If you have been keeping an eye on Wake The Deaf recently you will probably have heard of Boosegumps, the recording project of New Jersey-based Heeyoon Won. We wrote about her album 🙂 back in May and recently featured new ‘B-side’ songs from an upcoming extended release on It Takes Time Records. The B-sides are an expansion of the bedroom folk of the original, fleshed out with synths which glint and shimmer and create something a little more upbeat yet still shot through with love and sadness. As we wrote in our piece:
“The track[s] gives the image of a distant lover missing her companion, staring at a sky full of shimmering stars and streaks and cosmic dust, impossibly the very same sky as the one above the person she is missing.”
We were lucky enough to ask Heeyoon a few questions about the working with It Takes Time for the reissue and Boosegumps as a whole.
Jon: Hi Heeyoon, thanks for talking to us. How is life in New Jersey at this time of year?
Heeyoon: Hi, Wake the Deaf! Life in New Jersey at this time of year is pretty overwhelming! Well, it’s always overwhelming and fast-paced since I live outside of New York City, but it’s also quite beautiful when you take a break from everything and watch the leaves start to change colors.
First off, I have to ask – what’s the story behind the name? I’ll admit to wanting it to be an R.L. Stine/Fox Kids reference, although Urban Dictionary suggests ‘boosegumps’ has its own meaning.
It IS an R.L Stine reference. I originally gave myself this moniker because at the time, I was making haunted house soundtracks for fun. I wanted a name that was spooky yet kind of silly. The name Boosegumps just stuck, even after I stopped making Halloween music, mostly because I’m really bad at naming things.
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How’s it feel to be releasing on cassette with the guys at It Takes Time Records? And do you want to say anything about the collection of B-sides that are going to be included?
It feels really good to be working with It Takes Time Records! I feel really comfortable with working with Jordan. He’s been really supportive through the whole process.
I decided to include the B-Sides after Jordan asked me if I had any unreleased songs I’d like to include on the tape. Well, after the release of “:)” I had recorded some fun experimental stuff that I had hidden away or had uploaded to SoundCloud. I thought it would be really nice to put it on the other side of “:)” I just want people to get sad with me on Side A but then groove with me when they flip the tape.
Your music falls into a category (“bedroom pop”) that is pretty prolific at the moment. Do you feel an affinity with other bedroom recording artists? Or is it frustrating to be put in a box? Do you feel it’s even a genre at all, or rather just young people sharing their homemade work a little wider than previously possible?
I’m not sure if I’d call “bedroom pop” a genre because there’s many different genres within the category, but I consider it a broad tag used to categorize some homemade recordings. Personally, I feel comfortable being categorized as “bedroom pop” and playing music with other bedroom recording artists. I definitely feel less pressure as a home-recording artist. It’s just nicer and easier to record whatever I want, however I want and to release it whenever I want, all without me having to leave my warm bed.
As a kind of follow on to that question – what would you list as your biggest influences? Do think you are inspired by any musicians/writers/artists in particular? Or do you draw upon personal experiences more?
Musically, I’m really influenced by different artists at different points of my life. Currently, I’m heavily into Haruomi Hosono and Yellow Magic Orchestra, who are Japanese electronic, synth-pop artists. I’m also really influenced by R&B, even though you might not hear it in my songs. Aside from music, I tend to find inspiration from my friends, my dreams and personal experiences. Also, ever since I got a live band together, I’ve really inspired by the people I make music with. My live band, which is Neil Torman, Andrew Gerber and Adam Kenter, are really talented musicians and I haven’t told them yet, but they inspire me to become a better musician.
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Your songs deal with very personal issues, detailing the struggles and anxieties many young people will recognise. Would you say you record the songs as a way to help yourself, or do you have other people in mind when writing? How do you feel about making other people’s lives that little bit easier/better with your music?
I’m not very good at telling people how I feel, so I feel the need to express my feelings through music. Writing music for me is like writing in my diary. It’s a way for me to write down my thoughts and reflect on my experiences. I mostly write songs as a way to help myself but it feels good to know that my songs are helping others as well. I feel less lonely knowing that others can relate.
Finally, could you name 4-5 acts you think we should know about at the moment? They can be old or new, obscure or huge, whatever you find yourself listening to.
You can pre-order 🙂 on tape right now from the It Takes Time Records Bandcamp page ready for its release on October 31st. 