It seems every time I turn around there is a new smash Baby FuZz sitting in my inbox. First landing on my radar with his tune, “Shadowland”, he has since proven himself time and time again as an undeniable artist to watch. Creating music that crosses genres and transcends the space time continuum, Baby FuZz is on a whole new level of cool.
Kicking off 2019, Baby FuZz has recently unleashed, “What U Gonna Do 4 Luv”, a Nu-Disco inspired jam that stands to be his funkiest release to date. Carried by smooth, hushed vocals and backed by grooving basslines, rhythmic guitar riffs and lush atmospheric elements, the new tune is an outright jam that is sure to evoke swaying hips and playful hand motions. As comes along with all things Baby FuZz, the arrangement is slick and dynamic, taking the listener on a ride that they won’t soon forget.
Since we can’t seem to get enough of Baby FuZz and there seems to be a limited of information available on the enigmatic musician, we decided to send along some questions to get a bit more familiarized with the man behind the music. Check out the interview below and make sure Baby FuZz is firmly on your radar.
RDFO: I have been absolutely hooked on Baby FuzZ since I first heard, “Shadowland”. While that was your second single, can you tell us a little bit about what you were doing pre, “Cig”?
Baby FuZz: Right before putting out “Cig” I had been living in Montreal for a year just kind of decompressing and trying to hit reset on my life a bit. 2016 was intense, so I left the US to try to find some sort of perspective. I came to the conclusion that I needed to engage the world around me more to make a difference, and I think, even in it’s own insignificant way, Baby FuzZ is an attempt at that. The idea is to bounce between genres and make surreal pop music to point out absurdities in the world. It’s in its early stages still, but with some time, I think it will be an interesting project.
RDFO: While I am ok with letting the music speak for itself, there is not much information available about Baby FuzZ the person. Can you tell us a little bit about the man behind the music? Feel free to be as obscure and weird as possible.
Baby FuZz: I’m all for remaining mysterious, but since you asked, I’ll be honest… I’m a 35 year old person who has been making music in some form or another since I can remember. In order to pay the bills, I started writing songs and producing for other people. Ultimately, with some luck, it was a great way to make a living, but left me artistically stranded on a little island controlled by corporate overlords. So I started swimming away from the island, but now I’m stuck on a raft in the middle of the Pacific Ocean living on wakame and salt water taffy. Every once in a while a blog comes along and throws me some sunscreen, so that keeps me going for now. Who knows…maybe some day the Coast Guard will find me and put me in a detention center.
RDFO: I see online that you are from Blanket Fort. Can you tell me what state/country/continent/planet that is located?
Baby FuZz: So Blanket Fort is a little record label I started a few years back. The idea is to help out new artists/bands who need assistance releasing their early material to get the ball rolling on their music. It’s more of a support system, if anything, to let them know that someone’s listening and gives a shit about what they are trying to do. It’s also a fun way to keep engaged with new music that’s not my own. I think we’ve done around 50 releases under the label now, including my own stuff, so it’s slowly becoming a thing.
RDFO: Beyond the music, you for sure have a very catching look. Can you tell us where the aesthetic comes from?
Baby FuZz: I just get bored and like to mix up my look a lot. Ultimately, my occupation affords me the benefit of dressing however I damn well please, so I aim to take full advantage of that little perk. Was doing like the token dye my hair everything phase (yellow, grey, blue, pink, etc), but currently I have a shaved head. Some days when my ego is hyper caffeinated I think I look like Brad Pitt from Fight Club, but in reality I just look like a nine to five dad. The live show is kind of a stoner glam situation…so I could dress like a paramedic and it would still work probably.
RDFO: When it comes to making tunes, are you the only person involved in the creation? What instruments do you play and do you bring in other musicians to work behind the scenes?
