Interview: Léthargie and underfish Talk About Their Collaborative Album "blunderfish"
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“...I hope they can find a bit of themselves in this project. I feel like pain is the shovel to bury parts of ourselves we used to cherish. Whether this brings someone joy, excited, peace, sadness, I just want people to feel something genuine.”
Big ups to you guys on the completion and release of your collaborative album "blunderfish"; what initially led to the decision to create the project and how long did it take to finish?
We met each other back in college, I think in 2015. I was making Soundcloud rap with stage mics and sock pop filters and Mike (Léthargie) was doing his own thing, dabbling in both hip hop and electronic music. I came across one of his first sample-based projects and was floored. The way he chopped samples was on another level, he was somehow able create a polished yet chaotic sound.
I then reached out to him and asked if he wanted to teach me how to sample; he agreed. After a few jam sessions, we decided on working together on a project. I had a concept in mind and Mike was down bring it to life. It's hard to say how long “blunderfish” took. I'd say 3 years. We live far apart so linking up wasn't easy. We'd have to section off a majority of our day to get sessions in.
Describe for us your creative process for the development of the album's 13 tracks. Would you say that there is an overall theme or concept?
I truly believe to create a good project, you need a producer in your corner who believes in you and the process. For music, people need to feel the vibe before they feel the words and Mike brought the vibes. We both agreed that this would be a sample-based project. We wanted it to sound very DIY, kinda reminiscent of older underground hip-hop. Me and Mike would spend hours in his basement and living room listening to records, carefully waiting for that one record to blow us away.
In terms of the concept of the album, the overall theme revolves around dealing with pain and finding yourself in the process. I was personally dealing with a lot while making the project. This was the first time in my life where I discovered that music is healing. Basically, each track showcases a place I was basing my identity. A blunder is a stupid, careless mistake. I feel like you need to make a lot of those to truly find yourself. At first listen, the songs sound like hits rather than serious songs. But if you listen closer to the words, you can find the overall arch of the album.
Were there songs that were written or recorded that did not make the album's final track list? If so, why?
We actually had a whole other album finished before “blunderfish”... but the files got corrupted and we lost the whole album. It's funny because that was probably the best thing to happen to both of us at the time. I remember sitting down with Mike agreeing that we could do way better.
Since then, I feel like we've both grown as artists and personally as well. Looking back at it now, my flows and lyrics were super trash haha.
Tell us about the album's cover graphic; what does it represent and who is the lucky guy on the cover?
I always find it hard to bring my ideas to life. I have a notebook filled with music video ideas, cover ideas, project ideas, whatever! Luckily, Mike's roommate, Connor Tadao (founder of Flee Normality) is a super talented photographer who was able to turn my ideas into a reality.
Again, the picture was very DIY. I had bought a laundry basket and about 10 bags of fish crackers. We cut a hole in the basket to fit my head and filled that sucker with fish. Connor then took a few shots and we were done.
There wasn't really any concept to the cover, more just wanted something that caught people's attention. I had a previous idea for the cover but I feel like this one really stands out. Kind of like a shark breaking through a sea of fish.
When someone listens to "blunderfish" for the first time, what do you want them to take away from experience?
I hope they can find a bit of themselves in this project. I feel like pain is the shovel to bury parts of ourselves we used to cherish. Whether this brings someone joy, excited, peace, sadness, I just want people to feel something genuine.
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