I once heard someone say : «Some dogs should be kept in cages for a reason». I thought about it more and I wrote a song about it. It became about discipline. On The Move : How do you usually start a track? Do you have a specific process? BAD CHILD : I think to keep it exciting, you can’t become too obsessed with the process. I’m always writing. I’m also drawing. Sometimes, I’ll draw and the drawing I make will actually become a song. I’ll say «Oh, that’s a character for a song» or something. I’ll start drawing the lyrics on top of the drawing. I just write free form. Sometimes, I’ll hear a door close in a certain way, maybe it will resonate or make a sound. I’ll say «Oh, that’s the sound of a snare drum!». Lately, I was painting a room and I smacked the paint roller on the wall. I said «that’s the snare on the song!».
« I’ve always thought the idea of genre was silly. my music is somewhere between Sean Paul and Nine Inch Nails » On The Move : Talking about your drawings, it seems like images and the visual aspect are important for you as well. Do you think about your music videos early in the process? Or does it come at the end? BAD CHILD : A little bit of both. I mean I’ve always had kind of in mind what I want to see for my music. But once again, the process, I try to experiment with it. A couple months ago, I made a music video to a song that didn’t exist and then I wrote the song to the video. I was asking myself «What can you create if you just let loose?». Because the way I see it, I always feel like people make a video for a song when you should make a video with a song. They’re made together. On The Move : It is a tough question but how would you describe your sound for someone that does not know you yet? BAD CHILD : I would describe my sound as very multigenre. Personally, I’ve always thought the idea of genre was silly. I want to make music for people that have free spirit and they know what they like. I would say my music is between Sean Paul and Nine Inch Nails, like somewhere in between. I also get inspired by Radiohead, Frank Zappa, Led Zeppelin, Kanye West, Kid Cudi... and a lot of world music!
On The Move : You were talking about an upcoming album. Nowadays, a lot of artists think about their music through EPs and playlists rather than albums. Why is this format still important to you? BAD CHILD : The album is very conceptual. I’m telling the stories of my life. It is so important to me that you can have these songs on their own but when you listen to them together, it is telling you a broader story. The whole record I have designed has these interludes weaving through all the songs. For me, it is important just to package my story properly because I understand the singles thing. I don’t care about getting famous, I don’t care about «Oh, you have to put these songs out». I was always taught that less is more. One good song is better than ten alright songs. I really focused on making the tidiest album I could. On The Move : What are the themes running through this album? BAD CHILD : It is all about how people use each other, I would say. It was called «Free Trial». People use each other like free trials now, I think. It goes through ideas like… You have Tinder and you can look at the images of somebody and say «would I? would I not?». It’s commodification. You’re taking these persons and you don’t know them but you’re judging them just like that. I think that it’s business subverting the way people look at each other now. So, what could I get out of that person? It is like transaction. So, it’s all about that. On The Move : In this industry you want to evolve in, social media is important now. How do you see it? BAD CHILD : Social media is a really important tool. For me, it’s always been like being able to be educated, being able to be connected. That is so important. When it comes to being a musician and having to use social media... When I first started, I had to figure this out. Now, I think I am much more fluent and comfortable, doing Q&As and stuff. It is so important. On The Move : What can we expect from you irl, in your live shows? BAD CHILD : I have a really terrific band put together and I’ve always seen it as explosive energy. I can’t sit still when I get on a stage! To me, it’s always so important that there is energy and I’ve always wanted to be able to connect with an audience like there is nothing in between you and the people that you are playing with.
INTERVIEW BY CORALINE BLAISE AND DéBORAH GAILLARD PHOTOS : THE FELDMAN AGENCY
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