Was there a notable difference in the result of an album that you could sit down and produce so quickly and efficiently due to covid, as opposed to something that would have taken a little bit longer due to a busy life?
[Space Werewolves] was like an extreme version of the way I usually do it. The fact that I literally could spend every day working on it and there was no distractions, like not even social distractions, definitely sped the process. The album was made so fast that I was kind of shocked. It made me question if I was actually done or not. It was finished and I was like, “Wait, this can’t be this easy,” you know? I was shocked how quickly it came together. I think it was just a matter of like, I had nothing else to do. I literally would wake up to eat and then work on the album and then eat. And that was my whole day was just working on the album.
Do you feel like it’s grown on you since? That it’s finished?
Oh yeah, that’s the thing. I’m not a person that really second guesses my intuition with stuff like that. Like, I’m not very delicate about stuff. Once I feel something’s done, I just step away from it. And I’ll fine tune it here and there, and I definitely did that with this album, but for the most part, when I feel it’s done, it’s done, and then I move on to the next song. And I did it in a very orderly fashion. My work method was very consistent and focused.
Do you often have goals for your vocal or lyric samples?
The vocal samples are often done after the music is done and then it kind of guides the narrative of the song. And in the case of "Greetings and Incelutations," the vocal sample is a group of men singing “Hey Ho,” and I was like, “Ok, well that’s interesting.” Then I started thinking about if I could find samples of incel loser men being losers. And it just kind of led to the song being this kind of incel theme song. Then, I have a library of vocal samples that I just pick through and I see which ones work, and then that kind of shapes the song into what is was. But I’ve definitely done that before with other songs. You know, you have a mood and you just wanna amplify it. And that’s how that usually works for me.
When you said Space Werewolves was almost an Uncle Tony's Coloring Book Part 2, could you elaborate on that? What would Uncle Tony's Part 2 have been like?
I initially wanted to make another upbeat album where everything’s over 100 bpm’s. With Uncle Tony’s Coloring Book, the basic theme was that everything was over 100 bpm’s, and it’s danceable for the most part; everything is upbeat. Even though there are a couple, I wouldn’t say melancholy [songs], but they’re not aggressively dancy, but they have the pace of a dancy song. So, I initially had all these beats put aside to make that album, and then it just didn't feel like the album I wanted to make. Especially between my mom passing away and the pandemic, just life in general, I was just like, “That is not fitting.” So, there are songs on this album that would have been on that album, like, “For Fork’s Sake,” “Lord of Them Thangs,” and “Let’s Play the Feud.” Those are all songs that would have been prime examples of what that album would have been like. But after a while I was like, “I don’t really feel like making an album entirely of that kind of stuff.” The album prior to it was specifically like, “This album is to chill to.” It’s a relaxed album. And I was like, “Maybe I’ll just start doing this, where I make these pointed albums.” Then I got to [Space Werewolves] and I was like, “Nah, I want to make it more versatile and more reflective of what’s going on, in the world, at least.
Are there any cultural influences that you could say inspire your music? Do you have any favorite directors or comedians?
I mean, I do, but they don't really play into my music. Not a lot of that stuff really pushes me in any direction musically, like outside of music. Even music itself. The stuff listen to and the stuff I make are so completely different. When I make music, I am in my own little bubble and I kind of do what I do. And then when I step out of it, I’m listening to stuff and absorbing stuff that’s not even in the same genre. I don’t listen to instrumental music. I listen to rappers who sell coke. I’m not that type of music fan. I mean, I love movies and I love comedy, but they don't really play into it unless I find like a vocal sample of some sort. Like, "Let’s Play the Feud" has a vocal sample of this comedian Godfrey doing an impression of Steve Harvey. Which is just such a funny clip to me, and I wanted to integrate it somehow. And it's just a YouTube clip, you know. But that's as far as it goes, stuff like that. And also in "Greetings and Incelutations," I sample the show "Love on the Spectrum" for a small part that is an amazing vocal clip of one of the people on it, and it’s very heartwarming for me.
Are you working on anything with other artists currently?
I have a finished album with Eliot Lipp that's coming out next year. I could tell you more, but there's a secret project that I can't reveal yet. Other than that I’m just making beats and touring again, so I’m not working on music super heavily right now.
