BABii - Interview

ETHEREAL.PRESS

Tell us about BABii.

BABii

BABii is me, a hyper projection of myself.

I make music and visual art that often blows my personal microscopic memories out of proportion. I love to take things that make me feel nostalgic in ways that are so subtle that I can hardly remember and then make them super big and loud.

ETHEREAL.PRESS

Where does the name BABii originate?

BABii

It was an intuitive choice if anything. My nickname for a long time has been cub among my close friends, and originally I was going to call the project that. Unfortunately, there are way too many cub's in the world making music, so I wanted something that felt the same as that but different, so baby it was, but I wanted put my own spin on it.

I like symmetry and parallels a lot so the ii felt like a nice symbol to replace the Y. Also when you read it, it looks like bab-bee (bæbi:) rather than baby, which is very appt cause I was born in the north and until the age of 7 that's pretty much how I said baby.

ETHEREAL.PRESS

What inspired your 2022 mixtape titled 'SCREAMER'?

BABii

With any record I make, I am usually just trying to capture a vibe that's a mix of memories, unaddressed problems in my head, things that I like and then me trying to present them in an unusual way. With screamer, I wanted to capture the essence of a being at a UK funfair on an overcast day in the middle of a soggy field, music blaring accompanied by the mechanics of rides and people screaming, and then going to your local pub.

I also somehow always add in a fantasy element with the project it was orcs/goblins as a symbol of toxic personalities. I combined this with singing from the perspective of my little sisters, as an observation of their struggles with BPD, which was also a way of coming to terms with my own journey through BPD too.

Another important factor that I found inspiring was the exercise in collaboration that happened when making this record. I am usually such a control freak to the point where I don't let anyone else contribute towards a record and I wanted to let that go. And I'm so glad I did, I think this record is super interesting because of the collaborations, the way people approached the themes in ways that I never would was super refreshing.

ETHEREAL.PRESS

Does the project follow a narrative?

BABii

It kinda does, not many people know this, but I did an arg for my album MiiRROR, and within the lore for the and that record there is a fairground called the batley dunes funfair where the dragons (obsiidiian and iimaliite) from the record are summoned by a machine built by the funfaiir who are part of a secret cult called the Cryists.

Screamer is of the same world as the Batley Dunes Funfair, but is from the perspective of someone who is oblivious its dark inner workings. I love putting tolkien-esque fantasy tropes within the most working-class British settings, it feels like the most honest representation of me, which is more important than anything.

ETHEREAL.PRESS

Tell us about the track, "EMBER (crashed) (crashed)_PHOLO.

BABii

You know what?

That track actually crashed a few times when I was recording the vocals, and Logic (my daw) always renames the tracks like that lol. I kinda love it. Ember was the first song I made with Pholo and it was kinda an experiment to see if it would work.

I heard his song Cold Quartz and instantly knew I wanted to work with him. It was scary cause I have never really approached making music like that but we really understand each other as collaborators and I hope we make 1000 songs together.

The track itself is all about self-destruction and regrettable taking people down with you, using burning down a house as a metaphor.

ETHEREAL.PRESS

Why do you double-dot your ii's in your tweets/song titles?

BABii

It's a curse I can't escape. Four years ago, I thought it would be a cool idea to make everything babii-fied, but I am slowly trying to move away from doing it on Twitter tbh, it feels kinda silly these days, and if my tweets go to far away from my followers, people get so mad about it lol, so at this point I don't think it that's helpful anymore.

I'll keep doing it with song titles forever though. It's a way that I can claim the words I use as my own.

ETHEREAL.PRESS

Your merch/album art is some of the best we have seen! Can you elaborate on how you represent yourself / your brand visually?

BABii

I just think about it way too much, and I enjoy doing it.

I just get absorbed into an aesthetic I make up from loads of different things that shouldn't go together, and that feel relevant me on a personal level. I have also spent a lot of time learning all the skills I need to do it myself so I can create nice things without having to rely on others and pull things off even when I don't have enough money.

On screamer, though, I worked with my friend Elliot Elder who's a graphic designer, which I have never done before because I usually do everything myself, but he really understood the vibe I was trying to capture and came at it from a really interesting angle.

It was pretty cool too, because it meant I could spend more time on the physical part of the release, do all the 3d printing, and attach all the little butterfly keychains that my sister made.

ETHEREAL.PRESS

What advice would you give to up-and-coming artists about graphic representation / creative direction in their music?

BABii

- Learn how to make the things you want to make yourself at the beginning - even if you work with people in the future, this will make you a better communicator when it comes to expressing your ideas, as well as more empathic towards other people's workload.

- Create mood boards to capture the feeling you are trying to convey.

- Think about your own life experience when thinking about how to represent yourself visually to stay true to yourself - you will also understand your own brand more this way. Have some kinda narrative, whether that's big or small, to give yourself some structure in both the music you make and the creative direction.

ETHEREAL.PRESS

Can you tell us about a few of your favourite collaborations from SCREAMER? How did they come to be?

BABii

Pholo (go to question 4) haha. I loved working with everyone on this record in different ways and a few people I have worked with before, but it's still fun. I liked playing with warpstr in the studio, he is such a talented little imp and is still so young, and I think he will take over the world one day.

ETHEREAL.PRESS

What's next for BABii?

BABii

I have got so many plans, I have like 4 Babii projects in the works at the same time right now, loads of collaborations to finish with super exciting artists, I am planning on building an interactive live show, there is the most ambitious music video I have ever made coming out soon, more screamer physical things, a splice pack, something with dancers, playing some shows in Japan for the first time and so much more.

God, that almost induces anxiety. Lot's to do.

I better get back to work.

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