Death Sayche Media
Interviews
Boy Jr. – I Love Getting Dumped
By: Karen Steinberg
Q) Your music is often described as “alt-pop,” but how would you describe your sound?
A) High energy weirdo sound design pop
Q) Who are some of your musical influences?
A) St. Vincent, The Strokes, Nine Inch Nails, David Bowie, Mitski, Ok Go, Frost Childen, Death Grips, Everything Everything, Charli XCX, Poppy, Magdelana Bay, Allie X
Q) Talk about the story behind your new song “Bullying Myself.”
A) I’ve struggled for a while with negative self-talk and the harmful emotional cycle it perpetuates, especially within the context of relationships. I was feeling very fed up with my own feelings and wanted to face them head on, say them out loud and put into a song I could take it all out on.
Q) This song is about the negative things we say to ourselves. What do you think it is about the song that fans connect to?
A) I think regardless of what the actual thoughts are, many of us are in a similar cycle of negative self-talk. It takes really intentional work to get out of the habit of saying things we don’t want to be true, but the first step to getting out of a rut like that is to acknowledge that you’re doing it. My hope is that this song connects with people going through any kind of negative self-talk issue and reminds people that they’re probably doing it more than they realize. But also, that they can acknowledge it and work on being nicer to themselves!
Q) How does the video for the track play into the message behind it?
A) I have a few different video concepts at least for social media clips right now (I still don’t know exactly what I want to do for a music video, but I know I want to do something extra special). A lot of stuff involving mirrors and taking the metaphor of bullying/ fighting yourself very literally.
Q) What is your song writing process? Do you need music before you can create lyrics?
A) I’ve done songs both of these ways and many other ways beyond that. For this song I think I had the melodic/lyrical idea for the first verse come to mind and very quickly knew I wanted that sparse bassline punchy drum kit combo. From there, I started writing more of the track and filling in the lyrics as it went on. The last piece to get written and recorded was the bridge and I think that didn’t get finished until like a year and half after originally starting the song.
Q) How much of a hand do you have in the production of your music?
A) I am the hand. I am both hands. [laughs]
Q) I am not sure anyone “loves” getting dumped, but your upcoming album challenges that with its title I Love Getting Dumped. How does heartbreak play a role in the music for this compilation?
A) The whole album is various breakup songs from the last 4-ish years. I wrote them all at different times, many about different relationships or situationships, some songs were started at one point and finished months or over a year later. The songs touch on various aspects of rejection sensitivity (like “Bullying Myself”), anger, confusion, general angst, worthlessness and self-healing. The main reason for the title I Love Getting Dumped is that I’m a sarcastic little wiseass, but the second reason is that there is something to love about getting dumped and it’s the opportunity to get really emotional and make art and get to know myself better.
Q) Which song(s) off the album is a favorite of yours and what makes it so special to you?
A) “Bullying Myself” is probably one of my favorites I’ve ever made because it felt so good to get it all out, it feels great to perform live and I felt like I really landed on a style of production I’d be reaching to nail. “I’m Not Pretty” is really special because I think it’s the saddest and prettiest thing I’ve ever made. I made it all in one sitting on a super gloomy day in January and it takes me back to that feeling anytime I listen to it, so I hardly listen to it. “Lost And” is high up in my favorites list. I channeled some real hurty hurt into that and got to have fun experimenting with some weird sound stuff. It’s also the longest song I’ve ever planned to release. I feel like the arrangement of “Still Be Friends” is the closest I’ve come to putting together a perfect puzzle of a pop song (the closest! not saying I did anything extraordinary [laughs]) and it’s fun to do live. Every song on this album is really special to me, but if anyone wants to know the nerdy details about why maybe I’ll just reserve that for Patreon otherwise I’ll never shut up.
Q) What do you hope lingers with audiences – either as a message or emotion – when exploring this upcoming album?
A) Catharsis! And some relatability and some hope. I’m not in the emotional midst of any of the subjects on this album but listening to the songs now feels like extending a hand to my past self while I was going through it and being like, “Hey, at least you got this song out of all that.” And then headbanging and dancing our asses off together.
Q) Who would you most like to collaborate with on a song in the future?
A) Dorian Electra, Cadence Weapon, Frost Children, Medusa (again [laughs]), NOAHFINNCE, Jhariah, Chappell Roan, Porter Robinson, Magdalena Bay, RealXMan, Kaye…If I don’t stop typing this is just gonna be the rest of the interview.
Q) What artist/musician are you currently listening to and why do you dig them?
A) Charli XCX (happy Brat summer everybody) because the production and songwriting can be unpredictable and fun and a little different for pop. Nine Inch Nails because I’m always listening to Nine Inch Nails. Cadence Weapon just put out an album called ROLLERCOASTER that also takes unexpected turns in production and touches on a lot of current BS within the landscape of making and having to promote music in the algorithm age and it sounds incredible in headphones.
Q) You are a part of social media. Why is that such an important way for you to connect with your fans?
A) Being on social media has allowed me to connect with people I never would have met outside of the internet. I’ve been able to touch people in other parts of the world and make others feel understood and want to keep going. And I feel like that sounds like a very bold thing to say about myself and not something I would say unprompted, but I only know things I’ve made have had an effect on others in that way because people have been able to message me directly to tell me. And that’s incredible. That’s an unbelievable thing about living in the times we are!
Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?
A) Thank you forever and I’m so excited to keep sharing new stuff with you and growing up with you!
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