant to do that just because I did every single thing on Together. There wasn't a single other person who helped, who did production or anything like that. It was really just feedback that I got from my friends, particularly the people I was writing the songs about, and also from Paddy and other people on the internet who I would show a song or two. After Paddy was working on that feature for a while, it really showed me and became such an important part of the album to me, just because of not only Paddy's involvement from the beginning, but also how it feels special to have some form of collaboration on the final album.

It showed me that the album can still feel super personal to me, and still feel really like my own and my gift to other people, while also not being 100% by me. Which was something that I only started to reconcile with when I was done with the album, because that feature from thisfindsyou, we finished that together on the day that I submitted the album to streaming, which I think was May 4th, 2025, less than a month before the album even dropped and two days before I announced it.

So yeah, it really didn't give me that much time to reconcile what it changed about my approach to art. But now that I'm here, I feel like I've changed my view on collaboration with them anyway.

Kade: Building off of the discussion about collaboration, are there any artists that you think you might like to collaborate with down the line, whether that's necessarily in reach or not?

Quedronol: Okay, anyone at all. First and foremost, I do want to collab with thisfindsyou, obviously, because I think they're so talented. The stuff that they're working on right now is unbelievable. zayok is someone that I've made a ton of stuff with before, but never really anything like ground up kind of beginning. And back when we did collab a lot, it was the beginning of both of us like figuring out our shit I think and figuring out what we were good at. He's one of the most talented people ever. It's been crazy to see how much he's grown. He dropped an album earlier this year called In elsewhere. That was insane. I just want to keep working with him. Later down the line, especially.

People who aren't in reach. I want to... I mean, this is definitely not in reach because he's not alive, but the filmmaker, Edward Yang, I wanted to make a film score for one of his movies. That was also a huge inspiration for Together, like all of his movies, Yi Yi, especially. Something that I want to do down the line is make an album adaptation of Yi Yi, because that movie means so much to me. But anyways, underscores, obviously. She’s such a big inspiration, but I don't think that's doable. But she is from San Francisco, just like me, which I think is kind of insane. And she's kind of been the starting point for a lot of my music, since I was like 14 or 13. I discovered her for the first time from Fishmonger. Yeah, it would be really sick, I think, but that's not going to happen.

Kade: You never know.

Quedronol: Oh, that's true. You never know. I don't know, maybe.

Kade: Talking more about the future of your music, is there any genres or sounds or styles that you'd like to approach and try out?

Quedronol: Yeah, for sure. I mean, there's a lot of stuff that I feel like I've tried once or twice, but just haven't committed to or explored fully or just seeing how much I can do with it. Like I feel like Together was experimenting in a lot of ways, especially on Deruta ricco, which was the first time I ever; or it wasn't the first time I made anything like trap or jerk influenced, but it was like the first time I thought it was good enough to put it out. So I do want to do more stuff like that. That's always been like a huge influence for me, but I've never really made it.

Also, I've been obsessed with ambient country lately. For the past few months, it's like the most specific random shit I've been into, but the environments and vibe of that style of ambient music is so sick to me. I want to make more country influenced stuff in general. It's big. I feel like the atmosphere that you can make with the country instrumentation is so sick and you can do so much with it. I'm trying to make some hillbilly music and also like Bakersfield sounding stuff. Then to be able to have ambient country incorporated into the stuff that I was doing with noise and drone music before.

Kade: One final thing, over the next 12 months, if you could achieve three things, whether that's musically or personally, what would you like those to be?

Quedronol: That's such a good question, bro.

Number one is to make a short film or a music video and have it be high quality and collaborative with people who are talented in the ways that I'm not.

Number two is to start playing more shows. I played my first concert ever like a month or two ago, and it was really fun, but I want to do that on a larger scale. I want to get better at performing.

Then, number three, I think I just want to feel more secure in making music. I want to feel more confident that I can do that long term and do it. I want to do everything I can to make myself feel like music is my thing. Like music can be what I'm going for. Maybe I should rephrase that. I don't know. My number three thing is to feel as confident in my music as I possibly can and make it a long-term of a part of my life as much as possible.

Kade: Well, thank you so much for your time!

Gordon’s Grandson isn’t your typical bedroom pop artist. His music twirls a mix of whimsy and deep connection, in a way that makes you feel a complex range of emotions. Music isn’t just notes on a piano to the Melbourne-based artist, it’s a way of living. There’s an interesting feeling his music provides, longing for nostalgia while looking to the future. Underneath the mask of a musician, Harry Prior is paving the way for artists in Australia, with a passion for music and personal expression matched by few.

As he continues his rise to world domination, he’s decided to take over Australia first - tour dates here!

Kade: To start us off, please introduce yourself.

Harry: Hello, my name is Harry, and I am a musician living in Naarm, Melbourne, Australia. I make whimsical, lo-fi pop music.

Kade: To begin, a lot of your music evokes really nostalgic feelings, almost as if the melodies were created with memories, if you will. What goes into the creative process for your music to be able to elicit emotions like that?

Harry: Oh, that's a good question. I listen to a lot of older music, and I think what you consume kind of dictates what you create a lot of the time. I consume a lot of music and attach it to memories. So, I'll listen to, not usually an album, just like maybe 10 or so, probably more, maybe like 12 songs, if not more, between 10 and 20 songs in a playlist. And I'll listen to the songs, usually for about a month or until I get sick of them. And then I just don't listen to them for a very long time.

So, I have like hundreds, I have thousands of songs that are very attached to specific moments of my life that I don't listen to regularly, but when I do listen to them, I just feel very transported back. I don't think it's necessarily a conscious thing, I think, because I listen to music like that, I subconsciously use melodies that have stuck with me that feel timeless and that kind of feel nostalgic. Because everything that feels super in the moment doesn't really stand the test of time a lot of the time. So yeah, I guess that's part of it.

Kade: You mentioned that a lot of the music that you consume changes the way that you make your own music, with influences from Bowie to Elton John, to Gorillaz and TV Girl. Considering you described it as a fusion dish of genres, what cuisines would you combine if you described your music as a dish?

Harry: Because the cuisines are like genres, I don't know if I can do it. I know people can do colours and music. I can't do that. I can't name things. Like I had a car for a bit, and I could never name the car. Any of my toys, I could never name them. I do struggle to attach names to things, but I guess I could say it in terms of the genre. I think if I was to describe my songs as a food, every song is very different, I think.

Kade: Well, what about KISSING?

Harry: KISSING. KISSING is like a spaghetti bolognese with maybe some lemon on it. Something kind of citrusy and sweet with some sort of hit of flavour. Like it's a very classic meal. I feel like just your typical spaghetti bolognese. 

Kade: One thing I wanted to ask you about was the EP you released last year, Love Me, which wrestles with the tension between authenticity and marketability.

Harry: This guy did his research, you're trying to be like Nardwuar.

Kade: Yeah! [laughs] Considering it's almost a year on from that EP and you described it, saying that you “were selling out on your own terms”. I wanted to ask you how has your relationship with that term has evolved over the past year? 

Harry: I think I've had some shifts in the way that I view music within society and I think I very much view it less as selling out now and more about building a connection in a translatable way, or in a way that other people can understand no matter where they're from or how old they are. I think marketing is just a communication of something and I still own all my masters and all my rights and stuff, so that feels good.

Selling out means making your music more for the masses. I think I take parts of selling out, like the marketing side of it and how to communicate a product, but I just do it on my own terms. That way I don't sacrifice my sound and the instruments that I choose or the way that I mix my songs or the things I sing about, just to appeal to a large group of people. In that way, it still feels very honest to me.

Kade: Bouncing off the talk of mixing and owning your own masters, you produce, mix, master, market, basically do everything yourself, which is a rare kind of control these days. I was wondering what the most rewarding part of that process is, but also what the most maddening part of that process is?

Harry: I think it's probably a curse. I don't think I publicly advertise this because it's a bit of an ick, but I'm an only child. I feel that, as an only child, you have some sort of control over all the things you own. I think maybe that just stuck with me for, maybe for worse. It is a little bit maddening. But I think this year I've been a lot more open to collaboration, and I think I’ve been self-reflective on my want and desire to do everything myself. It is so rewarding to feel as though you did something completely yourself. It's kind of like baking cookies from scratch compared to using box ingredients.

Maybe sometimes I take it a little too far. I don't need to be out in the cocoa fields getting the cocoa myself just for cookies. But you know, I think I do it to a healthy degree. I don't like a lot of the sounds of synths, so I'll just use electronic or digital plugins for that. Something like Analog Labs or just Logic stock sounds. I don't think I'm too obsessed. Maybe it's something I gotta do more self-reflection on.

As for the most rewarding part... I think it's rewarding that I feel like I'm, in a way, proving something to myself. It's like that guy that made that bicycle. I think a lot of the industry has a lot of people, with a lot of resources and I think I'm just proud of myself that I'm proving that I can do it by myself. There’s this one guy from somewhere in the UK and he was going up against this really rich guy in cycling, but this guy made his own bike. Then he rode it, and I think he beat the guy. I watched this documentary on it. I just felt like I related to that.

I think there is something very rewarding, especially because I don't come from a wealthy background. My dad is a high school teacher. My mom works in childcare. They don't know anyone that does music. Very luckily, they put me in piano lessons when I was in prep. That's why I got a head start with music, but it feels with a lot of artists, when you dig a bit deeper, it somehow turns out that they had this connection or that connection. But yeah, it feels rewarding to myself. I feel like I have some sort of self-worth that comes out of it. Maybe that's not a good thing. I don't know.

Kade: Going back to what you were saying before about the type of music you make. Some of your tracks go from whimsy and silliness to romantics and raw honesty. Do you consciously chase that variety or does it just come naturally in your day to day writing?

Harry: Definitely comes naturally, I think. The best strat that I see with a lot of people that I know is to make a very cohesive artist project with a very cohesive visual and a very cohesive sound. I think next year I'm planning on trying to do that a bit more and having a very cohesive project under a different name and a cohesive aesthetic just to try it out. But I struggle with that. I have a lot of people tell me they think I have ADHD and I wouldn't be very surprised by that discovery.

I listen to such a wide range of music and I want to make all different kinds of things. The downfall of listening to the music in the playlists attached to memories is that you don't do much mood boarding. On Pinterest, I started doing mood boarding for visuals when I first started doing cover art last year, when I realized how important the visual aspect was. I realised that the more I mood boarded and tried to make a cohesive visual aesthetic, the better I got at creating that.

Recently in the past week, I've started making playlists just based on mood. I've got a playlist called Vines on an Old Castle or something like that. So, I guess it's like making my own albums and mood boarding in music. Maybe this will actually help me finally make one more cohesive sound, but definitely not on purpose that I do this.

Kade: You've spoken before about how interested and entwined you are with fashion. Do you think that living in Melbourne has changed the way that you think about performance and stage presence, especially compared to when you first approached music back in Tassie?

Harry: Yeah, I think you can break down music or fashion or photography down to very simple elements and principles, or ingredients that you would use. With fashion, I see it all as shape; how does something fit, texture; how does something look and feel? Does it look like concrete or wood, or cotton or fur. So, it's shape, texture, colour.

Once you break something apart like that, what do other people do with it? What do I actually like? It's easier to understand what you like and dislike. With visuals, it's the same. I guess you have those principles that people use like framing and how you frame things, leading lines, colour, lighting. I think when you're around people doing more experimental things with fashion, it's easier to break it down when you're seeing it in real life.

I think with stage presence, in the past maybe six months, since I've started doing live shows, I really like Jarvis Cocker from Pulp, the way that he moves his body physically. I think that's super cool. I really loved Tim Curry, especially in Rocky Horror Picture Show. My friend Jake, Them & I, actually put me onto that. I love the way he moves his mouth and the way his body language isn’t masculine or feminine. I guess some people would say it's feminine, but I think it's its own secret third thing.

I think it's just very expressive. Not necessarily in a gendered way. I think that's really cool. I think a lot of people can get stuck in gender and what they're supposed to be doing within society. I think not caring is very important. I think Melbourne is a space where it's a lot easier to not care than somewhere smaller like Tasmania, where everything feels like it matters infinitely more.

Kade: Do you think that idea of genderlessness extends to your music as well?

Harry: I think so. I think I sing a lot of higher parts that you wouldn't get a lot of male pop artists singing. Something like Tiptoe Through the Tulips by Tiny Tim. I love that. I don't try to make my music catered towards one specific group of people. I think when I do my live shows and I see the turnout and the type of people that come, especially the last Sydney show that I did it, makes me happy. There was an 11 year old there. There was a 60 year old there, all different types of people. That just makes me very happy that my music can resonate with a lot of different people.

Kade: Speaking of that Sydney show, that was your first headline show right?

Harry: Yeah. Yeah, it was.

Kade: Congratulations on that first and foremost. How was that experience and how was the pressure of being the main act of the night?

Harry: Oh, it was strange the night after because it was around 9 o’clock and I was just sitting on the couch in my underpants eating some Doritos or something. Everything was going through my head and it's a big adjustment. But I felt freer in the way I moved around that day because it was my headline show. I wasn't worried to step on anyone's toes in what I was doing. I think I felt permission to prioritise my performance, which felt nice. Having Breakfast Road, who played as my band, TJ from Breakfast Road, he's a tech wizard. He's using converters and splitters. I'm sure he could take apart a sound desk and rewire it to do whatever he wanted, so having him set up a lot of technical things that I was just clueless on was so incredibly helpful.

I think this was maybe like my 7th show ever of all time, but the first two shows I did were with a band and then I couldn't afford to do the next couple shows with the band because they were just opening slots where I don't get paid much. So, I was doing a lot of solo shows. So going back to having a band, I felt like I took everything I learned from those solo shows and I was able to apply it. Hopefully it was  a good mix of nonchalant and extreme chalant.

I didn't want to be too much either. Hopefully there was a good energy, but not in a creepy, intense way. I thought I did pretty good for my first few live shows, and then I look back and I'm like, oh, there's these things I want to do differently. I'm sure in six months I'll look back at this show and hopefully, I'll be a lot better. But right now, I'm feeling very proud of that show.

Kade: Speaking of live shows, would you want to keep your performances true to the studio versions of your songs, or would you like to reinvent them in a live setting?

Harry: Oh, at the moment, it depends on the song, I think. I think some songs for this upcoming tour, the KISS tour, I want to take what I did and just emphasise it. Like taking a sentence and just changing the format of a piece of writing. I want to make it just hit a bit harder. I want to be able to be like, oh, this has come to life, I can see it in real life.

For other shows, something like Love Me, I like doing a bit of both. Something like My Lover Girl, I think I always want to keep quite true to the studio version. I say studio, but really, the bedroom version. I guess that's where a lot of the sound and the soul come from. But then when it goes into that chorus, when I produced it, I have basically everything in mono except some of those vocal effects in the verse. Even the drums and the keys are in mono. Then when it goes into the chorus, everything's really wide and it's stereo. So, when you're listening on headphones, it feels like everything opens up. But in live, you can't really translate that because everything's bouncing around the whole room and it's in stereo anyway. So, I made it so the verses feel like they sway side to side and then for the chorus, the guitar is a bit more, I guess, punk-esque, like a bit more distorted.

It's got a lot more drive. So yeah, I like the idea of reinterpreting it for live. But I think I'll always do a blend of it. Some songs, I think, will always just be an emphasis on what I've already done rather than a recreation.

Kade: Do you have any ideas for the visual side of your live shows?

Harry: This live show was the first one where I did a bit of makeup. I put a bit of eyeliner and lipstick on. I really liked how that looked on stage. I'd be a fan of doing something else with my hair and makeup to look a bit crazier. It has a different energy doing it in front of people than doing it on a camera on social media. I feel like there's a certain energy that it can bring live. I guess I will keep taking inspiration from live acts I really like. But I've never had the opportunity to have a screen behind me while I play. I don’t think that will happen until I'm playing bigger venues.

But I think it'll be an instance of, everything else I do, I'll do it once, I'll look back and I'll just wonder what I could do better or what would have made me happier with it. I guess I'll just get better every time. With the lighting, I really enjoyed having the backlighting. That was cool. It adds aura, very Mk.gee-esque. Fog machine. I think when the time comes, I will do my research and break it apart like I do with style or videos and try to find out what I specifically like about the things that I like and then taking elements of those.

Kade: You mentioned there that you would just keep looking at the live shows that you like. Are there any that you've been to that were visually that you think visually left a mark on you?

Harry: I always remember like the first live show I went to, I think was the Queen live show with Adam Lambert singing. It was the one thing where Brian May was coming down from the sky on a moon. I was like, what is this, this is actually insane. This is crazy. I don't know if I'll ever do anything like that, but that's like permanently engraved in my mind. Brian May standing on top of the moon. It's pretty epic. 

Kade: While we're on the topic of influencers, jumping from visual to musical, if you could collaborate, are there any artists from your list of influences that you would like to collaborate with? If so, what type of song do you think you would make with them?

Harry: I have two big, small artists that are so infinitely cooler than me. I really like her, her name's Ella Woolsey. Have you heard of her?

Kade: Yeah, I have before.

Harry: Her voice is so haunting and it kind of reminds me of Esha Tewari's voice. But I love her melodies. They're so haunting and I would love to do something with her. I follow her, but I don't think she knows who I am. So maybe if the interview does well, she'll see.

The other one's Sean Trelford. His mix and production style is so cool. There's so much soul in his music that it's gut-wrenching and makes me want to cry and laugh and feel all kinds of emotions. Those 2 are really big, but I mean, yeah, I would love to collaborate with any of my friends like sweet boy, and Jake [Them & I]. That'd be fun. I think Jake and I had a bit of a joke that we were going to make a new artist project and rap about cigarettes on rage beats, and we weren't going to tell anyone it was us.

So, if you ever hear a rage beat or some kind of Dean Blunt instrumental with two guys singing about cigarettes with auto tune on, it might be us. You never know. 

Kade: You've got the Liam McCain method down pat.

Harry: Oh yeah, yeah, definitely.

Kade: One thing that I wanted to ask about was your namesake, your grandfather. I wanted to ask about how the relationship between you and your grandfather has affected not only your career path, but also the path of your entire life.

Harry: I think the year that Gordon passed away, I had a lot of other family members and people that I know passed away. I think in like a 12 month period, I think around seven people passed away in my life. It was like a very heavy time, especially because I was year eight. So maybe I was like 14 or something.

I think it just made me care about everything so much less like school and all the things and friendships and all things that are important. It forced me to look really deep within myself and wonder what I actually wanted to do with my life and how I wanted to live my life in a way that I wouldn't regret, because I saw a lot of people move on from this life and definitely not regret anything they did in this life. It just forced me to put myself in the best shoes to really think about everything.

It was very numbing for a long time, and I think I listened to a lot of music throughout that time that helped me feel and make sense of things that I was feeling. So, I think that's just the medium, you know, I wasn't watching a lot of movies, or I wasn't painting or anything. I think it was music, and it will always be music. So yeah.

Kade: Do you think your own musical output has felt like an outlet for you at times?

Harry: I think it was an escape for me at the start. Now it is like a lifestyle. Like everything is for my music. I don't really spend much money on things that aren't for my music. I'll be getting like a new keyboard or a new this or new that. Sometimes with the way that music is at the moment, you have to do so much strategizing. Half of my career is planning the type of content and how people will understand what I'm doing and accept it.

I think my favorite weeks are the ones where I get to practice for a live show and then play in front of a bunch of people and actually be there or just produce for a week straight and pour everything all out and write lyrics and stuff. It's like a game. Half of my career is communicating what I'm doing to other people and making those kind of videos that do well within the context of all other media that exists and trying to cut through the noise.

In those times, it's more strategizing and less self-expression. But definitely better than, I don't know, what else would I be doing with my life? I don't know. Definitely better than just being sad in my room and not doing anything.

Kade: Looking toward the future, when can we expect new music from Gordon's Grandson?

Harry: On the 22nd, around the 20 something as of November. So, I guess very soon I'll be releasing an EP. Next year, hopefully, I'll be releasing a lot more. We'll have to see.

Kade: Can fans expect to see more headline Gordon's grandson shows in the future?

Harry: I think they might. I think, yes, in Australia, not worldwide just yet, but in Australia, yes.

Kade: Speaking of worldwide, are there any places in particular that would be dream places for you to play shows at?

Harry: Man, I want to play a show everywhere. I think less about playing shows, actually. I'm happy to play a show wherever. It's just like there's different food I want to try. I want to go to the Philippines. I want to go to Mexico. There's a lot of places with really good food that I want to try. Being Japanese and going to Japan and having Japanese food, it definitely does taste different in its country of origin. I would love to travel anywhere. I know the US is going through a lot of things at the moment, but I think I'm inspired by so many artists from there. I have a lot of people that connect with my music from the US that I think that is still a very big dream of mine to be able to go over there and see it for myself.

