Interview with Bloodz Boi [English translation]
To view the official version of this interview in Chinese, please visit this link on the InMotion Magic Music site.
Bloodz Boi’s new album, “a crying poem” with Claire Rousay and More Eaze, is out now from Orange Milk Records:
Daisuke Shen in Conversation with Bloodz Boi
March 19, 2022
Bloodz Boi, while known for his ethereal, vaporous music, is first and foremost defined by his ability to love, and love deeply. Passionate about lemon iced tea, his cat, Boi (though he is allergic), poetry, his fans, and Dean Blunt, Bloodz Boi is quick to remind us that despite the pain and grief he speaks of in his lyrics, sorrow wears a new face. We aren’t invited to dance (as he says himself, his music isn’t meant to be danced to, it’s meant for being alone), but that does not mean we have no cause for celebration. In this interview, Bloodz Boi speaks about his growth as an artist, as well as his renewed loyalty to himself and his well-being. His album “365”, released on Feb 25, 2022 from Year 0001, is a testament to this hope that he in turn extends toward his listeners:「我不认识你 但你是我的朋友 / 我讨厌孤独 但你能牵我的手？」”I don’t know you, but you can be my friend / I hate loneliness but can you can hold my hand?” he sings in “Mist”.
Through Bloodz Boi’s music, loneliness becomes a gate rather than a dead end: we are allowed the assurance of knowing sanctuary awaits our arrival, an outstretched hand pulling us forward in the dark.
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Interviewer’s Note [March 2022]: The first time we did this interview, I did what many interviewers fear the most: I forgot to check if the audio was being recorded. Bloodz Boi, being a sweet and understanding friend, laughed really hard and said it was okay. I went to bed for the rest of the day because I was so mad at myself.
I was able to preserve some of the best parts from our previous conversations from the notes that I took, and have included these along with the second interview we conducted the following weekend.
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Act I
Daisuke Shen : Hi, how are you?
Bloodz Boi: I just ordered fruit tea with plum from a food delivery service.
I really like plum flavor too! Sorry that I got on the call so early. But I’m actually glad we scheduled it at this time—I’m usually asleep until 11 AM.
Same. I wake up around 12 or 1 PM. I stay awake for a long time—sometimes 4 or 6 or 7 AM. So I end up having to take two naps a day.
Why’d you rate your album as 4/5 on RYM?
I think that I wouldn’t give 5/5 to anybody except for maybe Dean Blunt. So I think that 4/5 seems fair for me.
That makes sense. Speaking of Dean Blunt, what’s your favorite album of his?
I have a tattoo of the cover from Soul on Fire. But my favorite album of his would probably be Black Metal.
from @bloodzboi on Twitter
Yeah, I love that one too. He’s so funny. And innovative. His joke songs, like the one that samples Madonna…
Yeah! I know what you’re talking about. I love his style of performance too. You’ve seen the one video, right? The one where he’s just standing there?
Yes!
What Dean Blunt does is so special. I’ve been listening to a lot of Bar Italia lately [a project from Blunt’s imprint World Music]—he doesn’t have a large social network, he works under a lot of different names. The first time I listened to him, I was amazed—taking a bunch of what is, I guess, best described as “white people music”, meshing it with London street music. I’d never heard anything like that before.
How do you write your lyrics?
I try to imagine myself as being somebody else. When I’m writing lyrics, I’m not myself—I’m trying to capture what others are thinking about. I like understanding how others feel.
I think that that shows a lot through your music.
We are all made of the same material, we are all real and accessible and human—I can touch you, you can touch me.
How long did it take you to write this album?
BB: It took a few months in real time. But it took two years to release the album. The label had to schedule it, and during that wait, I made more songs.
Were there any particular experiences you had while writing this album? Or how you were feeling while you wrote these songs?
I don’t have many memories…I write all of my songs after I’ve taken a lot of sleeping pills, after midnight. That’s the only time I feel like a real person, that I can feel any real emotions. In the mornings, I’ll go through them to see what they’re like. I trash the bad ones, and leave the good ones.
It’s good, though, that your songs can serve as a journal of sorts. So that even when you don’t remember, you have these.
Yes. I really like that word you used for it: “journal”. It [my music] is all me, how I really feel. When I’m making music, I’m not the “me” who I am in real time.
How do you feel about your work once you are done with it? And how do you feel about making mistakes in your work?
