INTERVIEW: PHIXEL (12/13/23) -
Today we sat down with phixel, an artist who just released their first full-length project in almost 3 years - complete with a massive shift in sound. We got the opportunity to delve deep into what the album means to phixel, some insight about its creation, as well as a lot more! As of writing, phixel's new project IN DUST AND ROT has been out just over a week - you can stream the project here and physicals are available for purchase on phixel's bandcamp! We hope you enjoy the interview!
You just released your 3rd LP, "IN DUST AND ROT" - a solid 2 and a half years since your previous work. The types of sounds on the projects have clearly changed over the time between releases - what made you decide to go in the direction you did with IN DUST AND ROT?
Sometime in late 2022, I discovered the Korean shoegaze scene. Every time I start a project, I go through a cycle of creating a couple songs, scrapping them, and starting over again. But the first time I listened to Parannoul, I realized that was the sound I wanted to venture into the most.
Going off of the last question, you've moved pretty far from the "hyperpop" sound as your sound has evolved. What are your thoughts on hyperpop as a whole - do you think it's merely a trend?
I think hyperpop is more defined by a community than a genre. Normally it’s hard to file people with such vastly different styles under the same genre, but it's much easier here considering most people who are categorized as ‘hyperpop’ musicians came up together in the same online spaces. As a traditional genre, the old 2020 hyperpop sound is certainly a trend that has died out recently, but ‘hyperpop’ is still very much alive as long as the community itself is still active regardless of genre.
Many other artists that were doing "hyperpop" around the same time as your more digital projects are also now moving onto more indietronica / shoegaze and even acoustic sounds. How has it felt seeing those around you also evolve their sound, has it influenced your own work in any way?
Seeing other musicians around me transition to other genres has been nothing short of confounding. I expected hyperpop to evolve into something beyond the old 100 gecs big bass sound, but I didn’t expect it to be so dramatically different so quickly! Some artists have stayed somewhat within their comfort zone, but many of the early pioneers of the community have made a drastic change in their sound. Jane Remover released ‘homeswitcher’ just 2 years ago, and look at what she’s making now! Seeing how ambitious other artists in my community are has absolutely inspired me to be more confident with my music.
We've noticed that for the one single from your album, notebook with saoirse dream, you sing the song in Catalan, not English. What made you decide to use Catalan for your parts of this song?
My fathers side of the family is Spanish! My grandfather is an immigrant from Spain, and I have equal parts Catalan and Basque roots on that side. I’ve been learning Catalan for a couple months now, and one way I like to practice is by making a song in the language I’m learning. I was a bit hesitant to release ‘notebook’ because of my poor grammar and pronunciation, but in the end I think I got over that. I promise that I’m much better in both of those aspects now!
On the topic of this song, it is the only one with a feature on the project, not including jackalsclaw's backing vocals on track 1. Was this track always intended to have a featured verse, and how did you end up working with saoirse on it? The verse works really nicely with the song as a whole.
Yes, ‘notebook’ was always intended to have a feature! I worried that a Catalan song wouldn’t stand too well on its own, so I wanted to get a feature for it. When making a project, I usually have a small list in my head of people that I’d like to collaborate with, and saoirse dream was on the top of that list! I had wanted to make something with her for a long time, and I’m so glad we were able to work together for this. I’m also eternally grateful to Jackal for being a part of both ‘temperance’ and ‘notebook’, as well as a large part of the creative process behind the project.
Onto some of the heavier themes of the album, you mention how it's about "the worst few years of my life". Evident through your writing, and emotion in the music, this album feels like it digs into very personal topics and moments of yours. How was the process of creating this album - what affect did its creation have on you as well?
From the moment I started working on it, IN DUST AND ROT has served as an outlet for some of my deepest fears and worst experiences. A healthy way to deal with everything that I had lived with. Translating that pain into music helped me recover, and I think dealing with my troubles in that way made me a more mature person.
Regarding the previous question, how do you feel looking back on the album now its completed - is it hard to look back on due to the topics you write about in your work? What song to you is the most important?
Looking back, I am so proud of this album. I put so much effort into writing and producing it, and I made sure it was the best I could make it in the weeks leading up to its announcement. For me, the most important song is ‘pushed to shore’. I first worked on it just before I started losing it, and only picked it back up and completed it months later when the worst of it was over. The lyrics in the second half of that song are some of the most visceral and personal that I’ve ever written, and it meant a lot to see how positively that song was received.