Kade: One final question for you. If you could choose three things, whether that's musically, personally, or even fashion related, what do you want to achieve within the next year?

Harry: I'd love to at one point play in front of 1000 people at least. The most people I've played in front of I think at this point has been 300, 400? I feel like, it's like when you get from 9,000 followers to 10,000 followers, it's a satisfying thing. I think playing in front of 1,000 people would just feel like a big milestone.

I think using my intuition more instead of thinking about numbers and analytics and just having that do well, I think will be really rewarding. Yeah, that.

Then I want to have big muscles next year. Gordon's Grandson, big muscles are on the way. I think I'm going to have to lock in at the gym or something like that. Yeah, big muscles incoming. For when I play in front of the 1000 people.

Kade: Yeah, and then you can wear like a tank top, like the one where it's got like just the single straps.

Harry: That's exactly right. You know what's up.

Kade: Thanks so much for your time, really appreciate it.

Drug Bug is the alias of Star Starer, aka Alex. Initially focusing on the join project WillyRodriguez, Alex grew to have a strong following before shifting to a focus on solo music in late 2023. Drug Bug is like a kaleidoscope of sounds, mixing in everything from glockenspiel to balaiaka. The emotional and cathartic sounds have presented themselves in many ways, leading to a following that continues to increase in size and strength. But under the surface, Alex is more than the music, with a vibe that lights up the entire room.

Kade: To start us off, could you please tell me a little bit about who you are and the music that you make?

Alex: My name is Alex and I make like, layered music. Lit music. Sendy music, bro. That's what I do.

Kade: First thing I wanted to ask you about music wise was about A Season's End, which had a lot of tracks that were really layered and very impressive structure and composition wise. Could you walk me through the process that you had when making songs like that, especially the title track?

Alex: So, I usually start out on my guitar, then I record the drum track, then I think of other layers I want. Then bass comes next, but let me show you real quick, like only you get this. I got my instrument collection underneath my bed, and it's got a lot of shit. I got my balalaika and my glockenspiel. So, I usually just look under my bed, and I pick whatever's there.

Kade: How do you make your tracks feel so grand without feeling overwhelming?

Alex: Oh fuck, let me think here. I spend a lot of time on mixing. I know the mix sounds shit to a lot of people, but I like it. I don't know, it's hard to explain, but compression really helps. Are we talking generally or any album specifically?

Kade: I think especially in A Season’s End, it felt like the tracks had a larger buildup that felt more gradual, because sometimes you listen to this grand track, but it just feels overwhelming, like sensory overload.

Alex: I get you, I get you.

Kade: But the songs on A Season's End felt very purposefully layered, to the point where each instrument had their opportunity to shine without overwhelming one another.

Alex: Yeah, I get you. What I like to do generally when I record an instrument, I always double track it. Like every instrument I double track. So, I don't know if that helps it stand out. When I'm arranging something, I do like when an instrument is covering one note of a chord. When I did clarinet for my album I would get it to play the third and the root note would be covered by the trumpet and the trombone sometimes.

Kade: Are there any instruments in particular that are especially fun to add into the mix?

Alex: The piano. The piano is my favourite. That was the best investment I've ever made. That fucking piano. Oh my god, bro. Do you play the instruments? 

Kade: Yeah, I used to play piano and guitar, but I don't have as much time anymore with life in general, just everything going on. But at the same time, I think I wasn't enjoying it as much as I enjoyed writing about music. I think meeting people and seeing them have such passion for their instruments is much more fulfilling than any time where I was playing instruments myself. 

Alex: That's beautiful, really cool.

Kade: I think part of it as well is the community in Brisbane is such a welcoming place where it's very easy to feel very happy and fulfilled with the people in the local scene.

Alex: That's lit. In Brisbane you got Tame Impala and King Gizz?

Kade: That's other side of Australia for Tame Impala, then King Gizz is Melbourne, down south. For Brisbane artists, do you know Mallrat?

Alex: Sounds familiar, I think I know her. I gotta keep it real, like I don't listen to music, I listen to like the same two albums over and over.

Kade: Which two albums? 

Alex: Two albums was a big of an exaggeration, but the artists are like Beach Boys, The Smiths and Weatherday. 

Kade: Is there some Will Toledo sprinkled in there as well?

Alex: Sometimes, but honestly it makes me a little sad sometimes that people think I'm very influenced by Will Toledo because honestly, I'm not really. I only started listening to him after Willy showed me and that was in 2022. Honestly, I don't find him influential to me at all. And it makes me sad when people say, “this sounds like Car Seat Headrest”, because he's not an influence really.

Kade: What about Phil Elverum?

Alex: Huge influence on me, absolutely. I love him, I love how he records.

Kade: Another thing I wanted to ask you about was live shows. With Friend’s Fest 2025 being not too long ago at the Vera Project, how was it?

Alex: Wow, that was the best night of my life, bro. Yeah that really was the best night of my life. The crowd singing all the songs and shit, I felt that shit in my guts bro, felt it in my balls all the way to my liver, you know what I mean. Then there was the eye contact, I was making lots of eye contact with people which was nice. I used to not be able to do that just in general, like I was pretty bad at even talking to human beings.

Also, it was extremely overwhelming for me emotionally. I kind of shut down after everything. When I wasn't in front of people and it was only me and my friend Cici driving back to go to the airport, I was completely shut down because, well there was around almost 200 people there and I met a lot of people, and I had to sign a lot of things which is extremely new to me. Just the attention was overwhelming, and signing people's stuff, people telling me how important my music was to them and how far they'd come was a lot. Even as far as Portland or Denver and even two people came from where I live in Alberta.

And I was just, I was overwhelmed by that because in my day to day life I don't like to be the centre of attention. Just in general, I only enjoy when I'm doing music, but if everyone's staring at me in a room, I'm fucking dying, bro. I just can't do that. It's really overwhelming.

When people want me to sign their stuff, it’s really nice to do that for them and to see how happy they were for that. When people had questions, I was always happy that they asked. I was happy to take a lot of photos with people. It was weird meeting my audience. When it goes from numbers on a screen to real people all of a sudden, it's crazy. I just remember when nobody listened to my music, because I've been doing this for around five years now, since 2020, and nobody was listening to me back then.

Kade: Do you think that, not just Friend’s Fest, but also Friend’s House Records in general has influenced how you've approached being an artist, especially in the last couple years?

Alex: Yes, absolutely. It made me realise that I could actually do this as a career path. Because I actually just put my two weeks in for my framing job, my carpentry job, because I've been doing carpentry on the side for almost a year. I was going to have the plan A of music and the plan B of carpentry. But then I realised that carpentry was eating all my time for music, and I'd rather just be doing music. I'm actually pretty prolific when I'm unemployed and doing nothing. Like, I'm already writing songs again, so that's making me happy.

Kade: You mentioned recently about wanting to play more live shows as well, right?

Alex: Yeah, definitely. I want to play more shows, just in general. I want to build my audience locally too, because I did a show and there was only like 25 people there, which is still good, but it wasn't like a lot of people. I'd like to start filling up some shows in Edmonton and see how that goes.

Kade: Do you think there are any places you would like to play across the world?

Alex: I was thinking some crazy shit like Bosnia or Lithuania. See what's up there, see if they fuck with it. I was thinking of going to a rural place like Denton, Texas. I don't know if you've heard of that place. Denton, Texas has a crazy scene that I'd like to go see. Also, mostly America. Honestly, America is one of the best places ever, bro. You gotta go to America and see what it's about. It's literally life changing. You're from a Commonwealth country as well, it's so lame in Commonwealth countries. It's not lit. It's not lit like America, bro. America's like GTA V. You ever played GTA V?

Kade: I've also heard that. I've spoken to American artists when they've come to Australia before and the one thing that they all seem to agree on about Australia is it's like going from a GTA online lobby to an almost Stardew Valley-esque place in comparison.

Alex: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm thinking that our countries are pretty similar because, you know, Commonwealth kind of vibe. I think yours is probably a little bit more fun.

Kade: I feel like in Australia, one of the best things about it is the fact that a lot of the time your enjoyment can be directly tied to how much you're going out to find new stuff. We have a very, very strong local music scene. There's lots of collaboration between all different mediums of art, whether that's visual, or in music or movies.

[Alex shows me a selfie of Gustavo of Gingerbee and I, taken at the Your Arms Are My Cocoon show in Brisbane, where I was wearing a Wetdream shirt]

Alex: Is this you?

Kade: Yeah, that's me.

Alex: Did you meet Gustavo?

Kade: Yeah, yeah, I did, I just happened to wear the shirt the same night.

Alex: I didn't know you had this epic shirt dude.

Kade: Yeah, I made it on Redbubble.

Alex: I thought Brisbane was in like Ireland. I was thinking what is he doing all the way around there, bro?

Kade: Yeah, Gustavo was playing with Your Arms when they came to Australia, because Alyssa wasn’t there. I got to meet them [Gingerbee] actually in Yokohama in Japan because I was on holiday there with my girlfriend in between uni semesters. It just so happened that the Your Arms show was on our second last day in Japan. So, we went down there and Gingerbee were there as well. So, we got to meet them. I did an interview with Gingerbee actually, in the garage of that tiny ass venue. 

Alex: Damn that’s really cool.

Kade: It was really awesome because Gingerbee weren't playing the Australian leg of the tour, so I got the opportunity to meet them, talk to them. I don't even know where from, but I've known Dani, like Suburban Apathy, online for a couple of years now. I don't have any recollection of how that even came about. But yeah, full circle moment to meet Dani and the band. Someone I had been listening to for a little while. The fact that Your Arms was there as well when I missed them the last time they came to Australia. and seeing the other bands that were playing that night, that same street and soccer.

Alex: That's so cool. And I've heard of all these bands, which is cool because I don't really know many bands.

Kade: Yeah, it was a crazy stacked lineup. And I think outside of the bands, there was maybe like 15 to 20 people there that night.

Alex: Really? Wow, that’s like nothing.

Kade: Yeah, it was great. It was a place called El Puente, I think it was a small live music bar. It was tiny. And my girlfriend and I had no idea what we were doing, because we had never been to a show overseas.

Alex: That's very cool. Was that when the photo was taken?

Kade: I actually saw Gustavo again at the Brisbane show, which was like 2 weeks after the Yokohama show, and I was listening to Bad Therapists before the show. So I thought I should bring my Wetdream shirt. Then the first thing he said when he saw me was he pointed out the shirt and said, “oh, I have to get a photo with you like right now”.

Alex: That's so awesome. Yeah, he sent that to me. I was like, damn, I'm really like Mr Worldwide, bro.

Kade: I've been trying to spread the gospel for a while now, so.

Alex: Thank you. Thank you Kade. Alberta is kind of lame. Do you know the layout of Canada?

Kade: I mean, I know the general idea of it.

Alex: So there's this beautiful place called beautiful British Columbia. It’s the best province to live in, well, it's the most beautiful province, it’s not the best one. Alberta is in between Saskatchewan and BC and Saskatchewan is one of the most hellish places ever. Like the crime's insane and it's just flat and boring and there's like nothing to do. I think there's like some emo bands from there too. But you know the emo bands where I live? Like, do you know about I Hate Sex?

Kade: I've definitely heard of them. 

Alex: Well, Mac DeMarco is from Edmonton. That's pretty lit. There's also Cindy Lee from Calgary.

Kade: Oh, hell yeah.

Alex: You like Cindy Lee?

Kade: Yeah, of course man.

Alex: Cindy Lee is so fucking awesome, bro. I love Cindy Lee. Shout out.

Kade: I'm wondering if there are some Brisbane bands you may have heard of. Blind Girls are from Gold Coast, which is near Brisbane.

Alex: Oh yeah I’ve heard of them before.

Kade: It’s a bit harder in Australia to break through I think compared to a place like the US, just by virtue of having us having a much smaller population. The amount of niches that can kind of go into the mainstream are a lot smaller I feel.

Alex: Yeah, no, I get you, I get you. That's how I feel here. There is also too many lame people here, you know what I mean? Like, I don't know if you guys got a lame people problem, but the average guy here likes to fish and drink beer and listen to bro country it's like lame.

Kade: Following on from the talk of Friend’s Fest, I was wondering if you had a favourite moment from the night.

Alex: Playing with Cameron was really nice, he's like one of my best friends. I don't know if you know about The Fencesitters, he's the guy who makes all that music. It was nice to play bass for him. It was kind of fun because the monitor engineer was just like not great. It was her first show and so I couldn't hear myself, and nobody else could hear themselves. Nobody could hear themselves during the whole thing, so it was even crazier when there was like nine people. Also, the drummer Liz from Lemon Bread came in on the day of the show, so we didn't get to practice with her. She fucking nailed it somehow. That was beautiful.

Kade: What do you think was your favourite song that you performed?

Alex: I'm always happy to play the title track from Wetdream. That one's probably the littest, the one that gets the party going, you know? Every time I play that one, I just feel a strong emotional connection to the lyrics and this time it was just insane how receptive the crowd was to that one. Like people were crying and people told me they had bruises from the pit. It was very emotional.

That's my favorite thing to do because it really is just a release for me. I feel a lot of feelings in my gut. I got a lot of feelings in my brain. I have ADHD. I need to let it out. So, what I want to do on stage is let it out. It's like a fart for me, you know, it's like letting out a big old fart. It feels really good to just fucking let out all my emotions and one of my favourite performers who's very emotional is Dan Barrett from Have a Nice Life. If you look at that guy performing it's like you can see his soul. He lets it all out every time and it's beautiful. Yeah that's my favorite moment though, every time I play Wetdream is the part about 4 minutes in where it goes doo do doo doo dooo doo doo doo do do doo doo.

I also was really happy to play songs that had never been played live before. Like snowing in las vegas and rosemary. That one was fun. I love rosemary. Because dude at one point I brought up furries onstage during snowing in las vegas and they bumped into the keyboard so the keyboard was just insanely out of tune and you gotta hear how God awful it sounds. [see 4:20:20 in Friend’s Fest 2025 Stream]

Yeah, somebody fucked him up and he couldn't hear himself. That was also on lost in translation that piano. So that was really funny to me. I couldn't even be upset, it was my fault. I really cared this year.

This year I was really fucking terrified of; this is something I'm gonna yap about. Because there was nine members in this band. I'd been planning this since January. This was one of the most important shows I ever played for myself. So, there's nine members. I individually talked to each and every one of them about everything they did which was something I wasn't planning on doing but I did it anyway because I wanted it to sound perfect. I felt really bad about my acoustic guitarist Alec because he didn't start practicing until like a week before we were supposed to go to Seattle and that was like 45 minutes of material that he had to learn. So when he was in Seattle, he would stay up all night, every night, just playing the songs over and over and over. Which I felt terrible and sad about because he was stressing himself out. He was very, very stressed out. He was terrified. If you look at him, he doesn't move an inch. Augustine, he's the bassist for Carter C's band, and you fucking nailed it. I was very happy about that. Cameron Sims, my goat. Amazing electric guitarist. Cici played the trumpet beautifully. David, the pianist, fucking killed it. Made me feel deep feelings in my gut. It felt like different enough from the recorded version that it just was so gorgeous. Also, my friend Eli on the tambourine was my favorite part, probably. The tambourine is one of my favorite instruments because it just adds so much, I feel. I'm big on dynamics. I like them dynamics. And I feel like tambourines give nice dynamics, I don't know. 

Kade: It adds so much for doing so little.

Alex: It for real does, you know? One of my favorite moments was every time I went into the crowd, God, I had a blast. There was this one guy there, he was on shrooms. I couldn’t tell if he was on shrooms, but when he told me, I was like, okay, that makes sense. He was looking at me and smiling the whole time making insane eye contact and I was so happy about it. He was so cute bro, he was like a little cute guy and so I pulled him up and I started dancing with him at one point. It was also crazy meeting people, like I'm 22 but I feel weird because most people who listen to me are children so there was like 15 year olds talking to me and asking me to take photos and I was like okay.

Kade: I'm 20 and I'm the oldest Drug Bug fan alive.

Alex: Everyone’s a child, bro. I met a 12 year old there. He was really nice. He asked me a question, and I felt awkward.

Kade: One thing I wanted to ask you about was the cult status Wetdream’s gained. It hit number one for 2023 albums on Album of the Year, it’s 17th for 2023 albums on Rate Your Music, and the title track is sitting top 800 all time for highest rated tracks on Rate Your Music. I wanted to ask how it feels seeing all of this happen, posthumously, if you will, considering WillyRodriguez is now disbanded? 

Alex: Fuck my life bro it's over dude. I was like fuck dude, we just hit it now? That one took the soul and fun out of everything I ever loved about making music because most of Wetdream is like literally me like in my room just like playing with toys.

I think about it every day. Everything in my life built up towards that album and I literally can't surpass it. I literally can't do anything better than this. Like it’s been almost two years now and I don't think I can surpass something like that. I'm completely fine with this though, this is what I've come to accept. But this fucking album, I’m good to ride on it as long as people listen to it bro, I'm good to play it.

It feels very insane that it's getting popular and subsequently I'm getting popular from the success from the album. It feels like a lot honestly. When I see fan art of my face I'm like “whoa that's me bro.” They're making me look like a pretty girl when I'm chopped and ugly bro. Fan art is awesome I love it. I love fan art.

Wetdream changed my life bro I don't think I'll be able to surpass Wetdream. I just put so much time and effort into it. It was also during a point in my life that I was very developed as a songwriter. I was in the zone. I saw this basketball edit and it said “when WillyRodriguez was making Wetdream they were in this kind of zone” and I was like that's true. It doesn't even feel I made it anymore. It just feels like something that came out of me.

Kade: Do you think you’d describe it less as something you made and more just an extension of yourself that now exists on its own?

Alex: Yeah, I would say that. It's like my heart and soul. So, when people tell me it's their favorite album, I feel like I'm inside them, you know what I mean? In a gay way. In a weird way, in a weird way. In the way that is the weirdest way to say. It feels strange to share myself with other people, my art.

There's a lot of feelings about Wetdream getting any listens. I don't know. Since I'm like the one that is more public and talks to people, people just ask me all the questions about everything. And that can be overwhelming when I'm not the person who did the lyrics, I did the music. I did write a couple of lyrics, but I did music for the most part.

I think it's cool. I think I want to make another album that sounds like it in the future. I think that's where I'm going right now. I was trying to switch up my vibe. I got really into Motown and then that's why I made the other album. Wetdream is more influenced by the Beach Boys side of things.

Kade: It’s very annoying, the whole idea of all long song equals Beach Life-In-Death, it makes me just lose my mind.

Alex: It really is so frustrating. It does make me a little crazy when people say “oh well it’s the exact same structure as Beach Life-In-Death”, “Wetdream is the exact same structure”, when they actually have pretty different structures, in my expert opinion. Also, I was really inspired by a lot of progressive rock at the time too. I was listening to a lot of Rush. I don't really know if that's something that comes across because there's not a lot of progressive rock parts, but there's some.

Kade: I was also wondering if there were any artists that you were interested in wanting to collaborate with down the line?

Alex: I like playing on people's stuff, but I don't really do many collaborations like that. I do like playing on people's stuff though, so if I could play on somebody's stuff, probably Weatherday. Dude 100%, if Weatherday was like “Yo, can you rap on a part for me bro?” I'd be like yeah, what's up. Probably also Cindy Lee if she's if she's willing to.

Kade: What about if you were approached to like include instrumentation for someone's project?

Alex: I would love to do that. I actually do that a lot for people. If anyone asks me, I try to do it. I am pretty slow sometimes, if I'm not into it. Sometimes I won't tell you if I'm not into it because I'm very scared of hurting people's feelings. So generally, if I ghost somebody, I'm just not feeling the vibe, dude. I hope they don't get their feelings hurt. But sometimes I'm feeling the vibe heavy, and I'm like, yo, let me add some clarinet to this person’s track, let me spice it up with some glockenspiel. I like to see what I can add. Sometimes people ask me if I can add anything and I'm like, bro, it's perfect. Yeah.

Kade: I know we briefly touched on it earlier, but I was curious, what plans do you have for the future of Drug Bug?

Alex: Gonna make a lot more singles and hopefully an album eventually. Honestly I was not happy about A Season's End. It was something that I wanted out because I was pretty unhappy with and I just wanted to release it because I spent a lot of time on it. But I wanna spend a lot of time on another one and make it really good. So that's my plan.

Kade: Are there any types of styles or genres you want to broach on a new project?

Alex: More post-rock. People say that Wetdream is post-rock, but I actually disagree with that. I don't know. I haven't really explored post-rock that much. I want to start doing longer songs again. I kind of like long songs. 

Kade: You have to dethrone revisited. 

Alex: Yeah, I do. I'm gonna make an hour-long song. revisited is a very interesting song for me because, I always wanted to make a 20-minute-long song, and it's so weird that it's done, because I felt like it was gonna be a thing that I was always gonna be wanting to do in the future. But now I have a 20 minute long song out. I'm pretty happy with it. I was scared. I originally didn't include it on the album because I was thinking it was too long and too boring. Then Squee convinced me to. So, I was like, shit let's do it.