I always think my music is bad! It’s not so much that I think of them as mistakes, moreso that looking at them forces me to see myself in the past. I don’t want to see that self, the person who I was one second ago. I don’t like it.
If you had to categorize yourself as fitting into a certain genre, then, where do you think you’d place yourself?
I guess I would say that I’m [Sound]cloud rap…a lot of people define me as such, and I think I agree with it. I was very heavily influenced by cloud rap when I first started making music.
Right. You get a lot of comparisons to Bladee and everyone in Drain Gang, but I think this new album really solidified you as someone with their own sound. You’re so earnest in your lyrics; even now, you’re being so honest with me about everything. And honesty is not something you find very much in artistic fields, which scares the shit out of me.
I get what you mean. It’s really scary. I think that when I’m trying to figure out who is real or not, I always go to their Twitter or Instagram. I want to see what he/she/they feels like. I think you can tell from someone’s social media presence mostly…if it’s just filled with promotional stuff or whatever, well, they’re probably sort of fake.
I read an article from Sixth Tone that you were quoted in about hyperpop. You mentioned that "It’s easy to create, everyone can do it. The songs are almost all one or two minutes long — totally 21st century.” I don’t think I see you as being hyperpop any more, though…
Yeah, I only answered in that way because they asked me about hyperpop specifically. I think that now, I would completely change my answer. I don’t want to make music like that any more. I want to keep making music that’s more peaceful—I don’t have the energy for all that hyperpop requires.
What direction do you think you’re going to go in next with your writing?
Ambient pop music. I want to make music that is just this completely drumless, weightless thing. That’s how I would describe the project I’m currently working on with Claire Rousay & More Eaze.
“a crying poem” by Bloodz Boi, Claire Rousay, More Eaze
Orange Milk Records 8月22日发行
Do you ever get nervous when performing?
I stopped performing for a year. I don’t know how to perform. I don’t like the crowds, and I think it’s weird to be there and entertain people. I also think that certain types of music just aren’t meant to be performed. My songs are really depressing, I just want my fans to be happy. It’s music for being alone. If I were the sound guy, I would probably hate my music. I would just turn it off. It’s weird, too. I used to pay to sing, you know, go to karaoke and stuff. And I never thought I would end up here. I don’t care about money. I don’t want to get rich from making music. If I do, I’ll just give it to my #1 fan or something.
See? So giving and kind. I think that your fans can see that, too.
Yeah, I have this tattoo—”EMOTION” (pointing at brow). I see it now on younger people, like on TikTok, and I get so embarrassed. I wanna get it removed, but I’m scared of the pain.
I still think it looks cool!
Thanks (laughter). But I guess what I mean is, I don’t need to show it on the outside any more. I can show my emotions to people when I want to. I don’t need to show people everything.
What is some advice you would give to younger artists?
It’s funny, many Western interviewers don’t ask this question, but it’s something that Chinese people ask a lot. But I think the answer is to just make whatever the hell you want, and make a lot of it.
ACT 2
Hi! You told me over text that your friend visited this weekend—are they also a musician?
I would say that about 99% of my friends don't listen to a lot of music. I don't like talking about music with people every day. I think it's better to talk about life.
Right. It's great whenever you get to talk about music with people who also love music, but sometimes people only seem to want to talk about music to show off.
If someone really likes music, it's great, but if someone isn't really into music in that way, it can get boring for them. Or, you know, they'll think you're a nerd.
A music otaku!
There's this young person outsider 亚文化 (subculture) happening right now. They wear a lot of Japanese fashion, like school uniforms, but then they'll mix it with 00’s American style-clothing. A lot of them listen to what I would say is Chinese Soundcloud music.
A lot of your fans seem to be in this category, like the one who got the tattoo of your logo the other day.
Yeah. Some of my fans are quite young, 18 or so. In today's culture, a lot of them are really online, and I'm not sure if that's good for them. They think that they’re different because they wear “different” clothes or listen to “different” music, but really, a lot of them are the same.
你是否还在等着一个人 (Prod. Lil Heartbreak) (Single Version)
Due to wanting to belong.
Yes, they want to be understood.
What would you say to your 18-year-old self now, do you think?
I would tell him that he could talk to me about anything. If you don’t have anyone to talk to, maybe I can help. Maybe I can give you some answers—some problems, I don't really know how to answer. But I can try; I'm a good listener. A lot of people who listen to my music talk to me. They'll message me about their lives, their relationships, their families, and they trust me. I don't try to influence them, I just try to speak with them in the same way I speak to people through my music.
