#downupright

Since I became a dedicated listener of music many years ago (and later a well-traveled freelance music journalist), I’ve easily experienced hundreds of abstract sound palettes, lyrical interpretations, and artistic styles in the miles along the way. Despite this tall order, the most interestingly experimental (and engrossingly expansive) art I’ve absorbed in all this time continues to be the work…

I feel like this year’s specialty theme experience has been a collective sense of struggle. To such a level and to such an extreme extent that if this existence was a Halloween party in 2024, we’d all be wearing the weight of our worries instead of costumes out onto the dance floor. That might be considered more subtle than scary, but to me sometimes the greatest fright is taking a peek beneath…

Image courtesy of Downupright Do you ever contemplate the end of the world and what it might look like? In 2024, it seems difficult not to imagine quite a few different and novel approaches to an apocalypse, often with that source coming through cleverly artful movies, television, or video games. Hell, much of the time all you have to do to sniff out what the doom of us all might look like is…

Downupright’s music is their passion and they veer across all genres for the sheer joy of making it. Though their core sound is a blend of industrial and hyperpop, they keep coming back to "non-commercial EDM." They’ve have been a musician since they were about eleven years old tinkering in Cakewalk Pro 8 (at the time). Of course, they've upgraded their rig a few times over the years, and now use Ableton. Their lyrics spring from their adult lifelong battle with depression, bipolar, and anxiety- making music to exorcise those feelings and put the sadness out into the world so they can be free of it. “I want people to feel like depression, anxiety, and bipolar are identifiable and conquerable things when they listen to my music,” shares Downupright. “I want them to feel like they are understood and not the only one who feels this way.”

Their latest project is something special because it carves out a unique sonic niche for itself- the blend of hyperpop vocals with industrial riffs and EDM core stylings. “All I want is for my music to connect with its intended audience. I don't need to be famous or play to stadiums. I want people who suffer from anxiety, depression, and bipolar to feel understood.”

We got the chance to speak with Downupright about their new album, Click Here To Prove You Are Not A Robot. So, without further ado, let’s dive in:

What artist has inspired and influenced your music?

The Faint, absolutely. I never heard a voice so distorted until I discovered their music in college. I had struggled with singing until discovering there was a way music could sound so good with so much vocal processing.

Your debut album, Click Here To Prove You Are Not A Robot, just dropped. How was that? What went into the release/writing of it?

A lot of fun but also a lot of pain. I struggle mightily with depression and anxiety and expressing that is always cathartic. Musically speaking, though, I had a blast. I had just bought powerful new drum, guitar, and bass plug ins and was excited to able to write convincing rock music electronically.

What can you share about your unique EDM, industrial, and hyperpop sound? What made you create it?

I evolved here with major influences from both hyperpop and industrial music. I used to make pretty standard electro-rock, but I went through an industrial phase in college that had me making industrial music. Then in my thirties I pivoted to EDM but by the time I started making my EDM faster and faster I discovered I was basically making hyperpop!

Of all the music in the world today, which song/album is your favorite and why?

I know the song I want played at my funeral is Nova by VNV Nation. But right now the song I can't stop listening to daily is Locust Laced by Sleigh Bells off their newest. It's so distorted!!!

If you could sit down and get to know any musician, dead or alive, who would it be, why, and what would you ask?

I think I'd like to get to know She Wants Revenge. They had such a clear and powerful vision for what their debut album would sound like and I would love to hear the personal journey that went into discovering that sound.

Bill Boulden, artistically known as Downupright, is unlike any other EDM musician. Their unique sound blends the sounds of hyperpop, EDM, and electro-rock stylings that focus on depression and anxiety. Downupright aims to create a space in which their mental health struggles help others with theirs. Their lyrics spring from their adult lifelong battle with depression, bipolar, and anxiety- making music to exercise those feelings and put the sadness out into the world so they can be free of it. 

They just dropped their new album, Click Here To Prove You Are Not A Robot, which is reminiscent of The Faint, their biggest EDM influence as well as hints of popular and commercial pop. The vocals provided in the 3 songs, that are remixed a few times in the album, are heavily processed, Downupright’s personal form of artistic expression.

The album consists of 3 original songs, “Click Here To Prove You Are Not A Robot,” “Dirty,” and “Wallow,” that are each remixed twice, totaling 10 songs. Each one discusses something different. The first, “Click Here To Prove You Are Not A Robot,” has more of a pop feeling, like if the music part Brittney Spears and The Backstreet Boys came together in an electronic fashion. "’Click Here To Prove You Are Not A Robot’ begins with a juxtaposition of spaghetti-western guitars with dial up modem sounds, before the aggressive main riff comes out to play,” says Downupright. “The track works on multiple levels- at its base it is simply about being frustrated by a CAPTCHA. But then it starts to explore the implications of being asked to prove you are not a robot and what that means about emotion and identity. ‘I don't know what to say, a robot would have just obeyed.’ It can also be interpreted as a retort during a relationship argument, or commentary on me being on the autism spectrum.

“Dirty” is about that disgusting feeling of needing to run away from somebody who is saying repulsive things that make you question who they are as people. This song utilizes the processed vocals the most making it strangely and surprisingly melodic. “Dirty” sounds more like that of Avicci or Zedd in the pop stylings, though extremely electronic. “Wallow” is more of an electronic rock song about depression. “There is a certain sick way you can get where you feel like the depression is your friend and you want to be left alone to wallow in it because it feels so good to have something to be sad about,” says Downupright. Bringing these deep ideas into focus, they use music to cope, hoping others do the same. This song will have you feeling good about feeling bad.

Listen to Click Here To Prove You Are Not A Robot here: https://open.spotify.com/album/6juyl0Kig8cLAksRuzzdzY?si=sCgGvifdQxiZk3BMHmnWTw&nd=1

Downupright’s textured sounds are what separates them from other EDM musicians. Their hyperpop sounds are ones you won’t find anywhere else. Be sure to give Downupright a listen as soon as you can. They are not one to miss.

Welcome Slackpreneurs! This is my first interview in a while with electronica artist Downupright. He has a new EP coming out on February 1st! Listen on