Kade: Then for a final question, if you could achieve any three things within the next year, whether musically or personally, what would they be? 

Alex: The next year… Number one, I'm trying to get my money up, trying to get stacks coming in. Number two, I want to get more well-known in my local scene. I wanna play more shows just in general. Number three, try to get ripped. I think I'm gonna try to get ripped.

Kade: Thanks so much for your time, Star, really appreciate it.

carpet bed.

carpet bed is the project of Melbourne-based artist Charlie, an artist that blurs the line between personal storytelling and theatrical performance. With roots in slowcore and ambient sounds, carpet bed’s music explores themes of grief, vulnerability, and growth. Her songs act as a personal outlet first and foremost, yet still continue to resonate deeply with listeners, eliciting powerful emotions. While her music is born in the bedroom, Charlie envisions carpet bed in a world of its own, built up through sounds, visuals, and guided by a promise to herself to never make music for someone else.

carpet bed’s new EP ‘last night i watched myself sleep’ releases next Friday 19 September on all platforms. It’s an emotional roller coaster and a project that would fit perfectly into your morning next Friday.

★

Kade: So, first of all, who is carpet bed?

carpet bed: Okay, so I knew this question was coming and I tried thinking about it because I genuinely think sometimes in the creative process of being an artist and putting music out under an alias, it's kind of difficult to differentiate whether carpet bed is me, Charlie, or whether carpet bed is someone else entirely like a character.

I think it's somewhere in the middle, I think for carpet bed, the themes and the lyricism and everything is all me. Music is a very, very big outlet in my life. So the things that I portray in my music are my experiences, my emotions, all of that. So I like to think that carpet bed is me and an embodiment of my experiences, but I also do love the theatrical side of things, like putting on a show and being a character. I would love to convey that as I progress with carpet bed.

Kade: Expanding on that, do you view carpet bed as an extension of yourself or its own character, something separate from you?

carpet bed: I think it’s absolutely an extension of myself. I'm not writing fictional concept albums or things like that. It's all my story, give or take. It's definitely me, it's definitely Charlie, and it's my story. Everything I put out there is what I want to be known for; it's not a character, these are the songs that I write from my experiences. I will always want it to be that. I think I always want carpet bed to be an extension of Charlie.

 But, like I said before, I love the theatrics and maybe that's just the theatre kid in me, really kind of hamming it up, if you will. Making it theatrical, making it a performance. When I'm writing about something, maybe it'll be something that I've experienced, it's then like, “okay, now how do I make this more of a performance?”

Kade: Moving into those performances and your music itself, what does your songwriting process normally look like? Is there anything in particular that you start with when it comes to songwriting?

carpet bed: I think it's changed a lot, because even in the past year, production wise I did not know how to produce a song. I used to release on an old Spotify profile, that was called Chrl3s, and I look back now and I'm like damn, that sounds like ass. Back then I would write all my

songs on an acoustic guitar and then I would record it into my interface. But since I've started learning how to properly produce my music and I've started using electric guitars as well, which is another recent thing for me, it's weirdly changed that songwriting process. Now I'll record in guitars and some synths, drums, make it pretty. Then I'll loop it out and I'll just sing over it until I find something that I like. Or if I'm kind of having a bit of writer’s block, I'll go through my old notes and find the beginning of a song that I never finished that I want to try to write again.

So, it really depends. Sometimes I'll still just sit on my bed, and I'll play a song. Just kind of freestyle songwrite. Then if I like it enough, I might produce it. But what I produce now is never really straight off the guitar. It's definitely more polished and stylised than it used to be.

Kade: Going from there, when you're writing your songs, do you write them more as a personal outlet or with the listeners in mind?

carpet bed: Definitely a personal outlet. Music has always been something where I thought, I'm gonna do it, no matter what, no Plan B, however long it takes. I'm gonna do it. And I made a promise to myself a while ago where I was like, I'm never going to make music for somebody else. It's always going to be what I want. I'm never going to not put something out because I don't think that it’ll be received well. That's why I have Chrl3s, Rain Over Ether, and carpet bed, because I want to put out different styles of music without all the different sounds I try getting too muddled.

I'm a very emotional person. Like I'm a very emotional person. I'm always thinking about something, I always have something going on in the back of my mind that I will want to write about. And I honestly think if I didn't have music, I would go crazy because that's how I deal with everything. Like, I will just write out all my thoughts. And if it sounds shit, it sounds shit. And then later on, I'll go over it and I'll make it a song, but it'll always be something that I want to make and that I want to write in the style that I want to write it in. It’ll always be some kind of emotional outlet.

One of my favourite things to do is go through my lyrics with someone and be like “this is what means this, this is what that means, this is what happened then”. My songs are very personal to me in that regard.

Kade: Going from the lyrics to talking more about the sounds of your music, it's got a very ethereal, almost atmospheric kind of quality. Are there any artists in particular that you can point to as the influencers for the sonic direction that your songs take?

carpet bed: I really, I really like this question because I've been asked it a lot, and I never really know how to answer. I feel like the music that I make now is so different to the music that I made six months ago, and that was so different to the music that I made six months before that, and I feel like it's all a collection of artists that I love, but also the result of trial-and-error through my own music journey. But some big inspirations would be Searows and Ethel Cain, big one there.

Kade: As the name suggests.

carpet bed: As the name suggests, literally a homage to Ethel Cain. So, those kind of, I wouldn't say slowcore artists, but those alternative, sad girl songwriters. Also just influence from the slowcore genre, the alternative genre. I take weirdly a bit of inspiration from techno, too. Like with synths and stuff, a lot of the synths that I use in my songs are from my own experience with making techno music and so it's kind of a massive collage of all these things that I've done and that I've heard, so I can't really narrow it down to 1 inspiration. It's more like a collage of my experiences and growth through music.

Kade: As you mentioned before, your music six months ago looked very different to how it is now and the six months before that, it was even more different. Six months from now, are there any types of sounds that you want to try out?

carpet bed: I want to try every sound ever. I want to be very diverse, which Spotify and Apple Music algorithms hate, which is why I think I keep making new profiles. Because if people wanna listen to Rain Over Ether music, they'll go to Rain Over Ether. If people want a slower, more ambient sound, they'll go to carpet bed. But I've got a whole techno album in my pocket that I might drop sometime, I don't know. Then I have a bunch of shoegaze and alternative rock songs that I've made, which I might drop, I might not. I might keep working on them.

But I think in six months, I want to make all kinds of music, but I also want to know that I made what I want to make. I was actually having this conversation earlier where it's like, I don't wanna feel confined to what will be received well. I don't want to feel confined to what will sound good under what artist name. I want to make what comes to my mind and if I release it, great. If I don't, great. But in six months I just want to know and be confident in the fact that I let the music guide me, if that makes sense.

Kade: Speaking of where we're at six months from now, do you see any particular genres that are really emerging as ones that you think will influence you the most over that time?

carpet bed: I'm not sure, honestly, that's a good question. I think shoegaze definitely, as an emerging genre. On the songs I'm working with now I'm tying in kind of heavier guitars and stuff like that, and pulling some inspiration. I think that's definitely a big one that's kind of been popping off in the last year or so. Yeah, but that's a good question. I’m actually not really sure past that, it would be good to think more on.

Kade: Something that you mentioned before was how much you enjoy the theatrics side of things. I wanted to ask if you have a vision for how the visual aspect is going to tie into your music?

carpet bed: Oh, for sure, I think that definitely ties into the theatrics of having a persona that you release under. Even today I was rinsing Pinterest, just absolutely going through it. I was making a bunch of different boards for different photo shoots and thinking of music videos to really build the world, because I love making music. But again, the theatre kid in me makes me want to make this a whole character that people can relate to. 

Like again, God forbid I mention Ethel Cain again, but you look at an old church or like a run-down Western town and you're like, “Oh my God, that's so Ethel Cain”. I want to build that world for carpet bed and I think that's one of the most exciting things to me, because I make this music from my bedroom, butI want it to be so much bigger than that. 

I want this world to be carpet bed with the blues and the greens and expanding on who the character “carpet bed” is. I don't know. It's just fun. I want to build that world and I want to have carpet bed, even though it's me, it's Charlie, be a character. 

Kade: Circling back to your songwriting, a lot of the lyrics wrestle with themes like vulnerability and grief. I wanted to ask you if it's sometimes difficult to write songs about those themes and how you confront those emotions?

carpet bed: Like I said earlier, with music being a massive emotional outlet for me, I think I'd be worse off if I didn't have music. Obviously those emotions and writing about those experiences is confronting. But I think it would be more overwhelming if I didn't have a place to put them, like turn that mental noise into something beautiful. 

The first song I ever put out under Rain Over Ether, ‘Come Home’, was about my cousin who passed away and that was obviously a horrible, horrible thing. And, you know, grief is really hard. But it was beautiful to be able to take that experience and that grief and those emotions and put it into something that I was proud of, that was beautiful. Then that song had other people messaging me, being like this is a beautiful song and I can really relate and it kind of turned that process into a beautiful experience i could share with other people.

Kade: Have those messages from others helped motivate you, or have they felt therapeutic in a way?

carpet bed: Oh, big time. It's actually crazy because I'm a very small artist, I’m just a girl from Melbourne. I remember I had this crazy experience where someone posted a TikTok and it was a photo of their diary and they'd written a whole letter to me about how my music connects with them, and how it's a real help for them in those harder moments. I saw that and I cried, and I was like, damn, that's so crazy. Just that one person, you know. If my music can make someone feel the way that other people's music makes me feel, that's beautiful. And I love that and that will always be a massive motivation for making and putting out music. 

Kade: Now onto a name that you've mentioned multiple times throughout, Rain Over Ether. How does that project differ from carpet bed and what does that project mean to you?

carpet bed: Rain Over Ether was the project I made after Chrl3s, which was the first Spotify profile that I put all of my music on from when I was 16. I think I released my first song on there. And that was just using Garage Band and an Apple headphone mic. That was very, very minimal. Rain Over Ether was when I first really started to learn how I can produce music. Using an electric guitar that I just learned to play. I'm very grateful for the people in my life who taught me that because I feel like just in the last year from me putting out Rain Over Ether definitely changed the trajectory of my music. 

It's hard to say because it really kind of just went in a bunch of different directions and I think that's why I ended up parting with it. Because I released ‘Come Home’, ‘tell me you want me to stay’, and ‘kiss me before you leave’ and the latter 2 songs, I love those songs. I still love those songs. And then it kind of took a different direction with some alternative sounds, some harder sounds. And I think that project to me above anything else was just the beginning.

That project for me was what started this massive drive for music and for it to be my career. I've always loved music, but something in me changed when I really learned how to make the music I wanted to make. It started that drive of “I'm gonna do anything to make this work”. Whether or not I release on Rain Over Ether again, I kind of look back on that project like damn, that was the start of it for me. So I think emotionally I have that connection to it where it's like, okay, that's where it started. And that's really cool.

Kade: Is there a specific moment when you were writing a song, or right after a specific track came out that really felt like it was the moment when the switch flipped?

carpet bed: I'm trying to remember if it was ‘tell me you want me to stay’ or ‘kiss me before you leave’. I think it was ‘tell me you want me to stay’, because I put that out as a single before the EP and I loved that song. It was the first time I'd made a song myself. Like, I made that song, all by myself and that was what I wanted to make, in this sound. Then I put it out and it was received really well, by the minimal amount of people that heard it, which still was crazy to me, and I loved it. And then I went out to put out that EP ‘from me, with Love’ and I was really proud of that. 

That EP was the first time that I ever saw monthly listeners go over 1000, and I was like, that's crazy. I'd never seen that number in my life. I think at some point it got up to 5000 and I was like “damn, that's so fire”. I think it was there where I was really thinking, okay, this is a town hall of people who regularly fuck with my music. I think it was just really getting into that new mindset with Rain Over Ether and really quickly learning all these production skills, that even now I look back on and think “oh my God, I could do that so much better now”. Seeing the progress in me and how well it was being received by others and that external validation was a really cool moment, especially when it hit 5000. It's nowhere near that now. But I was like, damn, okay, this is cool. I want to do this and I want to keep doing this and I want to keep meeting the next milestone.

Kade: Another thing that I wanted to ask you about was the new song that came out Friday, with porch kiss. I wanted to ask how that song came about?

carpet bed: First of all, love the song, it's such a great song and I love porch kiss. I found porch kiss like 6 months ago, maybe a little bit more than that. His song ‘burn like a cigarette’ is such a beautiful song. And I immediately showed my partner, and I was like “this dude is so sick”. But then I got really jealous because porch kiss was already following him, [laughs].

So, they were meant to make a song together, and porch kiss sent the track to him saying “here you go, do what you want with it”. But he ended up passing it to me for ideas, as it wasn’t his usual style. So, I sat at my computer, and I was like, oh my God, I've got to do something sick. I've gotta make this really cool. 

So then I made about four different songs with it. I just kept making a new file. I chose the one that's out now because I really liked the flow, I liked the lyrics. Then I sent it back to my partner and he did some editing on it and we sent it back to porch kiss. He loved it. Rest was history. So, I basically just stole the spotlight, which I mean, I'll take it. But yeah, I love the song and I'm really grateful that porch kiss worked with me on it. 

Kade: While on the topic of collaborations, are there any other artists that you would like to collaborate with in the future?

carpet bed: Yeah, absolutely. I've been speaking to another small artist from the UK; her name is Casual Blood Service. She's very cool. Her music is a bit similar, but I think she takes more of an acoustic route with her songs. But I would love to work with her. I've got a few people that I'm talking to that are also in the slowcore community. When I first started listening to slowcore, obviously there was vhs ghost, love their music, would love to work with them. i talk about you all the time, those slowcore cats, who I heard for the first time when I tapped into the genre.

Kade: What about some artists that you think you might like to collaborate with for some of the other genres that you might be making? Whether that's techno, shoegaze, or anything in between?

carpet bed: I feel like collaborations to me have always seemed, not out of reach, but I guess yeah, like out of reach. I think because music is such a personal thing to me, I used to really struggle with the idea of writing with somebody and making something with someone else. 

Because if I make a song, I want it to be my song and I want it to sound the way that I want it to sound. But yeah recently especially working with porch kiss, I was like okay no, this is sick. I really, really like this. I don't know if I've thought much about shoegaze, but surprise surprise, the top tier of all collaborations would be Ethel Cain. That would be crazy. Or Searows. Those are the big 2 for me.

Kade: Speaking of Ethel Cain, she's coming to Australia next year for some live shows. Now that she's returning for shows, do you have any plans for any of your own live performances?

carpet bed: I would love to perform live. I was on the phone to my manager the other day and I was saying that, because I used to play in a band, I miss playing live so much. And the idea of playing live when it's solely my music, that’s so sick. I miss it and I would absolutely love to. I think we're hopefully looking for early next year to maybe do a few small shows. 

That's what I want anyway. That would be cool, even if it's just 50 cats in a room that would be sick. I miss having that connection to an audience. And if the people that are coming are coming because they know my songs, too. Having people singing your songs to you is so cool. Bottom line, I would love to.

Kade: Do you think playing live would change the way that you perform some of your songs, or do you think they would stay true to their studio sound?

carpet bed: It would definitely have to change somewhat. I would love to have live drums, even though I don't have a lot of songs with drums. Then also changes mainly with guitar. I struggle to play a lot of my own songs, which is funny. My guitars in some of my songs take me about 10 takes, 20 takes and they're all in a bunch of different tunings, which would make it difficult to play live. Because I'll write a song and then forget how to play it. 

So, I think it would have to change somewhat, even if it's just to not make it boring, because that's my biggest fear in my head. It's slowcore. It's hard to play live because it is slow and I wouldn’t want to bore people. I think for that reason alone, it would change a little bit, maybe add some builds, add some drums here, add some extra guitar there. But I would definitely keep the original testament to the sound.

Kade: On the topic of live shows, are there any artists that you've been able to see live that influence the type of show that you would like to have?

carpet bed: I haven't seen many artists live, which is crazy. I think in the last year I've seen more artists live than I had in any of the years previous. Up until the last two years, I'd only seen Sam Smith in 2018 and Men I Trust, which was sick, I do love Men I Trust. Honestly their performance would be an influence because they do have slower music, definitely more vibey, more ambient. I think I would love to take inspiration from some of what they did. They connected with the audience in such a beautiful way, and I wasn't really expecting to be so present for their show, even though I loved their music. 

I kind of had that mindset of like oh, it's slow music. It's gonna be a little bit boring, but they proved me wrong, and it was a great show. So, I think I would love to find a way to do what they did and really make it inviting and captivating visually with lights and whatnot.

Kade: You mentioned before how you don't really do concept albums or anything like that. Do you think that's something that you would like to do in the future as a larger project to take on?

carpet bed: I actually tried to because I love story writing. I used to write a lot when I was younger. I would write books and that's what I would do with all my spare time. I love lyricism and poetry and all of that. And again, the theatre kid in me loves to put on a show, so I tried to write a concept album. I had this whole storyline in my head, and I had what each song would be about. But I think that's when I really felt restricted.

Going back to what I said earlier, I write the music that I want to write, when it comes to me. A lot of my music is about things that I've been through and from experience. I think when it came down to the concept album, I couldn't write anything that sounded genuine. It didn't sound like something that I wanted to write, or it just sounded boring and uninspired. I think a lot of the time when I write, just to write a song, it sounds really disingenuous, and I hate that. If I ever write a song like that, it could sound beautiful, but I'll scrap it, because it doesn't sound like a song that naturally wanted to be written.

Kade: Do you think there are any concept albums or albums with storylines that you might take inspiration from if you ever do revisit the idea?

carpet bed: I think taking inspiration from a sound, instrumentals, or the way you write your songs is very different to taking inspiration from a concept. In my mind, at least. I think the way that I would look at it is like, this is a beautiful album and so many people connect with it, and they love the storyline. That’s it. It's been made, it's done, and if I even tried to touch it, I feel like it wouldn't be by me. I'm such a perfectionist when it comes to my music.

Even if it sounded great, if I was proud of the album, I wouldn't be able to put it anywhere because it didn't come solely from Charlie, from me. But props to all the artists out there making concept albums and making them well, because that shit’s hard. If it's done right it's beautiful. I would love to try one day and maybe I'll give it another crack one day. But I think the way I write clashes with the idea of writing a concept album.

Kade: You’ve mentioned multiple times now how the fan interactions have really meant a lot to you. Is there anything that you hope that fans of your music can take away from the songs that you write?

carpet bed: I think a lot of the fan interactions that I've had were online, I’ve had people come up to me in person, which is so cool, but I think people obviously are more comfortable sharing their story online rather than a 10 second hello on the street. The gist of what I’ve gotten that people take away from my music is a feeling of company in times that can feel so lonely. I write these songs about times that I have felt lonely and times that I have felt really miserable. So to know that those songs that I wrote, from a dark place, are helping somebody else in a dark place is beautiful. I'm so grateful for all of it, and I'm even more grateful for the people that say they're grateful for me.

Kade: Is there a message that you could give to the people who may be listening to your music and going through similar things that you had once gone through?

carpet bed: Just talk. I think there's so much in human connection that we take for granted, especially in a day and age of social media, where everything is so online. I think human connection is one of the most beautiful things there is. There is so much love and company there, if you look for it, and if you let it in. It’s so easy to get so caught up in that spiral of “I feel like this and I'm always going to feel like this.” Or “this keeps happening” or “this feeling won't go away”. But it's as simple as going for a walk and I hate saying that. I hate saying that because when people said that to me I was like, man, you don't know, you don't get it. I don't want to go for a walk, I feel so sad.

But finding the simplicity and comfort in just going for a walk, calling your friends, and, I mean, this is gonna sound terrible coming from me, but not listening to sad music all the time. If that makes you feel at home, have your 5 minutes. Have your 10 minutes of this is the emotion I'm feeling. I'm gonna feed it. But at the end of that, change it up. Just do the small steps that feel hard because it does really help. Just calling a friend, having a chat, and taking a second to revel in connection and the love that is always there.

Kade: One final thing I wanted to ask was if you could achieve any three over the next year, musically or personally, what would they be?

carpet bed: Three things, okay. 

First thing, I definitely want to play live. That's definitely gotta be on the list. Play live and have at least one person know my lyrics. That's the one. 

Second thing is just continuing to improve and continuing to set goals for myself. I did something the other week, where I said I'm going to make a demo a day. It doesn't have to be a complete song, but I'm going to make one demo a day and that felt really good. So yeah, definitely, just keep trying to improve. 

Then third, work with more artists. Collaborate with more artists because I found there was something so inspiring there. I didn't think I would like it. Like I said, I found that to be a really daunting idea, but it was really rewarding and I definitely want to do more of it.