Speaking of influence, are you influenced by any art forms outside of music? I noticed that you had a Final Fantasy song on one of your playlists and thought that was pretty funny.
(laughing) I've never actually played any of the Final Fantasy games! But I've listened to all of the soundtracks.
If they asked for you to make a song for one of the games, would you?
Yeah. The thing I don't like about those games is that they're too...relaxed. If I'm playing a video game, I don't want to chill out on a couch. I need to be in a gaming chair, and take it seriously. I need to be focused!
You're a pretty determined person. Whenever you're working on stuff, you always know exactly what you want to do with it, always making sure that the entire project has a cohesive sound. The new [unreleased] tracks that you sent me were so beautiful. I was alone and walking around while listening to them, and I started thinking about what we'd talked about previously—your wanting to make "weightless, drumless music", and how it correlates to the person that you're becoming. Do you see a connection between how you're changing as a person and the new direction you're going in with your music?
These past couple of years, I feel my mind has gotten a lot clearer. Two years ago, I was thinking too much. I still think too much, but back then, I was always in this dark place. I didn't do anything. I was just in the night. Eventually, I had to change the way I think. There’s this saying, 「拿得起 放得下」 — "Take it or leave it.” So I try not to think so negatively any more.
I really hate social media. Not Twitter or Instagram; people are pretty nice to me on there. But on Chinese social media, there are two different groups of people. One group understands me pretty well, but the other group thinks that I'm fake, that what I'm doing is just an act. They think my music is too negative, that I'm trying to act overly- emotional.
That's really interesting. With any art form, music, art, literature, the main point is to try and connect with people emotionally. And even in the context of ambient music, some people will say that it's meaningless: "How can you listen to this when it doesn't even have words?" But ambient music often is what makes me feel the most emotional.
Yeah. Music, you know, can be anything. It doesn't have to be something that you have to sit down and focus on, it can just be something that you put on while you're doing other stuff. I also think it's important to listen to everything, everything—that way you know what you like and dislike.
**Interviewer’s Note [Oct. 27, 2022] This interview was conducted before the most recent news regarding Kanye West’s hateful comments and behavior. This segment has been kept to reflect the original conversation.**
You’ve talked to me about the music reviews you’ve written—do you have a favorite out of your most recently-written reviews?
I don't know about this year, but...there was one I wrote when I was younger about Kanye's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. You've seen the film Runaway, right? I wrote a lot about it.
Can you send it to me? That way I can include it in here, if you want. Unless you're embarrassed, then I won't include it.
I'll send it to you and let you decide.
What do you think your favorite Kanye album is? Or how would you rank them?
My favorite one is MBDTF.
Which one comes after that?
I think Late Registration. Yeezus would be number three for me. There’s new Kanye, and there’s old Kanye, and I prefer the old Kanye. He got pretty minimal. I couldn't listen to The Life of Pablo all the way through...I think I only listened to 30 seconds of each song.
Where would you rate Graduation?
It's a really good album. But I think in terms of Kanye albums, it’s not his best one.
Yeah. I miss his old music as well—his new stuff has really disappointed me. And a lot of people have been disappointed with his recent behavior…
People will tell me about him, what's going on, and I'm like, "Oh. Okay…?" I watch and keep up with a lot of news, geopolitics, but I don’t care about celebrity drama (laughter).
We were talking about your new music, and how you felt like these lyrics were more like poetry. Do you read much poetry?
I read a lot of contemporary Chinese poetry. I've read a lot of Shang Qin (商禽) this year, he's a Taiwanese poet who writes mostly 散文诗 (prose poetry). His work has influenced me a lot.
In our conversations about mental health, you mentioned to me that you’ve been trying to go outside more as of late. To work on yourself and not rely on medication too much. A lot of people feel as if artists have to be crazy in order to make good art, but do you believe that’s true?
“Crazy” is a lot to unpack. People’s crazy can look a lot of different ways—some display it on the outside, some keep it inside. You might think someone is normal, but then you can see really wild stuff in their art. But no, you don't have to be crazy to be an artist. Dean Blunt is a good example of that, I think. He's crazy in a good way: it comes out in his art, but he doesn't fuck around or show off. He doesn't have any social media. He doesn't need to be understood.
Which is one of the most beautiful things about him.