Baby FuZz: There were definitely lots of people involved with helping make the forthcoming album. A big helper was Chris Connors who also has been playing bass in the band. He mixed the album and also helped take it over the finish line. I had a lot of friends contribute some programming or sounds here and there throughout the album, as well as some musicians sitting in. I play keys, guitar, bass, etc, but a lot of times I need to bring in people who have a better feel for certain parts. Emily Lazar and Pete Lyman also helped to master the album and there were other cowriters involved in certain songs as well. Most of the songs were old demos that had been sitting around for other people, so that’s why the sonics are so hodgepodge. Ultimately, though, it was kind of me on my computer pulling everything together and executive producing the album and trying to get some sort of cohesion going.
RDFO: I could be wrong, but I imagine you have spent some time creating with other musical acts prior to launching Baby FuzZ…. If I am right… care to share?
Baby FuZz: Sure, like I said, I wrote for hecka artists through the years… Adam Levine, Britney Spears, Avicii, Madonna, etc. I also coproduced “Video Games” by Lana Del Rey…I’ve always been super proud of that one, just because of the impact she’s had as an artist. I’ve always had something to say musically, but just did it vicariously for many years. I love collaborating with people, but in order to actually make Baby FuzZ happen, I needed to cut myself off from that for a while. I’ll probably return to it down the road a bit when it feels right.
RDFO: When it comes to writing your tunes, where does the inspiration usually come from?
Baby FuZz: It can come from anywhere. For me, songwriting is the process of ideas congealing over a period of time and often reducing into one line or a phrase that resonates with me. I try to simplify songs verbage wise as much as possible so that people can understand them, yet still retain a degree of humor and layers of wtf stuff that can be read into more. Also I usually put hidden easter eggs in every song like a bonus level in a video game. Most people don’t know what they are, but I have specific stories about lots of my lyrics that are hyper personal that I’ve always tried to sneak in, even if someone else was singing the song.
RDFO: My wife still listens to all of her favorite songs from when she was growing up and is rarely into any of the new music I put her onto. Baby FuzZ is one of the few exceptions (This is more of me giving you props than any sort of question). Anything you’d like to say to my wife about this lol?
Baby FuZz: Thanks for listening. I often feel the same way and have to force myself to find new artists I like. The brain kind of puts up this musical force field in your 30 and you have have to retrain it how to like new music. But yeah…I feel the same way a lot.
RDFO: “Burial” is another absolute jam that you have recently put out and is one of my personal favs. Can you tell me about the inspiration behind this joint and where it may have come from emotionally?
Baby FuZz: “Burial” I wrote with the band Grouplove in LA in late 2017. The idea was for them initially. I had wanted to try to get something punky with major 3 chords in that had an early Weezer feel or Jeff Rosenstock or Pup or something in that ilk. I took the song back and finished it and demoed it and really became attached to it. In 2018, while working on the album, it just became a no brainer to finish and get out there. Grouplove had been talking about putting it out as well for them, but I’m not sure if that’s still on the horizon or not. Lyrically, it’s just a ‘fuck you’ to a past relationship or a life issue you want to move past. It’s just an empowering little punk song. To me, it’s sung toward the system as opposed to an individual…”you’re broken but you can’t break me”. That sounds angsty undergrad, but I like to think of it that way.
RDFO: Beth & the team at Danger Village have hell of a roster and do some great work (coming from a blog guy who has seen both the good and ugly in PR reps). How did you come to link with Danger Village?
Baby FuZz: I stumbled across them while trying to recruit Cautious Clay for Blanket Fort actually. I stayed in touch and luckily we were able to work together on the Baby FuzZ rollout.
RDFO: What is up next for Baby FuzZ? Anything else you want our readers to know?
Baby FuZz: Yes! So I’m releasing the debut Baby FuzZ album Plastic Paradise on February 26. We will have vinyl and merch coming shortly after that. Also, we’re playing an album release at School Night in LA March 4 and will be playing at SXSW this year as well. I’ll be trying to tour as much in 2019 as possible. After that I have a second album in the works, and I’m starting to write the script for a full length film/musical to go with it.
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