Kade: Well, thank you so much for the answers and for your time

carpet bed: Thank you.

Mouseatouille. Photo credit: Edward Dean

Mouseatouille are one of Melbourne’s brightest stars in a populated scene. The 9-piece band has returned ahead of the release of their first album in 6 years, DJ Set out September 19, with new singles ‘Harry and the Jets’ and ‘Dogshow’. The band’s mix of passionate and cathartic passages evoke some powerful emotions and provide an excellent presence in the local Melbourne scene. With a plethora of influences audible in their sound, from slacker rock to folk and even hints of noise pop, their music holds a special place in many hearts. Their return has been very well received and are sure to continue to capture hearts and ears ahead of the new record.

Before the interview began, Harry and I were catching up about when Mouseatouille opened for Black Country, New Road in Brisbane.

Harry: Just to finish what we were literally just talking about off the record or whatever. Yeah, I remember that. I remember seeing you guys at the front because our hotel was down the road from the venue.

Kade: I was there early to meet the band. And I got there at like, I think 10 in the morning? Yeah. And I got my record signed, which is pretty sick. 

Harry: They are so hospitable to that sort of thing. It's really awesome. And Brisbane, the crowd in Brisbane, like I know someone in the band took a picture just before we started playing. And it's crazy. Like, before we had started, it's like packed literally. 

Kade: I remember I remember I was looking at that photo a little while ago because you can see my mates and I in the photo. 

Harry: Oh, really? [laughs]

Kade: Yeah. Like, it's our faces pixelated as hell [laughs]. But yeah, no, I was just thinking about how crazy it is that I'm now in a position where I'm able to have the opportunity to interview and talk to you guys when you know, I've seen you guys perform live. I've loved your music and I've actively listened to it.

Kade: Thanks for joining me tonight, who am I here with?

Harry: I’m Harry, guitarist of Mouseatouille.

Chloe: I’m Chloe, I play synths for Mouseatouille.

Fergus: I’m Fergus and I play piano and trumpet, among other things for Mouseatouille.

Kade: The first thing I wanted to ask about was your recent single release show for ‘Harry and the Jets’ at Thornbury Bowls Club. What made you pick that venue and how was the show?

Harry: Yeah, we deliberately picked that venue because they don't have a stage. It's all a one flat sort of plan. The vibe of it is incredibly community… sort of cosy… And the booker is very awesome and very hospitable to us. When Your Arms Are My Cocoon came, we played there as well, which was so cool to see Your Arms Are My Cocoon playing in a bowls club. Because we hadn't played a headlining show or really any show in a long time, we knew that we would feel comfortable there and we were right. I mean, I'm speaking just for myself, but I think everyone agrees, we just felt kind of like we were playing in our living room and it was a good vibe. 

Chloe: I think we also like to play in places where we know our audience is going to enjoy the show as well. I think that's a part of it.

Harry: Yeah. Kade, you would probably be familiar with The Brave Little Abacus, I assume?

Kade: Yeah. Yeah. I was actually going to bring it up later.

Harry: Oh okay [laughs]. Well, whenever someone talks to me about the Thornbury Bowls Club, I always think about, there's a video on YouTube of their final gig and it has a very similar sort of aesthetic, you know, that's sort of a long running tradition in that sort of emo DIY things to do shows in kind of somewhat strange locales.

Fergus: My dad was saying to me, Fugazi, famously, played at… I think it's called Fireside Bowling in Chicago? They played this bowling alley and I might be getting that wrong. But yeah, there's  the tradition of playing, especially in bowling alleys… [laughs] it's like the Australian equivalent playing in a bowls club.

Kade: I guess while we're on the topic of opening for Your Arms Are My Cocoon for their Melbourne and Sydney shows. What was that experience like, both watching them and also the other bands playing that night, Blind Equation and Katie Dey, considering it was at a bowls club of all places? 

Harry: Yeah, I mean, we played twice with Your Arms Are My Cocoon two nights in a row. The first night was in Sydney at this venue called The Chippo Hotel, which is a very much a normal sort of rock pub sort of thing. I remember we were all really exhausted. We sort of barely made it to the gig from Melbourne. My flight arrived after we'd already sound checked and I sort of rushed to the venue. When we had settled down and played our set, it was all very high adrenaline. Watching Your Arms Are My Cocoon play from the side of the stage, I know Fergus kind of turned to me. I was just, wow, it's getting to see sort of Cap’n Jazz or something back in the day. Like it's just, they do have this… Especially the way they kick their set off, you know, it's so just… from the jump, incredibly high energy. And they're also proficient at their instruments and all that sort of thing. And there's so much passion and emotion. There is just this feeling of, wow, you're really experiencing a moment. And there was this really, really complimentary and beautiful article written for, I think it's called Fargo? The Melbourne Uni student newsletter thing about that Melbourne gig, that really summed that whole feeling up well about, you know… In Australia, I guess we're not as fortunate in terms of having those sorts of bands come through. Like a band  Your Arms Like a Cocoon realistically would normally never make it over here. But it was sort of through Tyler, the front person's sheer force of will that they've come here twice, because they know that they've got fans out here. It was very special. And, you know, obviously I'd been speaking to Tyler on the internet for a long time, when I was told that they were coming, I was just so surprised. Like it was such a nice surprise. And I hope that more bands take that risk and come over here because I mean, I think it paid off. Like Your Arms Are My Cocoon just came through again, the other month and the shows were all sold out and it was, it seemed like a really big tour.

Kade: Yeah with Godfuck as well. 

Harry: Yeah and Blind Equation. I mean, incredible. Like I wasn't as familiar with them. Obviously, I'd listened to some of their stuff, but I wasn't personally familiar with them before. They're the nicest guys ever and it was so cool to hang out with those people and to have the scene come to town for a weekend. It was very exciting.

Chloe: I think also with that type of music, even if you're not very familiar with it, and you go to see it, it's so enjoyable regardless, because of how you can just see how much passion is on stage. Like they just go so full out and it's so cool to see. Harry: I should talk about Katie as well. I mean, Katie, you know, we were all such massive, massive fans of her music before we sort of became personal friends with her. And she's such a genius. It was interesting, Your Arms Are My Cocoon was sort of genuinely chuffed, at least I mean, I'm speaking for them, but I believe they were to be playing with Katie Dey. Like, you know, Katie Dey is quite well regarded in that scene. So it seemed to me that the lineup together made complete sense, a perfect match and I think it worked really well. 

Fergus: I feel like Katie… Especially as the years go on, it seems like more and more of her early work especially was a precursor to so much music. Fifth Wave Emo and all this stuff that came after, it predated by years and years and years. And I think it's crazy because even if Your Arms Are My Cocoon or those guys hadn't known Katie Day, they definitely would have listened to music that was influenced by her. And it's kind of a cyclical, you know, lineup. It's cool that she's from Melbourne as well. 

Kade: I wanted to ask specifically about the tracks Theme From 2021 and Today Will Be The Greatest Day of Our Lives, as both of them feel really cathartic and grand in a way that wasn't really seen on your last album. I was wondering where the inspiration for the sonic direction and lyrics came from?

Harry: So Theme From 2021 was written by our guitarist, Dan. And it was written by him a long, long, long time ago. He performed a couple of times on Out of the Hospital, but I think, and this could be news to him even, it was off the strength of me hearing that song that I was like okay, well you should be in Mouseatouille for real. And we should immediately take that song and arrange it for the band. I kind of stole it from him [laughs].The lyrics on that song blow me away and it feels nice to be able to say that about a Mouseatouille song because I didn't write it. So I don't feel sort of conceited talking about that [laughs], but they really do blow me away. They're great lyrics. 

In terms of the big build sort of thing, I think we had tried to do that on the last album, but it was one of those things where now we're a bit older, a little wiser and we sort of finally, you know, have figured out how to arrange stuff like that. I think that was when we sort of felt the most accomplished. Well… In a way. On this new album is when we had something where everyone is playing and it does not sound overbearing or, or at least to us, it doesn't sound confused or overwhelming. I think a lot of composing this album was a learning experience in sort of figuring out the balance between, you know… These are all quite minimal compositions, minimalist compositions and it's all about sort of the interlocking nature of all these little parts, you know? 

I think those two songs are a prime example of that, the arrangement in the chorus of Today Will Be, is my, and when I say the chorus, I don't mean the, the big ending part, the chorus of the first section… Chloe wrote that when we were coming back from practicing that song for the first time and she sort of just grabbed my phone and hummed all the parts into different voice notes. And then we sort of figured it out and decided who was going to play it. But, you know, again, it was an experiment in, you know, figuring out what can everyone… What's a little thing that everybody can be doing that will contribute towards this big, BIG sound without anyone stepping on one another's toes, basically. 

Fergus: Yeah. I think that that ethos is really… Because I sort of joined Mouse in this transitional phase, but the Out Of The Hospital period, as I understand it, was very much like let's sort of get as many instruments as possible and as many people as possible and sort of just have this big cacophony in essence. Then I feel with this album, we transitioned into having a set amount of members and a set amount of instruments. And it wasn't like “let's use all of the instruments that we have”, but let's figure out how we can perfectly fit them together. And it felt like we were making very… Especially, yeah, composing Theme From 2021. It's… like I love Chloe's synth line on that song because it's very simple. It's just, you know, it's notes changing with the chords basically. But that felt… I remember when we added that or Chloe wrote that, like it felt really like “oh, this is the new album. This is how it's going to sound”. It's going to be really simple and really considered rather than on the previous album or in previous Mouse stuff, it would have just been like “oh, whatever. We will throw something in…”

Harry: Yeah [laughs] Fergus: “And if that works, it works”. But it felt like, no, we were really focusing on individual single notes even, just for the synth, um, you know, that felt like a big step up, you know?

Kade: I guess that kind of leads into another question that I had, which is about the size of the band. So currently there's nine of you and that's the reduced number coming down from your previous album. [laughs] So I guess one thing that I've always been curious about is how do you even begin to start to balance your creative outputs without being overwhelmed? Chloe: Yeah, sure. Um, yeah, I think that just, um, with, we've got a pretty tight rehearsal schedule. We rehearse every Wednesday night now. Um, and I think that being together so much kind of has made it so we kind of understand how to approach it when someone brings a new idea to the band. 

Harry: And it's also defined... Oh, you go Fergus.

Fergus: [laughs] I was just going to add, I do think that there is also, especially in the beginning, there's a lot of like trickery that goes on where it's like if someone, someone writes a song and Harry's like yeah, we should use that… We'll hide it from like half the band until it's at a point where it's ready to go, you know? Because with so many people, it's so easy to, if you just brought a really unfinished song, everyone would be like, no, that's not good. There's almost an element of the democracy of the band works by you hiding something until it's good enough, or you get a few people to work on a song and then bring it to the rest of the band. And it's kind of like, we don't always do everything all together. It's almost like we only come together at the end and then finish it off. 

Harry: I think we've also relaxed sort of into different roles. It's become way more, um, democratic and even a distribution of… It used to be really… I would arrange, I would then command everyone to sort of do stuff. But now it is a lot more even. We're all participating. We're all writing our own parts. We're all writing parts for other people. A lot of composition on this album was subtractive. We always get to a point where we have lots and lots and lots of parts. And then we go, well, we probably don't need a fair few of these. And then also, someone will write a part and… Obviously if you wrote a part, you're very attached to it and then I could say, “well, I think that would sound better on a different instrument” or something. And I think everyone has gotten incredibly good at letting go of their ideas and being , “sure. Like it probably would”, or at least trying things out without getting confused. Cause you know, when you're  really in the middle of it, it's hard to sort of hear if you're actually are onto something or if it's just, kind of, you know, you're kind of wasting your time. I think we recorded, we recorded a lot of our rehearsals on our phones and then combed through them because sometimes we would be like, “oh, we've got a new song” and then we'd listen to it and be like “oh, that was, you know, misguided” and then sometimes, you know, there would be a happy accident where we would not be trying to do anything at all. And we would be like, “that now has to be part of that composition”. You know what I mean? Like, so I think it was just, everyone has to listen and everyone has to really think and listen to each other. 

Chloe: I think we also try to bring a somewhat complete idea to the band as well. We don't just bring something small and be like, oh, can we try and make something of this? If one of us wants to do a song, we try to make it somewhat of a listenable thing before we bring it to the band. Harry: Yeah. You've got to sort of pitch ideas, you know.

Fergus: That's the problem, everyone in the band has a really good music taste. So if you don't do a good enough job on your song, no one's even going to consider it [laughs].

Harry: We also do have a bit of a thing about locking things in where we will almost arbitrarily just be like, “nope” that's how it goes. Cause with nine people who are very considerate of all the ideas that are happening, it's quite easy to iterate on things forever. And a lot of that is the trap we have fallen into now twice on our last two albums in terms of it taking years and years to get something done. But, you know, at some point you have to just be like, “no, too bad. This is, this is done”, you know? [laughs].

Kade: Yeah and I wanted to ask Chloe and Fergus something. Something that Harry mentioned was how he described the process of writing DJ Set as more diplomatic as opposed to Out of the Hospital where he wrote every song except, Cadaver, which you wrote Chloe. So I was curious, how has that experience been different for you with the process being more  diplomatic rather than Harry running the show?

Chloe: The last album, yeah, Harry kind of did most of the writing of the songs and stuff. And I think that it kind of made me feel a bit disconnected from the band. Like I would just kind of come in and record the parts that Harry had for me, but with this new album, it really feels like we're a full band now and we come in and we make our own parts as any band would. I think it's only made us a lot closer with each other and a lot stronger musicians. 

Fergus: Yeah, I agree with Chloe. And I think it's definitely improved everything and our relationships within the band, but also I think it's kind of streamlined the process a lot more. I think where, you know, , and I've had this experience as well, trying to write songs, you can get really trapped, like trying to fix everything. And, um, but I remember Harry, a lot of the time he'd be like, “all right, we have to fix this string part” and then he would just send me or Erinna, who's our violinist or Soph who plays clarinet or anyone really, he'd be like, “all right, race to write the best string part. Whoever has the best string part, that's what we're going with”. And that, yeah, we kind of get meted out to people. And, um, it's good. Cause yeah, it's, once you start delineating the different roles, it's all of a sudden we can all, we can get everyone to write all the parts and be done with it more quickly. I mean, obviously the album still took five years, but maybe it would have taken 10 years if it was just Harry [laughs]. We've got a bit faster. 

Kade: Circling back to the live shows, you opened last March for Black Country, New Road and I wanted to ask about your experience of running into the band in America.

Chloe: Oh, yeah. I mean, we met them through our mutual friends, Horsegirl. We kind of went to the show with them and then they organised to have drinks afterwards, which we went to. But yeah, it was just so chill hanging out with them, it was just like getting drinks with anyone really.  They're all very nice [laughs].

Fergus: I feel like it was really random because I had decided to go to New York for three months and I'd never been to America before. And during that time, Black Country New Road were playing and then Harry and Chloe were like we want to come with you to New York. And I was like “oh, you should come then, cause I think I'm going to try and see Black Country New Road play”. I don't think anyone, any of us has seen them, well, I'd seen them one time in France. It was completely random that Horsegirl had this connection with them and we ended up going to that bar in Brooklyn. 

Harry: What was more astounding to us three about it was, you know, cause we had a very amicable, nice sort of fun. We had actually not even, it wasn't amicable, it was really fun. Like we had a really massive night with them. I think, you know, it was a fun meeting and exciting for us cause we were fans and they're very good and they were really nice and music as, as is always the case, I think with hanging out with musicians is music does not really get discussed, because, you know, I think they're touring, they're sick of talking about music, you know? [laughs] It was just a bar full of musicians. So none of us wanted to speak about music. We don't speak about anything. So, you know, it wasn't even mentioned at all that we were in a band. Um, cause we're not the kind of people to, you know, go around telling people that we're in a band…

Fergus: And we were on holiday. 

Harry: Exactly. In many ways us going to America had been an attempt to escape from this sort of ever growing stress that was making the album because it was at that point, we hadn't gotten over the hump yet, you know? So I think we've sort of, we're really not thinking or talking about music and to our surprise, basically it was Lewis, I think it was Lewis in Black Country New Road had sort of done his own independent research, found our music, listened to it, liked it and then even more of a surprise sort of put himself out there and asked if we would play. It is a testament to how passionate they are about music in general and we were obviously wrapped with it. Because, at that time we hadn't done anything in ages.  Like we'd barely been playing shows. We were sort of working on it…

Fergus: I don't think we ever, we certainly wouldn't have connected, hanging out with Black Country on the Road with playing a show with them. It was like… I didn't think we were playing shows in general. Like this is over. We're retired, you know? [laughs]

Harry: Yeah, exactly. But yeah, it was brilliant. It was obviously a massive tour. And also it didn't feel because, because of the way that they are, it didn't feel like, you know, this big thing. It just felt, I mean, probably a bit because of the way we are as well. Most of the tour, we sort of would just catch up with the shows and hang out and, you know, occasionally get a bite to eat or we went to the beach once. So it was very much, yeah, just  an extension of that night in New York, sort of, you know, but also we would play a massive gig every night [laughs]. 

Kade: Speaking of other music and artist friends that you guys have, you've mentioned before, Asian Glow and Weatherday, who are legends and trailblazers in their own right. I was wondering if you could tell me a little more about your relationship with them?

Harry: Yeah, I mean, I would say it's just the classic internet thing where…Yeah, it's a bit like Your Arms Are My Cocoon. I think there was this feeling at the tail end of 2019 and sort of into 2020 and 2021… There was this sort of thing in the air with all these sort of concept-y, indie rock albums, which had sort of not actually been in vogue for a while. Like it was all very reminiscent of stuff like Death Consciousness by Have a Nice Life. And, I don't know, In the Airplane Over the Sea and Twin Fantasy, sort of albums that set out inherently with the very ambitious task of being an internet landmark album. I think the connecting thread between us, Asian glow, Weatherday, You Arms Are My Cocoon, is an interest in pursuing that type of thing. Or more  paying homage to it, you know,  being the sort of the bedroom masterpiece, pursuing that. And I guess as sort of more naive teenagers, that was what we really wanted Out Of The Hospital to be. We didn't have any expectations of it to have any success. We didn't really think anyone would listen to it, but we sort of wanted to do our version of like a big internet, like, Topster core sort of album, you know? [laughs] And I think that was just like a feeling in the air. And when we had Come In, I think Come In came out before Out of the Hospital, um, and then Cull Ficle might've come out a little bit after, but not very long after and same with the self-titled album.

Well, yeah, those, you know, those four albums, or I mean those three albums, not including ours, we were like, “oh my God, these guys sort of trying to do like a similar thing to us” and then I think through Discord, people would hear their music and say, “have you heard Mouseatouille?” And then I don't know, somehow they got sort of put onto us. I know I connected with Weatherday through this compilation that we were both on called Through the Soil which is this anomaly incredibly stacked charity compilation tape. I don't know if you've even… it kind of was like a thing very briefly and I haven't heard anyone talk about it basically since it came out.

Kade: Yeah that was the one where you had Song For Growth, Pt 2? 

Harry: Yeah! But you know, that whole moment we were incredibly fortunate to be considered by even a couple of people to be part of that sort of thing and I think that was the basis for those connections. 

Fergus: I feel like as well, one of the nice things about the internet is that we kind of would struggle, I guess in Melbourne, we would struggle to find artists or fellow bands who shared our idea of wanting to make the big internet album and wanting to be kind of 5th wave emo adjacent or whatever. And so the nice thing about being on the internet is that they get to be our surrogate scene members. You know, we get to have a scene online, cause we love all of those bands. It kind of makes sense that you would talk to them and establish a connection with them or just be friends with them.

Kade: Yeah awesome. Pivoting back to DJ Set, something that I wanted to ask about was the artwork that's both on the cover and the vinyl art. I was wondering if there is a deeper meaning there for the items on the vinyl art and then for the design for the cover?

Harry: I think it all kind of, I mean, Chloe and Fergus may have their own opinions on this. It wasn't something we ever discussed in the band. So it's very, it'd be interesting to hear what their opinions sort of are. The artwork was done by our friend, Brayden van Meurs, who's a really amazing local artist. He's going to now do all of our sort of visual stuff and we're very lucky that he's agreeing to sort of do that because he's very talented. Chloe was doing fine arts at uni and one of the things she was interested in was basically creating some sort of image on a surface using a crystal that diffracts light into a certain sort of pattern. And she’d looked into other artists that did that and then she showed me this guy who sort of sent light through these like different colored sort of lens sort of things that diffracted the light and created these sort of rainbow strip patterns that look sort of like what we sort of tried to recreate there on the front cover. And I think it was just as simple as we were thinking about the visuals that would best accompany a title like DJ Set and the implications of that. We thought like bright lights, light show, but then also sort of with our interest in like sort of arts and stuff that were sort of connected to this artist, I wish I can remember his name. I might try and find it later. And if I remember, I'll, I'll send it to you. Then you know, the stars and the typeface there was just something Brayden came up with. He had these old sort of stamp things that you like apply one by one and he just like made that.