Very few people have that kind of power.
Have you listened to Daniel Johnston before? What do you think of him?
Oh, I think he's psycho. I really love his paintings. The first one I saw was because of the Supreme collaboration. His songs are very beautiful—Elliot Smith is similar to him in the sense that they seem to think about things in the same way, and experience similar emotions.
What kind of emotions do you feel when you listen to them?
Peaceful, maybe. Not depressed. When I listen to that kind of music, I feel peaceful despite the lyrics. His songs are so beautiful because you can tell how pure and honest he is; a lot of his songs aren't on key...
And the recording is so shit!
(laughing): Yes, complete shit. Every year it's like, remaster remaster remaster!
And no matter how many times they remaster his albums, they’re still going to sound the same. But that's what is so great about it.
Yeah. You don't need good headphones to be able to connect with it emotionally.
Speaking of his drawings, I really love the one with the guy wearing the boxing gloves saying, "I'll never give up" with the little frog guy saying, "I'm so proud of him!"
Yeah! I love that drawing. I posted that one on Weibo after his death, saying how Daniel Johnston helped me to realize a lot about myself. He's a true artist, though he probably didn't think of himself as one.
Has anyone asked you about your logo before? Your friend drew that one, right? Or is that a question you've been asked too many times?
No one's asked me before.
Okay. So here I am, asking.
It's just a random drawing my friend 5outho made of me (laughing). He drew it just for fun, and I said, okay, that's it! That's great! After that, I listened to [my label] Year 0001's advice and used my face for Apple music and other artist accounts. But I don't want to use my real photo for social media accounts. I think it's creepy.
I love that one edited photo of you on Instagram, though. The one for your NTS show with Organ Tapes.
from @bloodzboi on Instagram
Do you draw at all?
Sometimes. I used to take classes when I was a child, but right now, I just draw random shit.
Have you shared any of your drawings anywhere?
When I'm good enough, I'll share them with you. I want to develop my skills...maybe someday, I'll just turn into “Painter Bloodz Boi” (laughter). Recently, though, I've been doing a lot of music video shootings. I DIY them, and [my former label] Year 0001 will edit them. I use this really old camera called the Canon XM2—it's pretty hard to find, but I use it to record funny scenes… China has a lot of funny things to record. It's just like New York in that way. There's beautiful scenes. Ugly scenes. But phone cameras, they're too sharp. That’s why I like using this camera. It captures the essence of those scenes much better. Film and drawing feels very different than when I’m making music. When I’m making music, that’s just me. There’s no difference between my music and the person who I am talking to you right now.
We talked over text about Triad God— I really like his music video for "I Never Told You" because it's just him walking around.
He's influenced a lot by Edison Chen. He also posts a lot of funny, weird stuff on Facebook. But I can barely understand anything he says in his lyrics.
He speaks Canto, right?
If you showed his music to real Cantonese speakers, they would be like, "I don't understand." He's from 越南 (Vietnam) and because some people from Vietnam can speak Cantonese, he's influenced by Cantonese music. That’s where he learned some of it from—he can speak maybe only one full sentence, but what he does is use a bunch of old Cantonese songs and add lyrics to them, which is pretty cool.
This will be the last question, because I want you to sleep, but I was thinking of something you said in our last conversation: "I just take a song and make it Chinese". I was wondering what you meant by that.
A lot of artists want to show Westerners what Chinese culture is, so they'll add a lot of elements of so-called Chinese culture. You know what I mean? Like bells and stuff like that. But real China isn't like that. Because the China that's in most people's imaginations isn't real, right? We have wifi! We have air conditioning!
The best thing to do is just to make music, and then people will see that you're from China. Then they'll think, "Oh wow, people make good music in China." They'll realize that it's not just people from their country that can make good songs. A lot of people actually think I'm Japanese because they'll hear the lyrics, and they don't know Chinese or listen to a lot of Asian music at all. I want to be known as an artist from China, not a Chinese artist. I make music first, and I'm Chinese later.
Bloodz Boi’s “365” is available on Bandcamp, Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, and Pandora. You can find him on Twitter and Instagram @bloodzboi.
Daisuke Shen is a fiction writer. Their debut novella FUNERAL, co-written with Vi Khi Nao, is now available for pre-order from Kernpunkt Press. You can read more of their work at www.daisukeshen.com, and follow them on Twitter @dai__joubu or Instagram @ginsengmasque.