(Turns out that secret project was an entire album with his longtime friend and MC, Aesop Rock, called Garbology. Announced just yesterday, it releases November 12th and preorders can be made here.)
When's the last time you can remember theming an album like you did with the B-movie motif of Space Werewolves?
The one before [Space Werewolves], Bubble Bath, was probably the most directly-themed album I’ve ever made. I mean, Uncle Tony’s Coloring Book was also that, but [Bubble Bath] was one where I gave myself parameters, you know, like “every song has to be like this:” And [Space Werewolves] was not so much like that, but it was more of an idea to really be silly with my title and artwork. You know, something that doesn’t really make sense, but if I felt like bullshitting, I could make it anything I want. I could make a political statement, I could make it a social statement, or it could just be literal. But that’s the beauty of that idea, I think, is that “Hey, it could be about COVID. What are Space Werewolves? Who knows?” But in my mind, it’s just a silly idea.
Eliot Lipp also helped you with Space Werewolves?
He mixed it, yeah.
Just out of curiousity, are there reasons you wouldn't want to mix something yourself? Such as a second opinion?
Well, I don’t have the equipment at my house. I have a very meager set up at my house and I'm also not a tech guy. I’m not good at that stuff. And Eliot is a someone who's very adept at that and actually went to school for this kind of stuff, and when he was mixing stuff, I'd literally be like, “Hey, this sample needs less fuzz on it and needs more this,” and he would just put all these plug-ins on it, and all of a sudden it just sounded exactly how I want it to. So, it’s stuff that I couldn’t do if I wanted to. So, he actually was very helpful in making this album sound how I wanted it to sound. And a second opinion is good too, because when you’re working with someone, it inspires you to kind of bounce more ideas off them. Like I'll be listening to it and be like, “Well, what if we did this with this part. Let’s try it.” And then we do it and we’re like “Oh that’s cool,” or “Oh, that doesn’t work.” And that’s what I had with him when we were working on our project together. It's two people just kind of like bouncing ideas off each other. Which is nice, as much as I do like working alone. I could easily make albums without anyone else hearing them until I’m done with them, but I think it does tighten the screws a bit to have someone else there to give their input.
What's your favorite way to relax or celebrate after finishing a big project like an album, apart from touring?
My life’s just relaxing. I don't do much. I’ve been relaxing for about 17 months, now. (Laughs) I’m not a sentimental person at all. Like, once it’s done I just kinda wipe my hands and then that’s it. I have lunch the same way. I more feel the impact of it once it’s released. The day anything I do gets released, I always listen to it, even though I’ve had it for however long it’s been out. But when it’s finished, I kind of just push it away and I start the next thing. I don’t really get caught up in, “Oh, this is a great day, I finished this,” because until it’s out, it’s not out, you know? It doesn’t exist. And I’ve also made so many albums that it’s not a big deal for me. I’m not sacred about my music because I have so much of it. I take my time and I care how it sounds when I’m making it, but once it’s out it’s like, “Alright everyone, here it is. Take it as you will.”
I imagine that's probably good in the sense of not letting yourself get bogged down, as well?
Oh yeah, no not at all. I don't worry about albums flopping or being hated. It’s just like, “Alright, well, some people like it. Or, I hope so.” All you can do is hope.
Can you tell us a bit about your recent remix of the Aesop song "Pigs?"
Yeah, you know, me and Aesop had been talking, and he was like, “Why don’t you remix some old shit that we did?” and I was like, “Sure!” And it’s fun, because I got to go back and sift through songs that I would normally not have an option to remix. And I’ve always liked “Pigs.” It’s kind of a lesser known song because it’s a bonus track on None Shall Pass. Which also made it interesting for that feel, like there are actually probably a few people who have never heard that song before. Fans of the album, even. And I like the idea of putting a completely different spin on something that exists already without detracting from the original mood of the song, but also like, “Here, let’s look at it in this light, now.” I love doing remixes. I especially did a bunch of them over the pandemic of famous old songs. If I could only do that, I would. I would stop making albums entirely if making remixes became a way to support myself.