Fergus: It’s because, night, that's when people go to watch DJ sets. I think, yeah. [laughs].

Harry: [Laughs] I mean, it could be that simple. We intentionally didn't want to have the title of the album on the cover because it is a bit of an intentionally confusing album title, but, you know not to get too pretentious into the deep meaning behind such like a simple album title, but it's like a DJ Set at the end of the day, it's sort of a collage or a curation of like things. And I guess because we'd spent five years recording this album, to us, it sounded at times quite disparate and collated in a way that DJ Set would. So it was as simple as just sort of like tipping out, like sort of nodding to that and maybe excusing it in a way because we were worried, especially before we'd had the album mixed properly, that it was going to be jarring hearing like us in 2021 and then us in 2023 and then us a couple of weeks ago sort of thing. 

Chloe: The album cover is also like a very stripped back version of something else that we tried to do with it, or I should say Harry and Brayden tried to do with it. 

Fergus: The evil version [laughs]. 

Chloe: Yeah, the evil version where it was very like maximal and warm and like we had lots of different things. It was like a light bulb and like an applique that a friend of ours had made that said DJ Set on it and the light show that's on the current album cover. So it's kind of like, again, this less is more sort of approach to it. 

Harry: I haven't thought about that, but that's exactly, I think, very true. I think it's when we pivoted in direction from making another Out of the Hospital, Into the Morgue, which was going to be grand and overbearing and sort of hot. When we sort of pivoted more to like minimal compositions and removing things and removing songs. I think that's probably when this new album cover started coming to fruition. We definitely didn't have a conversation about what anything on that cover would represent. It was just sort of, you know, making something visually that, uh, you know, was a good representation of the sounds of the album.

Fergus: I feel like we did the album cover like maybe a few weeks before it was submitted to be like printed by the… For the record or something [laughs].

Harry: It was very last minute. And it's, and you know, it is that kind of thing, like where, uh, Brayden is like work super closely with us and he plays on the album as well. He plays organ at the end of one of the songs. Um, and he's very involved and he talks to me all the time. And so he knows basically, he knows what we're all thinking about this album. So it kind of was a natural fit for him to do it. And, you know, when we were talking to the guy who Ned Shannon, who's awesome, who laid out the record and sort of like that collage that like the kind of guitar looking collage on the insert is another thing Brayden had made that wasn't made for us. I just saw it at his house and was like, can we steal that? That's very cool. And then I sort of made him use it. But you know, when Ned was looking at the album cover for the first time, he was like, oh, it's inverse colors and inverse sort of placement of the out of the hospital one. And it has some of the same kind of anomalies like how it's laid out. And like, and that obviously was not intentional. Like it was just, but it was a nice coincidence sort of spoke to like some sort of like visual, like consistent visual language or whatever, which was cool. But I think maybe he was giving us too much credit, but yeah, I think like, you know, hearing that stuff is cool. And it is interesting how people think about album artwork, it is very important. It's going to convince people to click on the album on the internet. Oh, that I will say what, like what I guess, like, uh, utility focused. I was like, we have to have the name of the band big enough so that if someone was to put this in a Topster, you can see the name of the band. Cause I hate when people make Topster and you like have no idea what the album is and people kind of gatekeep their topster album. And if you're like, what is that album? They'll be like, “bro, like you don't even know?” So I was like, okay, we're going to have to have something Google-able on this so people can, if you know, someone put it in a topster, identify it. That's as much thought as I put into it basically. 

Kade: While we're still on the topic of DJ Set, do you guys have any plans for shows leading up to the album or after the album's release? 

Harry: We're, we're sort of booking a tour now for the record when it's, um, which, which will be in October, which we're very excited about. Um, Oh, and then before then, I mean, the next show we're playing is this, we're playing a sort of like, have you ever Sore Horse? It's like an indie, DIY label in Melbourne…

Kade: Yeah. Yeah. Yes, they’ve got awesome acts like Freezer.

Harry: Yeah. Yeah. And Garage Sale. Well, they're, they've been kind enough to invite us to play a festival at the tote that they're doing, which will be really cool. Uh, there's some great bands in that lineup. We haven't played the tote before. I don't think like we've all played The Tote in other bands, but I think it'll be our first time playing The Tote, um, in Mouseatouille, which is pretty long overdue, I'd say. then, you know, there, there will be like, uh, yeah, tour dates at some point.

Kade: And finally one thing I'd like to ask all of you is if you could accomplish any three things over the next 365 days, what would they be? 

Fergus: Well, my one is I hope that the album comes out [laughs]. I think that we're still about hmm 80% sure [laughs]. But no, I mean, like, I do think this whole experience has been very like… we're kind of sort of pinching ourselves saying like is this actually going to happen or is it all just like hearsay? So yeah, I mean, I hope, I hope the album comes out [laughs].

Chloe: I would love to write and complete another album with Mouseatouille in the next 365 days. I think it would be cool to challenge ourselves. 

Harry: Yeah, that would be cool. Um, I don't know. I would just like to sort of still be doing what we're doing. I think it feels very comfortable and it feels very natural and I have no reservations. I have no doubts that we will still be doing what we're doing, but, I hope that things are pretty similar in a year's time in terms of how we're all feeling and how we're going and stuff like that, cause it's going well. 

Kade: Awesome. Well, thank you so much guys for your time. 

Harry: Oh, thank you. It was great.

Chloe: Thanks for talking to us. 

With the release of his latest album WHERE IS MY HEAD? , Rich Brian reflects on the years of self-discovery, doubt, and experimentation that shaped its creation. “I think it came from just showing up every day to my home studio, my room, and just really getting into the gritty details of everything, which is something that I haven't done as much in the past,” he says.

What began as a way to move past imposter syndrome evolved into Brian’s most hands-on project yet. “I think that’s when I realised, oh, I’m a real producer,” he explains. “Because before I had a lot of imposter syndrome when it came to that, even though I've produced since 2016.”

Anchored by themes of vulnerability, identity, and home, WHERE IS MY HEAD? blends raw honesty with expansive production, Indonesian influences, and vivid visual storytelling. “This is something that I made because I love it and not for anything else,” Brian says.

In our recent chat, he talks about trusting himself as a producer, weaving personal confessions into his songwriting, and the inspirations that pushed him to create his most personal work to date.

Kade: First of all, thanks so much for taking the time to chat today. I really appreciate it. 

Brian: Thank you for having me.

Kade: Where am I catching you from this afternoon? And now that your album WHERE IS MY HEAD? is finally out in the world. How are you feeling about it? 

Brian: I’m currently in Indonesia with my family in my bedroom. It's been amazing! The past few days have been full of looking at what everyone's saying responding to tweets and Instagram stories and whatnot and just watching a lot of album reviews with family and it's been a great reception. I'm really happy about it.

Kade: Yeah it’s an amazing album. It's been great to see just how much positive feedback there's been.

Brian: It’s been unexpected [laughs].

Kade: On the new record, a vast majority of it, you said, was self written and self produced. With most of it coming from your own brain, was there ever a moment where you felt stuck?

Brian: Yeah, I think there were a lot of moments like that. There were many moments where, you know, when you're making an album, you're listening to these songs so many times over and over. I always go back and forth. There's always phases of like, this is the best thing I've ever made and then, this is not that good [laughs]. And also just kind of like, what else is missing from this project? I think there's definitely times like that, but I just kept it going. I think what helped the most to get out of it was to… whenever like my favorite artists release new projects, listening to that, you know, that brings the motivation back immediately. Playing the album for my friends as well, and just seeing their fresh perspective on it, just really lights that fire back. 

Kade: You’ve mentioned that whenever some of your favourite artists would release music, that would act as motivation for you. Are there any specific artists or albums that you can point to that especially motivated you? 

Brian: Jean Dawson was one of them. That's someone that I met when I was making this project, and also one of the friends that I played the album for. He also invited me to his listening session for his album before it came out, and it was just incredible. He's also another artist that's very, very hands on when it comes to production, and I think, there's always just that motivation of just like, this is amazing, I need to work harder. Another artist that never fails to motivate me is Tyler, the Creator. I remember him putting out the first visual snippet of Chromakopia and I was just like, oh my god, I have to have to step my visual game up. I went to the listening event for that one too and I was just like, I'm missing some things on this album and I’ve got to make sure to check off those boxes. 

Kade: While we're on the topic of self producing the album, in an interview recently with Zach Sang you described it as almost talking to an AI chatbot, like giving them prompts, and just not really getting back what you were expecting. So what was that experience like when you finally decided, okay, I'm just going to take the reins for this project?

Brian: It was a very, I'd say liberating experience. I think realising that this is actually something that I can do… and I only found that out by actually doing it. Because I'm just kind of like, well, if I'm not getting the results that I want through other people, then you know, I have all this time, you know, the album's not out yet, so let's just try. I think it just came from just showing up every day to my home studio, my room, and just really getting into the gritty details of everything, which is something that I haven't done as much in the past. Just really like, adding a transition here and adding the most minor texture here, and realising if I just spend the time and just really do it, this is something that I'm able to do. I think that's when I realised, oh, I'm a real producer. Because before I had a lot of imposter syndrome when it came to that, even though I've produced since 2016. I think I've always felt like, in order for a song to be at a certain level quality wise, I would need to work with, you know, real producers. And I think that's when I realised like, I can do it. You know, I can do this. 

Kade: And then for the production of the album, you described it as being a lot more hands-on, especially with the synths and the keyboards. Was there anything in particular that drew you to more of that hands-on sound? 

Brian: I think it was just like, wanting to, again, have more of those textures that, you know… because my album, The Sailor, was produced by a lot of other people. And I remember in the studio seeing that they had all these keyboards and I just know that that's just like, to get those sounds is really hard to just get it on the computer. Outside of just the actual sounds, the process is just so much more fun when you're actually touching these things, real instruments, the inspiration and the approach is just completely different and it feels more inspiring. 

Kade: One of the songs that I wanted to talk to you about was ‘Ma’, and the reason being because of the things that are covered from heartbreak to family relationships and identity. You went as far as describing yourself as a deadbeat uncle and you were especially vulnerable on the hook of the song. So I wanted to ask you what the writing process was like for ‘Ma’ and how it felt confronting your emotions?

Brian: It started with the beat first and it was at a point in the album where I was just checking off boxes of what I was missing and I felt like I was missing a song that was telling a story about something really vulnerable, but also not having it be, you know, six minutes because I already have that with ‘Timezones’. So I wanted to have something that is still listenable and has a pretty hook. So I made the beat first and I just remember, you know, the verse part of it was so dark. It sounded really kind of dark and I, and I just remember, you know, the first line of it was just ‘sorry’. And I think the things that followed that was, it just started becoming like a confessional booth type thing. It made me want to be as honest as possible. And I think also compared to ‘The Sailor’, ‘The Sailor’ was very, you know, the themes of that album were very inspirational and it was very much like anyone could do what they want to do and chase their dreams. But I felt like it was lacking a vulnerability and it was trying too much to be like, I'm a role model and like I'm this perfect kind of being. And I think I just wanted to be like, nah, let's just, you know, let's be more honest and actually highlight the imperfections and actually say that I'm a deadbeat uncle because that is how I feel. Just, yeah, just really lay it all down. 

Kade: Another thing that is more prevalent on the new record is a lot more singing, especially on tracks like ‘Little Ray of Light’ and ‘She’. Your singing voice really comes forward a lot more. I wanted to ask you how it's changed your approach to making each track?

Brian: I'd say I've always loved making melodic songs and ideas from even from early on in my career. I think there are even times where I felt like it was more fun to make melodic stuff than to rap because there's just less limitations as to what you can talk about on a singing song, I feel like. And this one, I was just like, when I was making ‘The Sailor’, the stuff that I was listening to was all rap. It was all like old school lyrical rap, Kendrick and stuff like that. This one, I would try to listen to more rap, but I just kept finding myself listening to more old school singing stuff like Phil Collins, Stevie Wonder. Even when it came to the rap stuff, the stuff that I was listening to was like Outkast and stuff that has more production and can be melodic at times. So I really just leaned in on it. And, you know, Frank Ocean, Steve Lacey and Thundercat, those are big inspirations as well. These are people that I really look up to and I really studied their melodic choices and their songwriting. Another thing with singing, I always felt like my lyrics could be better and I've always wanted my lyrics to be more poetic when I'm singing, and I tried really hard to achieve that with this one. 

Kade: Apart from the singing, something else you've been leaning really heavily into with the release of the new album is the visual side of it with there being a lot of music videos so far, including Bumpy Road, which just released a couple of hours ago. Personally, ‘She’ is my favourite, I just really love the style of that one. I wanted to ask you how important the visual storytelling is for you alongside the music?

Brian: I think it's very important. That was something that has been such a process with this one. These days, people don't really make music videos as much anymore and it's more about, you know, clips on social media. I just really wanted to make sure, especially because I haven't dropped in six years and, you know, visual storytelling has been such a big part of my earlier music that I wanted this one to still feel like a step up from my last one somehow. I think there's also something really cool about making a world so when people listen to the album, they're not just hearing the music, but they have something to kind of picture in their minds. I remember feeling that when I was listening to ‘Because the Internet’ by Childish Gambino, he made a whole short film and the universe within it, and I think that's something that I really wanted to do here as well. 

Kade: Another thing I wanted to ask you about was how you've navigated different cultures throughout your career. From Indonesia to being in the U.S. and then also being a part of a growing hip hop scene over the last decade or so, I wanted to ask how the new album represents your current place in your journey.

Brian: Yeah, I think, as you definitely hear on the album, there's a lot of Indonesian influences where I actually sampled some Indonesian music and then there are some where it's more subtle. And I'm influenced by like very like music, like music genres that are very specific to Indonesia and just kind of having it be having an effect, just like little rhythms in the production. So I think that was just all about how much I missed home. I think because the album is also very honest and vulnerable. I think it just fits so well with the themes of just returning back home and being more in touch with the stuff that I love growing up, and this is where I grew up. I was, you know, people sometimes think that I'm from the US, but I'm actually like, you know, I was here from, you know, until I was 17, so really my formative years were all here. So now I'm currently in Indonesia and when I had the album listening party, when it came out, I had it here and I've never had that. I've never done that before. And that was really cool actually seeing like a lot of, you know, Indonesian musicians come here that I've never met in person before. I've been just kind of putting down like more more roots back home and just kind of like trying to be more in touch with what's going on over here because I'm at a time, I think, in my life where I just have grown so much more appreciation for it. 

Kade: Do you think it's felt a little freeing with the writing and releasing of WHERE IS MY HEAD?

Brian: A hundred percent. I think this whole project was definitely a reflection of that mindset change. And that was the reason why I was like, you know what, let's just take this, you know, it's like, let's take my time on this. Let's really, really just like make sure I love every single moment of the album, every single production moment, and just make sure the whole thing is very polished to exactly how I want it. Let's put a six minute and a half song in there where I'm just talking in vivid detail about specific parts of my life, because that's always been the kind of rap that I love, just like the storytelling stuff. And I think just being a fan of everything that I actually make. So, yeah, I'd say it's like when people hear it, I think they can tell that it's like, OK, this is something that I made because I love it and not for anything else.

Kade: Is there anything that you'd like to work into your music in the future, whether that's genres, styles or certain influences that you have? 

Brian: I think it's hard to say. When I walk into the studio these days, I try to not be rigid and I just kind of let the creation process kind of take me wherever. Even if it's something that I feel like I know I'm never going to release, I still get the idea done anyway. I lay it down and I just save it for later and then I will come back to it. So there have been times where I go into the studio and I make, you know, like a very dancey record or something that sounds like Kaytranada would make or something just because I do enjoy listening to stuff like that sometimes. But maybe I'm not necessarily ready to put something out like that in my career now, but I would just make it anyway. So it's always different every day. So I kind of don't plan it until I go into the process of like making my next album. 

Kade: All right. And finally, one last question that I wanted to ask you was that if you could accomplish three things over the next year, whether that's musical or personal, what would they be? 

Brian: I really want to perform at Camp Flog Gnaw. I really want to…. I just want to have more music friends that I'm fans of that make the same type of music that I do and just be more in the space of collaborating with them. And I really like, you know, with this album process, we're working with Toro and Charlotte Day Wilson and Daisy World. My favourite part was actually being in the room with them. With Daisy, she helped me a lot with like background vocals and then she sang these lyrics that I actually wrote and melodies that I wrote and just having someone put that trust in me and take direction from me is an experience that I've never had the privilege to have before. It's really nice to actually have someone trust me that much and for the end product to actually be good. I think I just want to do more of that where I work with other artists at that level. Third thing, probably…maybe just… I do want to be in a movie. I want to be part of like, I don't even have to be the main character, but I just want it to be a really good movie because I love movies. And sometimes when I watch a really good movie, I'm always like, ah man, I wish I was in that.

Kade: Well, I really appreciate you giving me the time and giving such thoughtful answers really means a lot to me.

Angus Doyle. Photo credit: Jasmine Glover

Angus Doyle is a larger than life writer, rapper, performer, and person. His fun energy and infectious laughter lights up a room so easily and his music has a very similar effect. With an esoteric style of rapping and bouncy beats, his music is far from the status quo. After an amazing set recently at Jukebox at the Cave Inn, Kade caught up with him to talk about his love for music, Geometry Dash, and a very special greyhound.

Kade: Who am I joined by tonight?

Angus: Angus Doyle.

Kade: And can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

Angus: Shit, I'm 20 years old. I'm a rapper inspired by Geometry Dash and I make music and play Geometry Dash.

Kade: Hell yeah. Speaking of Geometry Dash, that was the first thing I was going to ask you about. Pretty clearly through your visuals, your sound, and even your samples, there are Geometry Dash references and influences just absolutely everywhere in your music. I wanted to ask what the game means to you and how it has influenced you?

Angus: I think it's a medium of art, regarding specifically the level editor and the community made levels. And every level is like an audiovisual experience. I want to make levels to my songs, because I feel like it's a medium of art that expresses a product that you can't really get anywhere else. I think it's underrated as fuck. Also, playing the game itself just takes mad persistence but also rhythm. And I fuck with that.

Kade: So, when it comes to Geometry Dash, who are some of the players, creators, or community members who have been a big inspiration for you?

Angus: Shit, I like Zylenox and 2003devin. They're really cool art creators who, I feel like lean a little more towards an esoteric vibe. I fuck with that heavy. They're the ones that kind of made me see Geometry Dash as like, an art form and more than a game. I mess with them. I mess with Triple Six by Zylenox and World War by 2003devin.

Kade: Another person you've mentioned in the past is FunnyGame. What are some of your favourite levels from FunnyGame and do you have any plans to ever include FunnyGame in any of your visual media?

Angus: I mean, maybe include in visual media. I have a very spontaneous creative process. I guess I haven't thought that far ahead. I think more of that while I'm editing the video and stuff. I like Two Faced Agony. It's an insane Nine Circles demon by FunnyGame. I think it's really unique and a really cool take on the Nine Circles style, and it's just trippy. I'm playing it right now, and it's really hard to play. Just because of the visuals.

Kade: On the note of Nine Circles, you’ve sampled the original Nine Circles song in one of your songs before. What other songs from Geometry Dash have you sampled in your music?

Angus: Well, there's this one particular artist that goes by the name of NIGHTkilla or Rukkus or Realistik, as you might know, if you play Geometry Dash. He's one of my biggest musical inspirations. I love his style of mixing. Like, he just has a fatass limiter on all of his songs. I also like other albums that do that, [like] Almighty So by Chief Keef. I fuck with that style of mixing heavy. I don't know. It just like, makes it sound dirty and grimy. I've sampled ‘Evil’ by NIGHTkilla in two different songs. One which is kind of released, one which is completely unreleased. The one that's kind of released is ‘2eepy’. It's a full song, but it's only released on my Instagram second account, and I reversed and chopped the melody to that one.

Kade: While we're talking about influences, you've now mentioned Chief Keef, NIGHTkilla or Rukkus, and also Geometry Dash as a whole, do you have any other albums or artists that you can point to for inspiration?

Angus: Bonito Generation by Kero Kero Bonito. I really fuck with that. They’re just really, musically complex and talented. And I think topically, they are like, one of the most ahead of their time bands ever.

Kade: You've mentioned in the past Aphex Twin and Sweet Trip as well for contributions to your style. Could you tell me a little bit more about that?

Angus: I got into Sweet Trip before Aphex Twin, which I think is important, especially the album that got me into Sweet Trip, Velocity : Design : Comfort. It’s quite heavily under that IDM influence, Aphex Twin influence. What I like about Velocity : Design : Comfort is how textured it is. It's like, you can tell that there's so much time put into an album like that. It was the first album, which kind of blew my mind as far as like, fusion of genres goes. I see it as like shoegaze, dream pop, glitch, and IDM all in one album. They just have the most like, beautiful pieces. I really like the songs Velocity and Sept. Those are really good songs. Very long. I like long songs.