"The album has served as an outlet for some of my deepest fears and worst experiences."
If you could change one thing about the album now that it's out and completed, what would you do, if anything?
To be honest, I would replace ‘scraps of you’ with another song, or improve the first half of it at least. Looking back, I think the song is great but could use more polishing and touching up to be the best it can be. I might revisit it sometime in the future.
What’s your favourite part about the project as a whole, including the music itself as well as the processes around it such as the art and writing, etc?
There’s so much that I love about not just IN DUST AND ROT, but creating projects in general! I absolutely love getting feedback from my friends about songs as I create them, and I love seeing support for my projects when I release them! For IN DUST AND ROT specifically, my favorite thing was when I realized the album was finally finished. The gap between misplaced flora and this project was just under 3 years, and I was grasping at straws trying to figure out how to get a project together that whole time. The moment I finished mixing ‘notebook’ at Jackal’s house, I knew that I had just finished the culmination of years of work.
Where do you see yourself going from here? Both sound wise and in general - do you have any plans for future releases already?
I love my current sound. I’m looking to collaborate with other artists in my genre, and I would be honored to be able to work with the artists I drew inspiration from during the creation of IN DUST AND ROT. After misplaced flora, I had a distinct lack of inspiration or ideas for how I could continue. However, this time around, I’m bursting with ideas and I’m so excited to make them real. I don’t want to say too much yet until it’s fully fleshed out, but I think, for me, it’s time to revisit my old work with new ears.
What's your favourite collaboration you've ever worked on - either on your own releases or otherwise. What did you enjoy about it?
I’m not sure. Every collaboration I’ve done has been nothing but fun to work on, but I think the best time I’ve had working on music has been with Iris Day. We have so many songs together, and it has always been fun to work on music with her. I think I’m going to choose her song ‘recovery’, not just because I enjoyed producing and doing vocals for it, but also because I got to perform it with her live in February.
You've been in and connected to the current 'scene' for a decent while now, do you have any advice for any new artists still emerging and/or finding their sound?
Find your community! So many people have built their success with their own smaller online communities within the scene, and there’s always another community to share your music with. Don’t be afraid to experiment and don’t be afraid to collaborate! Most importantly, don’t ever sign a deal with Interscope.
What do you feel are your greatest influences, both in music and outside of it?
Right now, musically, I think my biggest influence is Census Designated by Jane Remover. She dropped her album a while after I was finished with mine, so I never had time to incorporate my inspiration from that project into IN DUST AND ROT. Such a beautiful and textured project, and truly a masterpiece. Outside of music, I like to believe I’m finding my own inspiration. After what happened in late 2022, it’s time for me to be a more independent person instead of letting things happen around me without my input.
"Don't be afraid to experiment and don't be afraid to collaborate! Most importantly, don't ever sign a deal with Interscope."
Outside of music, what are some of your favorite pastimes?
I like playing Geometry Dash and I like studying linguistics! I actually still make levels semi-actively on Geometry Dash as Phixel if anyone ever wants to play.
Lastly, is there anything that you'd like to talk about? Feel free to mention anything on your mind - this question is completely open!
The fact that I’m able to say that my third album is out for the world to hear is such a huge thing for me. It’s been over 3 years since I held a Discord listening party for SHAPES AND COLORS, and yet it still feels like a couple months ago. It’s such a cliche but time really does feel like it has been moving faster. I’m so thankful for everything that has led up to this point and I’m so excited for what comes next.
Thank you! Before we end, is there anybody / anything you'd like to shoutout?
Shoutout to TAMAGOTCHI MASSACRE and Lu-Ee for making this project happen! They have done so much behind the scenes and their help is what really brought this project to life. I’d also like to shoutout Jackal and saoirse dream for collaborating with me on the album, and shoutout Parannoul and Asian Glow for both being my biggest inspirations right now.
Massive thanks to phixel for doing this interview with us today!
You can go listen to phixels new album, IN DUST AND ROT, here - as well as get your hands on a physical CD of the album from the link below!
https://phixel.bandcamp.com/album/in-dust-and-rot
Thank you once again to phixel!
This interview was written by the Propyl Team.
Please contact us @ propylrecords@gmail.com for any questions or inquiries.
