Wildly creative LGBTQ+ alt-pop artist, producer, and guitarist Boy Jr.’s latest single, “Bullying Myself,” is about the negative things we tell ourselves. It is a track from their upcoming full-length DIY album, I Love Getting Dumped.
Boy Jr., aka Ariel Allen-Lubman, explains, “This is a song to listen to when you are fed up with how mean you’ve been treating yourself. I find myself repeating a lot of the same unkind thoughts when I’m going through something, but if anyone ever said these things to me or a friend, I’d be pissed! So instead of letting it rot on the inside, I’m airing it out and releasing it outside.”
Because of their genre versatility, Boy Jr.’s sound is not easily pigeonholed. What is easy to classify is their genuine musical talent, DIY ethos, and quirky personality, as well as millions of Spotify streams and legions of followers on social media.
XS Noize caught up with Boy Jr. to discuss how “Bullying Myself’ came together, their upcoming album, and their songwriting process.
How would you describe your own music?
High-energy weirdo sound design pop.
Can you share the inspiration behind “Bullying Myself” and the creative process involved in bringing it to life?
The song is about facing negative self-talk head-on and just feeling fed up with how much rejection sensitivity holds me back. I started the track with a more sparse arrangement, just a drum kit and a bassline, and approached the lyrics like I would venting to a friend. Just straight up, here’s the issue I have: ‘I’ve been paying more attention to the things I’ve been saying to myself.’ I had a lot of fun building up the rest of the track with the sort of taunting background vocals and layering in some synth and guitar work. Every time I got to work on the song, I also felt like I got to listen to the song.
“Bullying Myself” is from your upcoming album, I Love Getting Dumped. What can you share about the album?
‘I Love Getting Dumped’ is a collection of breakup songs from the last four or so years. The songs vary in style because they were all written at different times and explore different sonic influences, but they’re all related in theme.
How did you get started in music?
I’ve been making music since I was a kid and especially got into songwriting when my mom encouraged me to try it to express my often-overwhelming feelings. I started producing more within the last 5-10 years, and now, it’s more of a collaborative experience for me.
Serious question: why do you make music?
I can’t, at this point, ha-ha! Making music is second nature to me as a form of expression, handling stress, celebrating, you name it. It’s just baked into being alive for me.
What can you share about your creative process? What inspires you to write?
Nearly anything can inspire me to write now, but I used to only be able to write when I was sad or angry about something. It was a really important goal for me to be able to write even when I wasn’t feeling heightened emotions and even write about mundane, silly stuff. But nothing sparks the fire under my ass, writing inspiration like feeling hurt.
Which musicians/singers influenced your sound?
St. Vincent, The Strokes, Nine Inch Nails, David Bowie, Mitski, Ok Go, Everything Everything, Frost Children, Kilo Kish, Magdalena Bay, Death Grips, Poppy, Charli XCX, Allie X.
Now, I also want to ask what’s been the highlight of your career so far? Maybe touring or who you’ve played with, something that’s really stood out.
I opened for Lovejoy and Crywank on some of their US dates last year and opened for Jer and VIAL (and then VIAL again in the spring) last fall. I like anything where I get to experience the music in a real-life connection setting, not just online.
Which do you enjoy the most: writing, recording, practising, or playing live?
Probably playing live, but I enjoy writing and recording for a different set of reasons. Gotta nourish the extrovert and the introvert in me.
What’s next for you?
This single, then another single, then another single, then the album, then hopefully a bunch of different legs of I Love Getting Dumped tour dates, then a collab era, then I’m also already working on another album, ha-ha.
Listen to “Bullying Myself” – BELOW:
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