Kade: So you have a song, SocSocSoc, named after your dog, Soc. Tell me a little bit more about Soc.

Angus: Man, he's a greyhound that my family got at the start of 2021. He's an ex-racing greyhound. And he broke his leg in a race, so they were going to put him down but my sister saw him on Facebook, and we were like “man, he's a fucking cutie”. We got him and the first week was fucked. He just had mad trauma from growing up in that racing environment for three and a half years. Also, just a drastic change in lifestyle and environment. Like, he'd just be like barking and whining all night, and ate the blinds one time. So yeah, we had a chunk of that missing for a while.

But he turned eight this year and he's just warmed up to his new life so much more. And I don't know, it's a really good experience, you know, rehabilitating a rescue dog, and I love Soc. He's got the most weird and funny personality, as like a lot of greyhounds do. And I love him so much, I had to go and make a song about him, yeah.

Kade: Turning to tonight, we're currently recording this interview on the night of the Jukebox gig at the Cave Inn, your set tonight was amazing and the crowd was absolutely insane.

Angus: They were.

Kade: That was in part due to your incredible way of getting the crowd involved. Which leads me to be curious about what your plans are for future live performances?

Angus: I mean, just drop more music and perform it. I haven't really planned what I'm going to do. Like, I'm a very, like, on the go kind of guy. I have an idea for an all-ages gig, because some people were upset about it being 18 plus. I feel like my music definitely caters toward a younger generation, as I think all unique art does. So that's my main goal at the moment, just, you know, have a gig where everyone can get involved.

Kade: Another thing that I wanted to ask you was the very unique album cover of your latest self-titled project. What was the design process like for that?

Angus: I finally just decided, I wanted to drop the album. So, I was like, let's just make an album cover. Once again, I didn't think too much about it. I just knew I wanted an old photo of myself, and I kind of just went from there with stuff from my past. Behind me in the album cover, there's one of the first paintings, I think the first watercolour painting I ever did. There's an excerpt from my buddy that I had in Prep, who was talking about me. And it says something about the funniest thing he has said is, “hey bro”. He laughed a lot at that. I just thought that was a funny quote. So, I chucked that in. I'm just really inspired by my childhood, I guess. And, you know, I think treating your inner child with like, love and respect is a big part of my philosophy and my approach to art.

I always got bullied by my family and peers for the type of music I liked, which was dubstep, EDM, complextro, future bass, and techno. There was a while where I kind of rejected that side of me. But there was a moment where I listened to one of those old songs that I used to listen to. I was actually on the way home from New Year's in 2022 to 2023. And I was just on the train and I was listening to ‘Epilogue’ by Creo. And there’s this one part, 40 seconds in. And that shit's just euphoric and ethereal. And I was like, “holy fuck, this is like, the greatest song ever.” Like, how have I been rejecting this? After that, I slowly accepted my innocent, childlike self.

That’s sort of the basis behind Angus Doyle as an artist, and me as a person.

Kade: As we move to wrapping this up, I have one thing that I've been asking people that I'll now ask you. Over the next 365 days, if you could choose three things that you would like to accomplish, what would they be?

Angus: Oh... Sheesh. Probably, beat some extreme demons .I want to find a job outside of music that I really like. I want to have more passions, you know? I want to just discover myself a little more. And that involves, like trying new art mediums. Like, I really want to paint, because I got a lot of painting friends. That's a pretty big one. I really want to learn piano. Because I think the music theory knowledge that I can get from that will really help me make the stuff that I want to make, because I'm really into classically composed techno and trance, and it's stuff that's really heavy on the music theory side of things. And I listen to it and I'm like, “dude, this fucking scratches my ear so much.” I really like ‘Animation Warrior Theme’ by Nighthawk22. That's a beautiful song. I want to make stuff like that.

Kade: Well, thank you so much for joining me tonight and thank you for giving me the time.

JesseMelancholy isn’t afraid to dig deep. The Adelaide-based artist’s projects have drawn from emo rap, indie rock, and even hyperpop. Jesse is no stranger to distorted vocals, raw lyrics, and fluorescent visuals, bringing a unique type of much needed catharsis in Australia’s scene. With a new project on the horizon and a growing fanbase behind him, JesseMelancholy seems to be primed to be next up out of Adelaide. Kade recently caught up with him to talk vulnerability, live shows, and the beauty of still figuring it out.

Kade: I guess we should start at the beginning: who is JesseMelancholy and how did the project kind of come to life?

Jesse: JesseMelancholy is me. I'm 21 and I'm based in Adelaide right now. I started making music at roughly 15, but I didn't get serious until about 18 or 19. By serious, I mean, doing the whole rollout thing and learning about the ins and outs of more of the industry side.

The JesseMelancholy project started like at 18 or 19. I can't really remember. I think my first single as JesseMelancholy came out in December of 2022. So, yeah, I think if I had to label myself as an artist, which I hate doing, I would say I'm an alternative pop artist, but it just depends on who you ask and what sort of people you're talking to, I suppose.

Kade: Going from there, when we're talking about your music, so much of it is very personal. A lot of your lyrics relate to introspection and a lot of emotional vulnerability. So, with that vulnerability, how do you balance it with the pressure of putting your personal deep emotions out into the world for everyone to see?

Jesse: That's a very good question. Honestly, it's not something I've thought of so much because I feel like from the very start of making music, it was all about emotion and it was all about having an outlet for my own emotions. I guess as someone who's struggled with like a lot of mental health issues, I think it's always been an outlet more than anything. You know, I never started out singing about, you know, fucking; it was never like a Happy by Pharrell Williams situation, you know?

It was more so going off of like emo artists, like Lil Peep and like Juice WRLD and all that stuff when I was like 15 and then, you know, it kind of delved into like more internet artists as time went on, obviously like Brakence and Eden and Glave and things like that. So I think it's always been written from a very introspective place only because the artists that I sort of looked up to were also writing from that place and it was what felt right.

Definitely the most introspective thing I've ever written was my EP that came out last year, “does the skin i wear define me?, and I think I definitely did struggle a lot with writing a lot of it because it was almost a little scarily introspective. Songs like “blisters”, and stuff [like that] was really hard for me to kind of write and translate into something I was proud of and something that felt real and genuine. And I still like look back and I flicker a lot. Like sometimes I'm like, it's corny and then sometimes I'm like, oh, actually, no, never mind it came across and I was doing my thing. But I think, honestly, it's something that just is a part of it. And I don't think I struggle with it as much because at the end of the day, I'm confident about my music for the most part and I think if I'm not using it as a tool to like, therapise a lot of the parts of myself that I can't outside of music, then I'm not really doing anything interesting at all, you know?

Kade: Do you think there's ever been a time where the music you're writing has gotten a little too introspective and you didn't really want to put those emotions out into the world?

Jesse: Somewhere during the start of the JesseMelancholy project, I was basing a lot of my songwriting off of, really, really emo artists even going back to sort of emo rap and people who descend from that. Like, you had Lil Lotus and Nothing,Nowhere. And I think when I started, like I said, I don't think it was a matter of being scared of the amount of introspection. I think it was just the way that I sort of wrote about it. I think some of the lyrics were a bit too on the nose and I think subtlety does go a long way when it comes to songwriting and I think alluding to a feeling or alluding to something that you're going through or something that you want to say is a lot stronger than just saying it. And I think with the EP, I did that better, but before then, I kind of caught myself writing some kind of corny lyrics about what I was going through that weren't really all that novel and didn't really feel as true to myself as maybe something like the EP did.

Kade: Speaking of your influences, you’ve mentioned emo rap, like Lil Peep and Juice WRLD, to the internet artists like Brakence and Glaive from that early 2020s hyperpop bubble to, you’ve mentioned in interviews before, Phil Elverum for his emotional capacity and LCD Soundsystem for his electronic style. Between all of these influences, who do you find is influencing your music the most in what you're making at the moment?

Jesse: It's always very hard to say. I feel like everybody on the Earth who's remotely into music says it, but I find myself to have a very wide taste of music. I'm always listening to the most random assortment on my drives home or drives to work. You know, it could be something folky, like Adrianne Lenker, got the poster behind me here, or Gregory and the Hawk, or Elliott Smith. And then it could go to like, really abrasive pop, you know, James Ivy and like Ryan Hall and all those sort of acts, but then it could go even weirder. I could even put on some 2010s pop bangers, you know? It's hard to say. I think a lot of my songwriting style feels very internet pop, I would say. And some artists like James Ivy, Roy Blair, Brakence and all that sort of thing feels pretty close to home in that regard. But I'd like to think sonically that there's a lot more going on, that is a lot deeper beneath the surface, so I don't know. It's hard to say. My favourite artist of all time is Roy Blair; I think he's always going to be the biggest inspiration to me. Sonically, I think that's like the one artist I could probably point to and be like, okay, I low-key am ripping them off a little bit. But I think that's just what happens when you like fall in love with media, you know? And I think, yeah, I'd like to think that all of my music is tastefully done and a mix of everything's in there. But, yeah, I don't know. It's hard to say, to be honest. I just love music so much. And that's just the one thing I know is that I love music.

Kade: I guess while we're on the topic of influences, you have always not just been very sonically interesting as an artist, but also quite visually interesting. Between music videos, album covers, photos, outfits, and everything in between, is there anyone in particular that has been a large inspiration on the visual side of things? Anything from the direction you like to take your music videos, the clothes you wear, or the way you design your album covers?

Jesse: That's another great question. I honestly think it's harder to point to a person or an artist than it is to point to movies. I think, looking at movies and even video games, weirdly enough, I think, that’s what is the driving factor to a lot of those things in terms of the way I present myself. I guess visually, I've always gone for a coming of age kind of look. I'd say especially within the last like two years, and especially with what I'm starting to roll out now, everything is very coming of age and very youthful and young. I think that translates from a lot of the movies that I like that have that visual style and express that a lot. You know your coming of age movies like Stand by Me, [The] Perks of Being a Wallflower, and I Saw the TV Glow, things like that.

Kade: Shout out I Saw the TV Glow!

Jesse: Shout out. I got a poster here too, another, look [pointing to posters behind on the wall]. We've mentioned Lil Lotus as well, so we've got all three things behind me have been mentioned. Anyways, but I think movies and video games are a lot to do with that. I think, as well you know, there's so many artists. Like when you're talking about outfits and stuff, there's so many music artists that I've always looked up to. I mean, if we're going like really way back when I was younger, I obsessed over Blink-182 and the way that they presented themselves, you know, Tom DeLonge, with his piercings and things like that I was always into. More recently, it’s been someone like Porter Robinson or someone who presents themselves [that way] and the way that they're not afraid to present unorthodox looks and make it their own. Things like that, I think are really inspiring to me and make up the way that I present. But yeah, looking at a visual style, it's always been movies and video games as opposed to other musicians, which is kind of weird, but I wouldn't have it any other way, and I'm excited to hone in on that visual stuff more with what's coming next.

Kade: Speaking of what's coming next, your music has always covered, as we spoke about before, a wide range of influencers leading to a really wide array of different sounds. From emo pop to emo rap, then even to indie rock and that more modern kind of wall of sound, shoegaze type of music. What direction do you see yourself going in in the foreseeable future? Do you think it'll continue to evolve, or do you think you'll continue to hone what you've already released?

Jesse: I think I think a mix of both, weirdly enough. I think that there's a lot of fundamentals in my music that will always be there and will always stay the same. Like, for example, I guess a lot of the weird vocal bendy stuff that I do, whether it's pitching my vocals, creating something from my vocals that sounds like an instrument, or something abstract, foreign or alien. Those sort of things, I think will always be fundamental to my music and will always stay there because those things are fundamentally a part of who I am, I think, those tastes and palates are from my interest in like video games, like Pokémon. So, I think they're always going to be there, but looking a bit further than that, the substance of the music, I think, could go anywhere. For the foreseeable future, I know what I'm doing. I've been working on a lot of stuff in a very similar vein. It's very coming of age, like I said before. Very, very pop, I would say, and fundamentals, fundamentals, fundamentals

After that, I have no idea where I'm going, but I'm just excited to see where I land. I'm always doing new things and I think trying everything as an artist is important. Something that I've been always pretty big on is experimenting. I think this goes without saying, but a thing a lot of people don't realise is like what music artists drop and what they make is completely different. You know for every, one JesseMelancholy pop song, there was like, 20 different, weird things in there, you know? So it's… I don't know. It's weird. Music is weird.

Kade: Do you think there are any genres that you're yet to tie into your music that you would like to in the future?

Jesse: I think a brostep, JesseMelancholy song is overdue. Just kidding. I don't know. I think honestly, especially looking at the EP “does the skin i wear define me?”, [that] came out last year, I think a lot of different styles and genres have at least been flirted with. 

Kade: Kind of partially involved.

Jesse: Yeah, exactly. Like, even if they were just subtly [included]; if you hear them, you hear them. Hard to say though, I think I'll always experiment. That's just my answer to that question. I'll always experiment.

Kade: While we're on the topic of experimentation, you did have, around the time of the EP release, a couple of different live shows. During those live shows, did you find yourself experimenting with the way songs played out or did you find yourself staying true to them and playing them as they are?

Jesse: I think there was a lot of variation to be honest. I honestly don't really like when people perform the songs one to one. I think there is a time and place for songs to not deviate too much, but something I absolutely love doing when building a live set is making the songs tie into each other. By extending songs or cut cutting them down, making the set feel like its own universe.

Kade: Almost like remixes?

Jesse: Yeah, yeah, like remixes. Yeah, someone somewhere in the vein of remixes, and I think I do that quite a bit live. Even if it's just in subtle ways, adding another MIDI instrument that like I would be like, yeah, this is hard live, but in the final master of the song, it's like that doesn't need to be there, you know? Things like that. I think there's even more room for it. I got a drummer whose name's Devon, and in those run of shows that you're referring to, he was drumming for me the whole time. And he added a lot of cool drum fills and things like that that were not in the original song. One of the songs actually, Glitter, we added drums to that, and there's no drums in that song at all. So, yeah, I think I really enjoy spicing it up. And that doesn't mean like changing and deviating so much from the songs that are there because those are the songs that people love and you don't want to mess with them too much. But I think adding some surprises in there is great.

Another thing that comes to mind is I did like a hardstyle remix of my song Poison as an encore song for my first two headline shows. So that was pretty insane too.

Kade: Yeah, while on the topic of hardstyle remixes, shout out the Be Nice to Me hardstyle remix that Bladee's been playing.

Jesse: Yeah, that is a whole nother level. I mean, I didn't I couldn't have imagined maybe a few years ago that we'd be living in a universe where that exists, but I'm very happy it does.

Kade: On a related note, I wanted to ask about fan interactions, as you really get a lot of different people at shows, with how varied your music is. Have you had any really memorable fan interactions at any of your shows that you want to talk about?

Jesse: Yeah, there's been some cool ones. I think probably my favourite one is someone got “does the skin I wear define me?” tattooed on them, and I think seeing that in person was really cool. I think having them there and playing that title track and looking down and thinking that person right there has this song tattooed on them is a really cool thing. It's something that I don't think I can process fully, like why someone would want to do that for a piece of art that I made, you know? It feels almost wrong, but it's really cool.

Pretty much everyone I've met, is really, really cool and a lot of them are into the same things as me. So, I've talked to a lot of people who found my music and were in my Discord server and I'm able to reference things that they were talking about in my Discord, whether it was like Pokémon or something.

Kade: Shout out the JesseMelancholy Discord.

Jesse: Yeah, it's goated. It's a goated place. I think because my fanbase is very small, I , I pretty much know everyone on some, small level. So, it's really cool to be able to do that and I really pride myself in doing that because it is a community and I've met so many cool people.

Oh, another one is someone was recording my whole set on their 3DS and it was the same 3DS model that I had as a kid, but I sold it because I was so dumb. I don't know why I did it. I sold my childhood 3DS in when I was like 15 or 14 or something. And it was cool to see them just posted up with my childhood 3DS model pointed at me. It was great. Yeah, that was a cool one, too.

Kade: Then when looking forward to the future, one thing I thought might be cool to think about is if we were to have a conversation and I interviewed you again in five years, what would be something you’d want to be able to look back on and think, I'm really proud of this accomplishment?

Jesse: I think it's not as huge as maybe some people would say, but I'd just really love to proudly say that I sold out a full length tour, like Australian tour or perhaps even more than that. And to say that I've performed in America and it went well and things like that. Because I think those are the things I think about a lot. I think live shows, as much as they're not entirely my forte as someone who started on my laptop in my room, I think they are kind of an amalgamation of everything you're doing. I think it all goes back to that in some way, not all the time, but yeah, to say that I've like sold out a tour fully and to be like proud of it would be amazing.

I think as well just to have an amazing back catalogue of music would be phenomenal. I just want to build my discography up and [for it to] be all bangers, you know what I mean? And that’s what we're doing right now, you know, that's what we're in the process of. So hopefully in five years, I have a magnum opus, like a Bohemian Rhapsody or something. I don't know. Crazy.

Kade: Another thing that I wanted to ask was, as an artist, both visually and sonically, do you think you've figured out who you want to be or do you think that's still kind of an open-ended process at the moment?

Jesse: I don't think we ever know who we are to be honest with you, and I think that we all have an idea of who we are, but we're always finding new things to enjoy. We're all finding new quirks about ourselves, and we're all going through different things constantly and I think there's never a point in life where you 100% know who you are because tomorrow you'll like something new and you'll want to do something new. So I think I just want to keep learning, learn about myself, find new media to enjoy and consume and obsess over. And I think I just want to keep doing that.

Kade: One thing that I've asked a couple artists now, and I think I would like to continue to ask, is if you could look over the next year, the next 365 days, and you could name three things that you would like to accomplish in that time, what would those three things be?

Jesse: Number one, drop an awesome project entitled Bending Over Backwards.

Number two, perform more, and more frequently and epically and swagly.

Number three, Become a Pokémon master. That's it.

Kade: Fuck yeah.

Jesse: Hell, yeah.

Kade: One last thing to ask, is if there's a message you could give your fans, your listeners, what would you like to say to them?

From breakbeats to dreamy guitars, and often a complex mix of both, there’s always going to be something unique playing when you turn on a TURQUOISEDEATH track. The young producer from London has been turning heads for a couple of years now and has steadily furthered and honed his craft. On his latest album Guardian, which was released just last week, that evolution feels more focused than ever. Kade sat down to speak to the young maestro about online music culture, future goals, and the beauty in symbolism.

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Kade: First off: Who is TURQUOISEDEATH? Introduce yourself for us.

TURQUOISEDEATH: TURQUOISEDEATH is my first musical project. I make electronic music, with way too much delay and reverb. It’s pretty fast most of the time. As Kaizo Slumber once said, “170 beats per minute and above is the future of music.”

Kade: Your music blends so many different genres, jungle, breakbeats, ambient, even shoegaze. With such a blend, can you walk me through how the formation of a track begins? Is there typically a specific idea or sound you start with?

TURQUOISEDEATH: It’s changed over the years. At the beginning I would sit down with a keyboard in front of me and attempt to write a song. That’s where a lot of the more ambitious tracks such as “Guessabelle” from Se Bueno came from. 

Because of some dynamic changes and also moving places and having to sell the equipment I used to use, I started all over again in early 2023 with just a laptop. Because of that I have been exploring the depths of possibility in electronic production, in place of practicing conventional songwriting (until I get new equipment), and that has led me to utilise sampling a lot more. When I make a song, I like to build off of a base, a texture or hook I like and can instantly see possibilities upon hearing. You can see these types of samples in songs like “Moss Green,” “You Are the Reason” and “Subterrane.” With my next record I am trying to combine both of the workflows I used on Se Bueno and Kaleidoscope!

Kade: You mentioned that moving and having to sell equipment caused your creative process to shift. Now that you're aiming to blend the workflows of Se Bueno and Kaleidoscope, how do you think that will affect how you structure your music? For example, are you starting with melodies again, or still building around samples and textures first?

TURQUOISEDEATH: It varies across the record. Some tracks I started with a melodic idea, in fact most tracks, but some are formed with samples as their base. The difference in this album is the two methods are interweaved, something I should have started doing years ago LOL. This has also somehow led me to take on longer and more ambitious compositions. I just kind of get swept away with the act of creating a track and realize, “oh, this is 9 minutes long.”

It’s been some of the most fun I’ve experienced in my time as a producer.

Kade: You referenced Kaizo Slumber’s quote about “170 BPM and above being the future of music.” What personally draws you to faster tempos, and what inspired you to blend genres like shoegaze and ambient into that high-energy space?

TURQUOISEDEATH: What Kaizo said stuck with me because our consumption of media, words, overall information is so rapid now that faster music only makes sense. It reflects the time we are in. In this sense I’m talking more about Kaizo’s music than mine, as I do like to dip down in tempo simply because I’m not as good a producer as someone like him. He creates incredible amounts of energy in his tracks.

