Formula Indie Sessions : Interview with Baby Smith

What is your earliest memory connected to music?

We both have a strong memory of hearing The Beatles while we were sat in the back of cars or hanging around the house.

How did your passion for creating music begin?

I have always been drawn to creating and felt it as more of an impulse or an itch that needs scratching. It feels as if it’s always been with me though it’s definitely something I have developed and honed to be more of a sharpened tool.

What’s the story behind your current music project?

We met in Berlin about 10 years ago just travelling about and we were often just producing little tracks here and there in between going clubbing and exploring the city. It was a very casual start until we decided maybe we should start a band. We were in another project before this one which disbanded during covid. It was after that that we decided to start something new with just the two of us. It took us about a year of tinkering before we started releasing tunes that felt authentic to us.

How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music before?

we normally just say it’s indie music as we find it quite hard to put into words really so we often avoid it. Should really work on that but music is quite subjective and we’d prefer to let the listener have their interpretation of it as we are probably too close to the music to even see it for what it is.

What is one thing you’ve learned that completely changed the way you make music?

I think the biggest lesson I have learned as a songwriter is to only pursue ideas that flow naturally through you rather than trying to force ideas or force a song. I find with anything creative there is a magic moment that happens when you aren’t necessarily in control of the creation and it sort of just happens. Usually a song is not going to be very good or authentic if you are overthinking and planning too much. Spontaneity and clarity of mind is key.

What tools, instruments, or software are essential in your creative process?

We’d like to think there is nothing that is essential to our creative process. We could write a song with a guitar or piano alone but we’d be lying if we didn’t have a preferred method. Which is usually just a laptop, microphone and a guitar and bass. That would be the most common way we write but if all the instruments and laptops on earth suddenly vanish, we would still be able to create.

Which indie artist or song are you loving right now?

Sorry. Their latest album cosplay is a perfect record to us. We always listen to it start to finish and not get bored or skip tracks. We still notice little production things they did that we hadn’t heard before, it feels like there is always something new to discover and the songwriting is magic 🙂

How have your personal experiences influenced your music and artistic vision?

Immensely. I am a firm believer that all input affects output. Essentially any and all experiences someone has will have a direct impact on their creative output. This is why I think adversity is an important ingredient for art. It’s important to have struggle and trauma in life even though in an ideal world no one would experience anything bad but in terms of creating art I think it helps me understand the human condition or helps me process my own experiences even if it’s in a subconscious way. The same goes with good experiences, joy, love etc. At the end of the day that’s what art is to me really, humans processing what it is to be human. An artist has experiences and produces art. I dunno sounds pretentious but whatever

What emotions or messages do you hope listeners take from your work?

Whatever they want. They can hate it if they want, it’s up to them.

What’s the most important lesson music has taught you so far?

Music and dancing is free. The industry is bullshit

What is a dream venue or festival you would love to perform at?

Roskilde Festival. I went there some years back and was so inspired to create music. I got a tattoo of the festival and everything it changed my life. It would be an absolute dream come true to be booked there.

If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who would it be and why?

I’d love to direct a film and have Milena Canonero do the costume design. She is brilliant. An absolute master of the art. She did Marie Antoinette and A Clockwork Orange. It would be wild to have a massive budget and make something where the costumes almost carry the film. That is a total pipe dream but yeah if there are no rules I’d go for that haha

Where can our listeners follow and support your music? (Website,Spotify, IG, links)

https://www.instagram.com/babysmithmusic

www.babysmithmusic.com
https://open.spotify.com/artist/4QzM5sY3QDA4mmgv8Xj932?si=TzGe_4RxQFqq6_BmYmsMsQ

Looking toward the future, what’s your dream for the next chapter of your musical journey?

We are currently working on album number 2. It’s starting to take shape and we would really just like to push boundaries of what we thought was capable in terms of songwriting and production. That’s the dream, to improve our craft.

What do you hope listeners will discover about you along the way?

That the music is alright.