For me, my mind has always moved pretty quickly from one thing to another. I think I’m naturally drawn to high tempos just because I’m hella ADHD lol. The gazey sound of Se Bueno was just me filtering all the sounds and inspirations I loved at the time through my style of producing. I’m always doing that. With Kaleidoscope, I was influenced by IDM and progressive house, and with my next record I’m pulling from jungle and trance, alongside a myriad of other sounds.

Kade: You mentioned getting swept up in the process and ending up with 9-minute tracks. How do you know when a song is finished? Do you ever feel like you're wrestling with a track to end it, or does it just click into place?

TURQUOISEDEATH: I approach the creation of a song with the idea of it being full circle and complete from the get-go. So every decision I make, the recall of a melody, repetition, texture changes, are all self-contained within the song, which makes it easier to “finish.” In the case of this album though, it is hard to know when these songs are finished, they could all be 20 minutes long and I would still want to add more. 

Kade: And talking about that myriad of other sounds, tell me a little bit about 18 DAYS. What is that project and what does it mean to you?

TURQUOISEDEATH: 18 DAYS started out as an experiment with ambient music. I was particularly infatuated with drones at the time. Over the years it has become a bank of ideas that just stray from the main music I want to put out into the world. However, recently I’ve been focusing on 18 DAYS harder as I set out to complete a double trilogy of albums through the colors blue and green. Making these projects changed the way I view making music. It taught me new methods, textures, and in particular styles, through copious amounts of sample surfing (which basically means listening to different music for hours and hours). 18 DAYS as a project has now concluded, but I hope it is one of many more projects to come that deviate from my main styles. I want to explore and learn as much as possible with the time I have.

Kade: Speaking of sample surfing, who are some artists or albums you've found that were key in shaping your sound with 18 DAYS?

TURQUOISEDEATH: I’ve discovered styles and eras I hadn’t really looked into before through the process. For example, I’ve found many heartachingly beautiful melodies in mandopop and cantopop. The sound selection from producers like Owen Kwang is just next level. I’ve also found a lot more dub techno records. So much beautiful, colorful music.

Kade: It sounds like 18 DAYS gave you room to step outside your main style and experiment. How do you decide what belongs under TURQUOISEDEATH versus something more side-project or anonymous?

TURQUOISEDEATH: 18 DAYS started as a side project where I would just experiment, but I would say since September of 2024, it has become a whole new part of making music for me. Exploring longer compositions, drone, repetition, and just learning how to create hypnotic atmospheres at a much slower tempo has not only shown me things to incorporate into the TURQUOISEDEATH music, but also has just become the type of music I love to produce. Ambient music is a therapeutic and surreal process!

Kade: You're a frequent collaborator with vmrrobotic, could you tell me a little about your work together and your relationship?

TURQUOISEDEATH: vmrrobotic is a musical peer and also a great friend of mine! We have been collaborating since 2022, just a bit before Breakers Gang was formed. We have both evolved over the years and influenced/been influenced by each other. He’s one of the best producers currently working in electronic music and his next album, which he has been putting his whole being into for over a year, is going to show everyone that he is a genius! We are working on the final entry in the “Fools” album trilogy.

Kade: While we’re on the topic of Breakers Gang, could you tell me a little about the group and how you all met?

TURQUOISEDEATH: We mainly just met through online forums, or discovering each other's music on Bandcamp and SoundCloud and stuff like that. The collective naturally formed around the usage of breakbeats, and since then we’ve strayed off into different musical directions, but that origin keeps the group somewhat tied together. I just like to think of BG as a group of friends with similar musical ideas.

Kade: You mentioned connecting with people like vmrrobotic and the rest of Breakers Gang through forums and platforms like Bandcamp and SoundCloud. How has being part of that internet-based scene shaped the way you make music, or the kind of music you gravitate toward?

TURQUOISEDEATH: It’s given me a larger appreciation of rave music in general, which is where I pull a lot of my sounds from.

When I was getting into making electronic music in 2021 at 13–14, my main exposure to this kind of music was Jon Hopkins and LTJ Bukem. At the time, my favorite kind of music was really peaceful and slow and boring, so at first I didn’t understand rave music that well. I liked some contemporary stuff because of its pretty pads and textures, but I didn’t really know anything about soundsystem culture, apart from having grown up listening to grime (I love a good wub bass).

Meeting these people online and hearing the music they loved, coming to a better understanding of why these specific sounds have such a long history and evoke so much energy on a dancefloor has impacted not just my music but my life in so many ways. You can hear in my earlier works I was trying to implement acid and hardstyle and it’s SO bad. Hell, I probably still suck. My music’s still too overcomplicated for a rave LOL.

Kade: You’ve already built such a unique catalogue between your musical projects. Do you think there’s a track or moment that really feels like a turning point for you as an artist?

TURQUOISEDEATH: Yeah, that was early on with “Guessabelle.” Before then I was taking music kind of seriously but it wasn’t like a big deal for me. But it was one night when I sat in the dark and went blank for a few hours. I feel like most musical artists can relate to the feeling of the music completely taking over you.

I came out with “Guessabelle” as a song, the original 9-minute version, and that was kind of the moment I realized I wanted to make music seriously. There is no drug that can replicate the feeling of making a song that matches or even exceeds your standards… and so “Guessabelle” was a turning point because it’s the entire reason I committed to this project. I could also say “Dive,” as that’s the song that really changed a lot for me, but I’ll stick with “Guessabelle.”

Kade: You mentioned rave music before, do you ever think you’ll one day play “Guessabelle” at a rave?

TURQUOISEDEATH: Absolutely. That song is begging to be played last in a set!

Kade: What do you think about playing live sets or raves down the line?

TURQUOISEDEATH: Yes, definitely. I’ve been invited to do loads actually. The only thing stopping me is my mixing skills, which I’ve been working on recently.

I also had the idea of creating an album exclusively to be played live and never released. Either way, it could be something I do next year if I feel confident enough.

Kade: How do you think the process and execution would differ if you created an exclusively live album? Would there be certain sounds or styles you’d be more willing to experiment with?

TURQUOISEDEATH: I would lose about half of the atmosphere and put more energy and focus into the rhythm.

In a live setting it doesn’t matter how good the pad sounds or if the effect is panning around your head; the groove needs to be infectious and SOLID. That’s something my released music lacks a bit because I like my atmospheres to float over the percussion rather than be intertwined, that way it feels more alive. Whereas when you're playing a set, if the groove is good enough, you can keep it going for 8 minutes, bring in a ride cymbal on the offbeat and people will come up to you after a show like “dude. You are literally the greatest to ever do it” LMAO. So yeah, I would be focusing solely on the danceable aspects of the genres I work with, something genuinely engineered with a dance floor in mind.

Also in terms of genres I would be trying out, gabber, hardgroove, maybe some Ophidian-style darkcore, also some freeform and hard trance stuff (Purity Filter inspo) All that being said, I would still spin some of my released tracks!!

Kade: Are there any artists you could point to that epitomise controlling the dancefloor?

TURQUOISEDEATH: Maybe like Jeff Mills, Frankie Knuckles, Regis, definitely Daft Punk, and maybe some Habibi Funk DJs. Also, I’ve never watched a solo set of his but based on releases like ISS010 I’d say Skee Mask. There are probably a lot more that I’m missing but that’s what I’ve been feeling recently.

Kade: Just the other day your album Guardian released, which was a beautiful project. It concluded with the monumental “Close Your Eyes,” which clocked in at 30 entire minutes. Did you always set out for the track to reach that length, or did it just keep growing?

TURQUOISEDEATH: Thank you! I had in mind that I wanted to have a singular song making up the second side of the record. “Close Your Eyes” started off as a downtempo/neo-psych idea but as I kept working, I found more and more potential in the core loop I used and ended up with the whole song.

Kade: As has been the case with your previous releases and now Guardian, visuals and imagery are a core part of your work. Do you have any examples of symbolism you'd like to highlight for Guardian?

TURQUOISEDEATH: Yes actually! I feel like the imagery and what it represents is pretty obvious. Guardian is the end of a trilogy, and also the culmination of all my work up until now. The cover shows Alice (the character on all my covers) reaching the end of a cave, and then past that is a blue light. 

This represents a variety of things to me. First of all, releasing this record feels like the end of a chapter in my life, making a certain kind of music, and the end of my school days. It also represents a new beginning, something brighter, albeit abstract ATM. Just a bright blue light. That’s how I feel about my future LOL. Also for musical symbolism, this is me reaching the end of the road for this musical “formula” I’ve got, which is really just me operating on instincts alone, whether it be melody, sound selection or mixing (which leads to repetitive and boring results). Releasing this album means I need (and want) to try something completely new and different for me next, which I’m really looking forward to and already have lots of ideas for.

Kade: At this moment, are there any ideas you plan on expanding upon that you’d like to share?

TURQUOISEDEATH: I’d like to include Latin and African percussion and grooves into some of my tracks. I’d also like to attempt completely different structuring styles I’m not used to at all, for example, something in the style of The Field or Inquietus’ latest project All of You Belonging. I’m usually anxious around repetition because I’m never that confident in my music, but I think creating a loop you would want repeating for 5 minutes is an achievement and a half. I’m also interested in working with vocalists at some point.

Kade: Do any vocalists stand out as dream collaborators?

TURQUOISEDEATH: For contemporary artists I think Damian Anton-Ojeda. I love the way their voice soars so triumphantly, they have one of the greatest voices I’ve ever heard. Also Meaningful Stone, Oklou and George Clanton. For artists I dream of working with but am a bit too late, I would say Mark Hollis, Paul Buchanan, Luis Alberto Spinetta, Tracey Thorne, and Gustavo Cerati. And Elizabeth Fraser. I could go on for days about this lol.

In terms of artists I could actually work with, definitely iANO, who is a friend and also one of my favorite musical artists, with a beautiful voice! (Check out his latest album, it’s a masterpiece!)

Kade: Do you think you’d ever approach the mic yourself?

TURQUOISEDEATH: Nah, my aspiration in the long run is to be a producer for other people. I want to facilitate other artists and create for them. My only good feature creatively is I have a relatively good ear for what sounds nice, so I plan to try and take advantage of that as much as possible and work with others. But I'm not really interested in revealing my voice or myself in general since I enjoy the lack of stress when staying anonymous. Could change in the future, since I do find myself wanting to compose like, progressive rock shit sometimes… but me having a shit singing voice is probably a sign from god that I should NOT do that lmao.

Kade: One thing I’m sure a lot of people wonder about is the origin of your name. Was it self-created, a reference, or something else entirely?

TURQUOISEDEATH: I just made it up in a math class with my friend when we were trying to come up with names for a jungle project. I used to feel embarrassed of it because I thought it was lame and edgy, but now I think it’s quite cool hehe.

Kade: And a final question I like to ask, if you could accomplish any three things over the next year, what would you like them to be?

TURQUOISEDEATH: That’s a good question! I guess I would like to in some way record a song using real instruments. I’ve been practicing drums for 8 years but have no outlet for it (apart from “So Far Away”) so I would love to do that at some point.

Non-music related, but I want to finally do this idea for a comic I’ve had for a while. It’s a bit Tamara Drewe-esque (the graphic novel, not the film) so I need to get out my dip pens and watercolors (or Copics, I’m not decided yet) again, but it should be fun. I also need to finish The Sopranos. I was watching it on my DVD player because I bought the box set and I have no clue what episode I’m on, so that will be the most challenging one of the three.

what is your name? isn’t just a cryptic artist alias, it’s the moniker of a genre-hopping, sample-warping musician making dreamy, emotional music from Toronto. Whether he’s building tracks from samples, writing songs for virtual Urlfests, or finding the courage to sing over his once-instrumental beats, WIYN’s music feels like a personal diary you’ve somehow been invited to read. Kade Homa caught up with him to talk shoegaze, sampling, live shows, and the magic of a good fade-out.

Kade: First things first: who are you? Tell me a bit about yourself and what you do.

WIYN: I'm just a guy who makes music in his free time whenever he can, although he didn't think it'd bring him anywhere till now.

Kade: With such a wide range of styles and genres you’ve created, from indie rock, to post-rock, to midwest emo, which artists or scenes have inspired and influenced your sound the most?

WIYN: Oh man, where do I begin? I always like to say Mac DeMarco, Boards of Canada and Toe whenever I get questions like these, but if I had to say ones that have influenced my sound the most, artists like Parannoul and Asian Glow are the reason I am where I am, especially with this music project. When I first heard their music a few years ago, I immediately thought "That's what I want to do.” Korean shoegaze was such a cool new thing to me at the time, the idea of venturing into that realm of music felt exciting to me. It was like watching people play basketball or soccer, you just wanted to be part of the action. Even though I don't take too much from shoegaze nowadays, I still feel their effects today in how I approach music. I love ‘em. Even Asian Glow, he's cool too.

Kade: On your first album, The Now Now and Never, there’s such a creative mixture of sampling, instruments, and sounds. What was the creative process like when creating some of the more ambitious songs such as the title track and Youthful Days?

WIYN: I think I was still very much “in the zone” from 2 0 2 1. In the other music project in particular, sampling had always been the forefront of my music and was always something that I started and built the foundation over. Right after I released “reverie,” I immediately went to work on The Now Now and Never, and naturally those same music habits stuck. I think within a week and a half I had already made heartache st and was already pretty much done with the title track. For the song youthful days, it was actually a 2 0 2 1 song at first that had never gone anywhere interesting, except for the sample. That sample from the very beginning that serves as the introduction and eventually foundation to the song; that’s been essentially left untouched since I first made it in 2 0 2 1. When I revisited this unfinished song and heard the samples again for the first time in months, I immediately thought “oh my god this needs guitars.”

So, I removed everything except the main sample, started recording each instrument one by one, kind of layering it as it went. You can even hear it happen in the song, first I added the jangly guitar, then I layered it with a rhythm guitar, then I was like okay what if I used my Korg Minilogue next to me right? I messed around until it became this almost ghostly high note that almost gave the song another dimension. Then finally when I was satisfied, I added the drums and bass. After that the whole song just kind of kept completing itself. Actually, it completed so fast and so effortlessly, it was practically done within like 3 days. It was just one of those songs where I didn’t struggle finishing it or coming up with ideas. I just knew when and where to record, and just also knew how to end it. It was crazy how fast I finished it, even to this day I am still kind of surprised by it as it feels like I didn’t actually write it myself, but that somebody else did.

Kade: On the topic of knowing when to end tracks, how do you know when you'd like to end a track? Is there a certain way you like to wrap up songs, or do you keep working until they seem to exhaust your ideas?

WIYN: Oh man, I don't know. It depends on the moment. some songs, usually ones where it feels like it can last forever, those I tend to fade out. I love fade outs. People think they're lazy, but I think they are beautiful. it just makes the song seem like a dream, it's just ugh I love fade outs, and I think they are underrated nowadays. People say fade outs are lazy, and they may be right in some instances, but sometimes there is just that one song I’d be making where there is no other better ending to it except a fade out, like youthful days or even U & I. like imagine youthful days ending with a chord that "completes" the progression. no! I don't want that beautiful progression to be over; I want it to last forever.

Kade: While we're on the topic of U & I, can you tell me a little bit about what it's like making music for the various Urlfests you've been part of? Is the creative process different compared to your studio albums?

 WIYN: Oh! I loved doing those Urlfests. They are not performed live, but they are original material written for those events. I sort of treat them as an “arena” to test out new sounds I want to pursue next, and because of that they just end up being really fun and experimental to make.

Kade: Between your albums you’ve shifted genres towards more singing, was that something you always wanted to do, or was it something that came along with time?

WIYN: I think at the time, it was something that I always wanted to do. projects like "the now now and never" and "side rd 1" felt to me like demonstrations of what I could do, as I was too scared to put vocals at the time. I've incorporated more and more singing into it as it felt like the "final piece" to my music, as I had been making instrumental music exclusive to that. Although lately, I have been interested in exploring the instrumental side of music again as I had been before.

To add onto that, I also like how vocals can not only add to the songs themselves, but how the lyrical content can add a whole new dimension in the creative process of a song, which is something I will always welcome when I create music.

Kade: Speaking of lyrics, where do you draw inspiration from, and do you have any specific influences on what you sing about? 

WIYN: I’m honestly not sure. I’m still very new to writing lyrics, and it’s sort of a stream from consciousness process. In the past I’ve used artists like Thom Yorke and Bob Dylan as “baselines” on lyrics, but recently I have started to embrace more abstract ideas from out of the blue, although this process lasts a lot longer than it did before.

Kade: You touched on 2 0 2 1 before, could you tell me about your work with that project, and how it has shaped your music as what is your name?

WIYN: Oh 2 0 2 1, that started as a side project back in, you guessed it, 2021. I think I stumbled across “tokyopill - m e t a d a t a” and it was like the coolest song I have ever heard at the time. When I researched more about the artist and eventually the genre itself, I grew more interested in making that type of music as well, so I started that project as I guess a ripoff of tokyopill’s sound haha. eventually after a while I realised that I actually enjoyed the sampling part of that project rather than the breakbeat or breakcore aspect, so I ended up focusing on that more. Honestly I would say it has definitely shaped my music in “what is your name?” because I have simply carried over the same creative process from there to here, just with an added recording process too.

Kade: With so many different styles and genres you’ve blended over the years, what are some styles that you’d like to incorporate in your music that you haven’t had the chance to yet?

WIYN: Post-punk. I just love the rough edginess of that genre, and the guitar work is something I want to approach in a similar way, although I haven’t found a situation in my music where I could squeeze in some post-punkiness.

Kade: What do you think about performing live shows? Post-punk lends itself really heavily to the DIY and live music scene, do you think live shows is in your future down the line?

WIYN: I would absolutely love to do live shows. I actually plan on doing them this year, or soon. Now that school ended, I have more free time to pursue that side of music. Should be pretty fuckin lit. 

Kade: Have you seen any live shows, in person or online, that have inspired how you imagine your own shows?

WIYN: Yes! I’ve always loved Mac DeMarco’s performances since I was in high school. The way he treats his performances so nonchalantly, but in a way that makes it seem like he’s doing it just because it’s fun; I want to bring that same sort of energy too.

Kade: Do you see yourself performing by yourself, or with a live band alongside you?

WIYN: Both, although a live band would be nice. I currently don’t know a lot of musicians that would want to play with me.

Kade: I'm sure there's plenty of talented musicians who both love your music and want to play live shows, so there's definitely a connection waiting to happen there.

On the note of live shows, would you want to recreate songs as they are, or experiment and rework them live?

WIYN: I definitely would love to experiment live, but I also would recreate them as they are. I’m still very much new to the world of live shows, so I have yet to experience what I truly want to do in that scenario.

Kade: With your music having such a vivid atmosphere, have you ever considered creating music videos, visualisers, or short films for your songs or albums?

WIYN: Yes! I am actually planning on making a music video this summer for a new song. I’ve always liked the idea of making everything myself, and to be able to have the creative freedom over a music video with my music makes it sound very fun to do.

Kade: Speaking of new songs, when can fans expect new music from what is your name?

WIYN: Patience is a virtue [laughs].

Kade: Well outside of making music, what have you been listening to as of late? Any new artists or songs that you’ve been liking especially?

WIYN: Frank Ocean has really grown on me this week. I’ve always liked a couple of his songs in the past, but I never tried to sit down and listen to something like Blonde to be able to appreciate his other tracks too. The production is just beautiful, and I kind of want to make something like that maybe.

Kade: Do you have any future plans to collaborate on a record, whether it's a split like Rabbit EP or a joint collaborative project?

WIYN: I am relatively open to something like that again, although I wouldn’t say it is a top priority for me right now.

Kade: One thing I’ve always been curious about is your name. where did it originate from?

WIYN: I don’t know where exactly it’s from, but I chose that name because I wanted to pick something that would look strange in a way that it would stand out in a list of other artists but still look cool enough to be on an album cover. 

Kade: And for a final question: what are 3 things that you would love to accomplish over the next year?

WIYN: Another album, perform live shows hopefully, and not be broke [laughs].

Kade: Thanks so much for your responses man, I think that’ll probably do it.

Gingerbee with Somersault interviewer Kade Homa before their El Puente Yokohama Japan show on June 26.

Gingerbee isn’t your typical screamo band; they're a genre-bending, long-distance collective making songs over discord calls, taking inspiration from Mario Kart, and layering in monkey drums for good measure. Before their Yokohama show on their current Japan tour, Kade Homa caught up with the band to talk about their formation, how Rate Your Music accidentally launched their careers, and the chaotic makings of their new record, 15 seconds at a time.

Kade: Okay, so, first of all, who am I joined by here today?

Gustavo: I'm Gustavo. I'm in Gingerbee.

Dani: I'm Dani, I do vocals in Gingerbee.

Nick: I'm Nick. I play violin in Gingerbee.

Melody: I’m Melody, I do synths and drums in Gingerbee.

James: I'm James, I play sax and other woodwinds in Gingerbee.

Patrick: I'm Patrick, and I fill in on bass sometimes in Gingerbee. 

James: And you're in Godfuck!

Patrick: That's true.

Kade: So the first thing I wanted to ask was just about how you guys all met, how the band was formed, and where the name Gingerbee came from?

Melody: So, our band makes and records all our music over Discord, which is also where we met. I met Gustavo, like two and a half, three years back now, where I had just posted a demo of a random Your Arms Are My Cocoon type ripoff thing that I made, and I just posted it in a server called BSDJ. Gustavo just randomly sent it back and said like, “Hey, I put some guitar over this”, and I loved it. So I'm like, this is amazing, we should like start doing something with this. And so, we just kind of kept sending stuff to each other and eventually we found Dani, our vocalist. I heard a demo from the server that they made and I’m like, I love your vocals, please be in our band. Then eventually, I was in my high school's library when I was trying to think of like a name for a band, and a lot of bands at the time felt like they're bug related.

Gustavo: Big bug vibes.

Melody: There's like big bug vibes in this scene. 

Gustavo: Scene’s got bug ties.

Melody: Yeah, so I was thinking like a, like a cute little bug thing, and then trying to think of like, what a little mascot or something could be. So I thought of like gingerbread and a bee. I was like “Oh, Gingerbee, maybe that could work”, and then that’s just it. I made like a little MS paint, like cut out thingy, I like traced a gingerbread cookie from the internet. And I'm like, oh, this could maybe be like a little guy. So, it's kind of stuck from there, but people, they all just liked it. So, yeah, that's kind of just how it happened.

Kade: So the next thing I was gonna ask you guys about was Petal Dance. So it's definitely got more of a chamber pop type of influence, especially compared to the stuff that you released on Our Skies Smile. So I just wanted to ask, what inspired Petal Dance? Was there any specific artists, albums, or songs that kind of inspired the direction of it and why you wanted to head in that direction?

Gingerbee at El Puente Yokohama Japan on June 26. Photo by Kade Homa.

Gustavo: Yeah, sure. So, Petal Dance has definitely some Mario Kart vibes, listening to some Mario Kart, some Sonic OST. But then, like, bands like Glass Beach. 

James: I was trying to get really good at Mario Kart Double Dash with my friend, who’s like, totally cracked at it and you would play on like, there's like this dolphin thing you could play with your friends' GameCube games online. 

Which is really good if you live in a city by yourself, you don't have any friends. Like I did. And then, yeah, so just the Mario Kart soundtrack, was definitely, definitely in there. But I mean, I come from like a jazz background, so probably a lot of that sublimated through. 

Gustavo: That was our first. This was James’, the woodwind player, this was our first song with James, so we've sort of brought it in a more jazz direction. And then I was listening to a lot of Brazilian music, older Brazilian music that does have like a chamber aspect to it. So there's, like, some samba stuff and it's pretty jazzy. I ripped off the chord progression from this song called "Crash!!!!!!!!! Burn!!!!!!!!” by Forest Spirit [Sun on Your Back]. 

Melody: Oh my gosh yeah…

James: There's a lot of chords in that song.

Gustavo: Well, yeah, four of the chords are from that song. 

Melody: Yeah we ripped off four chords from that song.

James: You can’t copyright chord progressions. 

Gustavo: That's true, that’s true. There's like a ton of chords. How did that song happen? Oh, Lamp! Lamp! We ripped off Lamp. Yeah, like Lamp.

Dani: And we knocked off… What's that Brazilian artist?

Gustavo: Oh, uh, Cartola. Yeah. There's this old Brazilian guy from the 70s called Cartola. And we just straight up stole the exact lyrics and melody from one of his songs.

Melody: All our music is just plagiarised. 

Gustavo: Yeah, we plagiarise everything.

James: Great artist steal.

Melody: Yeah. It's how we get away with it.

Gustavo: But we wanted to go in that direction because we could. And we got Nick, our first collaboration with Nick, Nick talk about it.

Nick: That was awesome. That was probably the first set of songs I think y'all brought me on for that. And at the time, I was, I'm still in college, but I was playing a lot in the symphony, and that's really, I'd been a violinist for about 10 years, but that was the time I started to kind of come around to orchestral music and really appreciate it for what it was. So I wanted to use that to my advantage and incorporate in that. So there's a lot of layers and a lot of different moving parts that kind of interact with each other. And I wanted to apply that to something awesome like Gingerbee.

Gustavo: Yeah, and we also had a great trumpet player, Joy on there. We had a cello from Jacob West [from] Summer 2000 on there, and some upright bass, some upright bass and piano for my friends in college, Julian and Matijs.

Dani: Yeah, list all the instruments you used. 

Gustavo: It's gonna take like two minutes

Melody: A lot of percussion instruments we used.

Gustavo: Yeah, a lot of different percussion instruments. There's a gong on there.

Melody: There's a gong on there, that's true.

Gustavo: Yeah. Played a bunch of different guitars, I played keyboard, Glockenspiel, different types of Brazilian percussion, like a cuíca, which is like this friction drum, they call it, like a monkey drum. You just go ooh ooh ooh! Yeah, that was really fun to play. The new record has that too.

Kade: Awesome! So, with so many different instruments being a part of your recording process at this point, how do you guys kind of start looking to record a new song? Do you start with any specific instruments? Are there any specific sounds that you go after? And then from there, how do you start to layer all the different instruments?

Gustavo: I'd say the process is different for every song, pretty much.

James: It's kinda random. There really is no process. 

Gustavo: Yeah, sometimes it starts with the piano, guitar, sometimes it even starts with the sax part, or like a big choir type thing. How it layers.. I don't know, we just pass it to each other. And then we get in call and we're like, does this work, does this not? 

Melody: Yeah. A lot of our old process was just like one of us sending a demo and then being like, oh, we could like do this with it and then sending it back. And then, oh, we could do this with it. Send it back. A lot of it was just like me sending like random demos and then Gustavo putting guitar over it and then us being like, oh, we should make this nightcore and then like speeding it up by like 200 BPM and making it like seven cents higher or seven semitones higher. That was sort of our old process, and there's a bit of that still where we just like go back and forth. But yeah, there really is no set process. It kind of just is random.

Gustavo: I'd say we make our songs like…

Gustavo: That already sounds awesome I'm so excited. 

Nick: That is so cool. (In reference to the that same street soundcheck coming from the venue)

Gustavo: I'd say we make our songs like 15 seconds at a time. 

Melody: That's a good way to put it.

Gustavo: The sections, the new songs are like, mostly just, like, changing vibes every 20 seconds or so. 

Kade: Another thing I wanted to ask you, it's been a little over two years since your debut EP, Our Skies Smile, released. Before you released it, did you have any idea just kind of how good and wide of a reception it would receive? I mean, it's propelled you into performing across the world. Did you ever think that it would get to that point? 

Gustavo: No.

Melody: Yeah, it kind of, it came out of nowhere. A lot of it, like, our EP kind of blew up on the website Rate Your Music out of nowhere, and that like, really propelled us. But yeah, no, we had no idea that this thing would become this huge. I remember when it did and eventually the band Your Arms Are My Cocoon followed us and we all freaked out. We're like, what the fuck? Like one of our favourite bands did. 

Gustavo: When we got the Your Arms follow, that’s when we knew we’d made it.

Melody: Yeah exactly.

Gustavo: Everything else past that doesn't matter. 

Melody: I remember I was like in the middle of an Overwatch game and I quit my game to call with these guys and be like, we got the Your Arms follow, let's go!

Gustavo: Your Arms follow was like… 

James: It's all downhill from here. 

Gustavo: When we were making the record, our probably biggest hope for it is that our influences would hear it. And people in our scene would hear it. But now it's grown.

Melody: Now we play with those people and it's like crazy

James: We’re playing with Your Arms in a little bit.

Gustavo: Yeah, in like 20 minutes.

Nick: Yeah, I think it's crazy because I've always; I had been listening to Gingerbee. I think, I know I joined after Our Skies Smile, but I'd been listening to Gingerbee, I'd been listening to Your Arms, and I'd been listening to that same street. And I remember seeing the tour for that same street and Your Arms are My Cocoon and thinking, "Damn, I'll never be able to see that.” And it's just, it's crazy that I'm able to share the stage with them.

Gustavo: Yeah, we're here.

Melody: We're here. For real.

Kade: Speaking of touring in Japan, are there any specific cities that you're especially excited to visit on this tour? Whether it's to perform there or whether there's anything you want to see in those cities?

Gustavo: I want to take the gang surfing if we have time. In Shōnan.

James: I want to go to the Deer Park.

Gustavo: Deer Park? Nara Deer park?

James: Yeah, the deer that bow to you, that sounds kind of awesome.

Kade: Yeah, they really do bow to you. Yeah, it's really awesome.

James: I'm hoping we can fit in.

Dani: I'm excited to see moreru. Is that how you pronounce it?

Gustavo: moreru, yeah.

James: It’s a band.

Dani: I'm still really excited to see them. You know, I'm excited to hear them too.

Gustavo: There’s this Mexican restaurant called El Puente.

James: I kind of regret not giving myself more time in between, because it would be nice to see some of the countryside. It seems like Japan has a lot of nice rural parts, but I don't know how easy that is to get to.

Gustavo: It's very beautiful. You can take the train.

Melody: I did like a little, like touristy day trip, like tour thing with a guide like to see like some spots at Mount Fuji. That was like a few days ago. And it was, thankfully a really nice day. It was only kind of cloudy. The took us to a nice little village, like a traditional village area and like Fuji Fifth Station and that kind of thing. It was really nice. And I'm glad that I got to be able to do that. But outside of that, yeah, I think all the cities are sort of, they have a lot of exciting stuff to do, I think, even though I don't think we have a lot of time, but I still think we're going to see a lot of cool stuff. So I'm excited.

Kade: So, you're touring in Japan now. Are there any other countries across the world that you want to play shows in or any specific cities, places?

James: Australia sounds cool.

Gustavo: I've heard the Australia scene is pretty banging.

Dani: I've always wanted to go to Spain. The punk and garage scene over there seems pretty crazy.

Melody: I've always wanted to play a show in my hometown, which is Toronto, in Canada, and thankfully we're gonna be able to do that. This year in August playing New Friends Fest, it's like, a dream come true for me, and I'm very excited.

James: Honestly, Japan's kind of as cool as it gets, I feel like. I might quit after this

Melody: Well, it's kind of like one that bands want.

Gustavo: Yeah we're breaking up in like five months. We gotta go to Brazil, though. We gotta come to Brazil.

Dani: I’d love to.

Melody: Yeah, we gotta live the meme and come to Brazil.

Gustavo:Yeah, there's a pretty good scene in São Paulo. I think we could get a show. 

James: Pretty good music down there.

Gustavo: Yeah, pretty good music.

Gingerbee at El Puente Yokohama Japan on June 26. Photo by Kade Homa.

Kade: You mentioned before how that influence we spoke about before is affecting songs on your new record. Could you tell me a little bit about it?

Gustavo:Yeah. So we all pretty much love Brazilian music from what I know.

James: Yeah.

Gustavo: James, yeah. We've all been getting into it. Bans like Novos Baianos and then more Brazilian, like bossa, jazz type stuff.

James: Milton Nascimento.

Gustavo: Yeah, Milton Nascimento. Really good stuff. And we've all liked that for a really long time, and then getting to bring it into this new record, I got all the Brazilian percussion instruments, so we kind of get that authentic vibe.

James: ooh

Gustavo: And I'm singing in Portuguese on, like, four of the new songs.

James: Totally Brazilled out.

Gustavo: We're pretty Brazilled out.

James: We’re hoping to sell one Brazilian copies.

Gustavo: Yeah. We're samba screamo.

James: Yeah it is, we actually are samba screamo. That’s kinda the vibe of the next album, skramba.

All: Skramba?

James: That's good. 

Gustavo: Yeah, that's horrible. Wow. 

Kade: On the note of the new album, record, EP, whatever it ends up being, what can you guys tell me for people who are wondering when new music's going to be coming from Gingerbee?

James: I don't know. Soon

Gustavo: Within like 30 days, hopefully. We have all the songs almost done.

James: It's very close to done. It's like 98% done.

Gustavo: I would say it's 98% done. We got the cover art, like, everything's ready to go. We're just in Japan.

James: So we’re just like, fucking around right now.

Gustavo: I’ve got my laptop, I'm going to work on it while on tour.

James: Can we swear on this?

Melody: Can I say fuck is that ok?

Gustavo: Yeah. Should be done soon.

Melody: Coming soon. Coming soon.

Gustavo: Coming soon.

James: Very soon even.

Gustavo: It's very good.

Nick: Really good.

Gustavo: I will venture to say that it is very good.

Melody: I think it's okay.

Gustavo: I think it's very good.

Nick: Kind of pushing it there.

Gustavo: I think it's quite excellent.

Nick: Okay, okay.

Kade: I know there are a lot of people, myself included, who have been introduced into the skramz and emo scenes and really gotten more into it, especially with labels such as BSDJ and Fragile Recs. Are there any expectations for physical releases for the new record?

Gustavo: We'll probably do them ourselves. Yeah.

Melody: If anything, they'll come eventually.

Gustavo: We're not gonna do an immediate physical release.

Melody: Yeah, it's not going to be immediate. We're gonna, like, take some time after Japan to figure it out, and probably even after New Friends Fest. We're gonna take some time with it.

James: It's gonna be cool.

Melody: It's going to be cool, but we are just like kind of burnt out a little bit through like making shit and like playing shows.

Nick: The logistics aspect of being in a band is pretty crazy.

Melody: It is, yeah. It's quite something.

Gustavo: And a long distance band is pretty crazy. Yeah, long distance relationship. Gingerbee’s like a polycule.

Melody: It really kind of is like, because like when you're with a band, you're like, oh, when is this person going to respond? When are they free? It's like all that kind of shit.

Nick: Three different time zones right?

Melody: Yeah, something like that.

James: Working over the internet is challenging for sure.

Gustavo: And we got jobs and school.

Melody: It's It's like a nice workflow, though, I think. Like when it gets going, it really gets going. Yeah, it works really well for us, I think, so.

Gustavo: We can lock in.

Melody: We can lock in when we need to. But, yeah, coming at some point, physicals.

James: Soon, before the end of the year.

Melody: Soon, but not like very soon. Like, before the end of the year, hopefully.

Gustavo: And they'll be by us, except for vinyl, because that's really expensive, so we'll probably get someone to upfront the cost for vinyl.

Melody: Yeah, well, we will, we'll figure it out.

James: If you want to give us several thousand dollars, PayPal [email protected]. 

Gustavo: Anyone want to drop four grand on us? 

Melody: Is that the PayPal?

James: I think it’s the PayPal. We should make it the PayPal after this interview.

Kade: Public application for funding Gingerbee vinyl. 

Melody: Yes, please please.

Gustavo: It would be kind of cool. We don't actually need money.

James: No, we do. Speak for yourself.

Gustavo: We're only in it for the money is the thing.

James: Screamo is hella lucrative.

Gustavo: Really lucrative business.

Patrick: Shout-out.

Kade: Well, I think we'll probably call it there. So if we’ll have everyone sign off?

Gustavo: Signing off, Gustavo Nome, Gingerbee.

Dani: Signing off, Dani, passing it to Nick.

Nick: Signing off, Nick.

Melody: Signing off, Melody's Dreams, passing it to James.

James: Signing off, James, stay safe.

Patrick: Signing off, Patrick.

Kade: Alright, thank you guys.

Sweet Boy is the musical moniker of Alexander, Naarm-based artist making emotionally rich, genre-blurring songs. We caught up with him to chat about his latest EP ‘Lucky, learning to create from a happier place, and how his next chapter is shaping up. From freestyled lyrics to dream collabs and live show plans, Sweet Boy opens up about where he's been and what’s in store for the future.

Kade: First of all: who is Sweet Boy? Tell us about yourself and where you’re from.

Sweet Boy: Sweet Boy is a version of Alexander I guess, just another outlet of creative expression (not to get too deep). I currently live in Melbourne, Australia but was born in NSW and grew up on the Gold Coast.

Kade: Your music carries such a beautiful yet bittersweet vibe. Can you walk us through how you approach crafting a new song? Where do you start when making a new track; a feeling, an idea, or something else entirely?

Sweet Boy: When it comes to creating I normally start with the instrumental. If it doesn’t give me this certain feeling I won’t follow through with the song. I have a playlist of songs that have this certain feeling in them that I always try and chase. I don’t know if it’s a music theory thing but there’s this certain something that tickles my brain. Once I've got the skeleton of that down I'll loop it out for as long as possible and hit record and let myself sing (I guess freestyle) over it until there’s a song.

Kade: You mentioned a certain feeling that you always try and chase; can you describe that feeling for me? Is it something centred around nostalgia, melancholy, euphoria, or another type of feeling? 

Sweet Boy: I’m still trying to figure that out myself to be honest. Maybe it comes from nostalgia but that would just be a guess. There’s this certain “thing” between chords or between vocal notes when they change between each other. Maybe it comes from my lack of music theory knowledge so I’m going off feeling but I’m sure there’s some music science behind it out there.

Kade: Your lyrics can hit pretty hard sometimes, where does the inspiration come from? Do you draw from personal experience or just what feels right in the moment? 

Sweet Boy: If I'm making a song I never really focus on the lyrics too much. All of the music in the first 2 EPs were I guess “freestyles”. I was going through certain things at those times and it’s just what came out. On this new EP I’ve been working on making my lyrics more intentional.

Kade: Do you think your surroundings have shaped your songwriting and sound? Has living in Melbourne changed the way you approach creating music?

Sweet Boy: Funny enough, it felt like moving to Melbourne was a step back for my music. I was in the middle of releasing Lucky which was recorded early 2024 and once that was out I was left in a “weird” spot ; I was happy. I met my girlfriend, I’m living with my best friends and life feels good. I was really worried that I wouldn’t be able to make “sad” music, but I came to the realisation that I need to make what I love. I think my music will always be “emotional”, but I hope the people are okay with me not being “depressed”.

Kade: It's wonderful to hear that you're in a good place. Do you think this will lead to a more hopeful, or optimistic tone in what you create next?

Sweet Boy: I think the themes of my music will always stay the same, but I think the pivot will come from the production. I’m really trying to expand of the sound that I’m “known for” by making it sound and feel bigger. I really want this music to translate this when I play live but still provide a safe place for listeners.

Kade: Speaking about the future of your music, do you have any plans or ambitions to create music with other artists or musicians?

Sweet Boy: Yeah for sure! I have a few people in mind I’d love to work with but it’s all about making it feel as natural as possible. I didn’t want any features on the first 2 projects because they felt so personal but this time around I’d like to have people help tell this new story. 

Kade: If you could pick a couple dream collaborators, who would they be, and why would you like to create with them?

Sweet Boy: I would love to work with King Krule, but I know he’s a very private and “in his own bubble” type of guy. Even getting the chance to watch his creative process would be inspiring. At the moment I’d love to work with someone like Wisp. She’s super sick and is also in the same world I’m venturing into.

Kade: While we’re on the topic of some other artists, which artists do you think have been some of the key influences? Both in your sound from your first two projects, and the sound you’re heading towards in the future.

Sweet Boy: I’d say my influences for the first 2 projects were Montell Fish and Sign Crushes Motorist (we’ll say Liam [McCay]). I’ve been inspired by them both long before the Sweet Boy projects. I’ve always admired how their straightforward and stripped back lyrics and production still hit so hard. They’re both great guys.

As for the new project, I’d say it’s still the same + some more. I’ve always been such a big fan of the alternative side of music, so it feels really good to dive headfirst into it, while still keeping it “Sweet Boy”. I was blessed enough to see Slowdive & Julie (both big influences) this year, and it really changed my whole perspective on how I want to approach music.

Kade: You recently posted about the possibility of returning to play more live shows. What are some dream venues or cities that you would love to play in? 

Sweet Boy: A lot of this new project is recorded for the purpose of playing live so live shows are definitely on the table. I’m keen to play some Australian shows this year and follow up with playing in other countries like the US, UK and more. I really want people to get the chance to see the world I’ve been building behind the scenes. I’m blessed to be able to have my best friends play alongside me too. I can’t wait.

Kade: What are some songs that you’re especially excited to play live?

Sweet Boy: All of them! I’ve been fleshing out the songs from the last 2 EPs to really put them into this new world. Might even play some acoustic.. who knows.

Kade: What do you think is next for you going forward, both as an artist and a person?

Sweet Boy: I’m really excited to show people more of what I’m capable of and just keep expanding the Sweet Boy universe. I want to keep creating the best work I can and keep having fun with it.

Kade: And for the final question: what are 3 things that you would love to accomplish over the next year?