CREATIVE CONVERSATIONS 169: BOONE ON ADDING AUTHENTICITY TO MUSIC

Interview by Brooke Gibbs.

Dance artist and multi-instrumentalist, Boone, has returned with a new vocal house track, created from a viral moment of not being able to secure Fred again.. tickets. Futuremag Music sat down with Boone to talk about the moment that inspired this track, and the new direction he is taking his live shows in.

FMM: Thank you so much for joining me to chat about your new single. You released it a couple of weeks ago now, so what's it like having it out there?

Boone: I'm so stoked to have it out because I really like the sounds of it and the production. You know, some tracks you put out and you're kind of sick of it, but this one came quick, and so I'm still loving it, which is good. I'm not sick of it yet.

FMM: I love the concept behind it as it was inspired from the frustration of trying to get Fred again.. tickets. Tell me more about your frustration and how that inspired this track.

Boone: I kind of had this moment when I was sitting in the waiting room for the Ticketek screen to load, and it was like, bloody frozen. It's sort of like when you look at the moon and you're kind of like, oh, Beyonce could be looking at the moon right now. It was kind of like that. I'm like, how many people are looking at this screen right now? I thought, there's probably bloody thousands of Aussies looking at this. That was kind of interesting to me. It was exciting to know so were many people going through the same thing, and so it seemed like an obvious topic for a song in that world. It's in the Fred world and I felt like I had to do it, you know?

FMM: I love that you took it to the next level. It's one thing to write the song, but then you also sampled the phone call to the Opera House as well as sampled some fans. Tell me more about that decision and how that brings your experience to life even further?

Boone: Yeah, it was a bit cheeky because I rang the Opera House and I opened Ableton, and I started recording knowing full well that probably wasn't going to get a good result and she was probably going to let me down and say, look, we've got no tickets. But, I tried nonetheless, and I thought I'd record the call because it's a real interaction and that stuff in a song adds some authenticity. A lot of people were saying to me the phone call is what does it for them because it's so real. It just ties it to reality. As far as the legalities of it go, I don't know. To release it, we couldn't get clearance from the Opera House to put the phone call in the official song, which is fair enough, but, it's still in the video, obviously, which is kind of what sparked it all. It’s still on socials, which is cool.

FMM: I hear what you say about making it seem more real, because that's what I love about songs, too. You hear artists sometimes sample voice messages and it just adds to the experience.

Boone: Yeah and do you know why? I think it's because we all hear those things in our own lives, a voicemail or phone call. It really ties it to. That’s really interesting to me.

FMM: And it makes it relatable because I'm sure other people tried to be a bit cheeky as well and make that phone call and probably got a very similar response to what's been sampled.

Boone: Yeah, I reckon so.

FMM: So in saying that, what do you hope listeners get out of it? Is it a sense of connection or something else?

Boone: I think lyrically, it's a little dark. It's a little sad, isn't it? So me and Stellie worked on it together. Stellie from Adelaide, and lyrically, it seemed like what was coming from her was a lot about how ties to love, relationships, loss, wanting to be with someone. Maybe I'm too late, you know, that's sort of where that fit for her, which was great because I think it connects to people on that level as well, instead of just the literal level on what it was coming from, which is the Fred again.. thing, into something people connect to relationships. So lyrically, it's really that, but musically, it's kind of uplifting to me. I think it starts on a major chord, which is interesting. I never really do that. I do minor a lot, but it feels good to do major, and then it lands on the minor. It's very euphoric, most uplifting to me, musically.

FMM: As you're saying, I also love that it is so universal because it started out from you not getting tickets to then being universal about relationships, love, or anything else that you can be too late for. You were talking about Stellie, and obviously her contribution to the track is incredible as well. Tell me more about that collaboration and how you knew that she was the perfect fit.

Boone: Stellie is a friend from Adelaide, which is where I originate and she's got an amazing indie sound that I like. It's almost Lorde esque, Lana del Rey esque and such a sick sound on dance music for me. She's a straight killer, lyrically and also vocally. I think she does vocal lessons. She teaches because she’s that spot on. We had this moment when we were recording, I got her to sing the chords. It's in the second pre-chorus, it's like a tension rising thing, and I just play the note and then she would just sing it and she could predict the chord and sing the chords perfectly. She didn’t even need to hear it. I said, all right, now we're going to go to the minor third or whatever. She would do that and she's literally insane, so I knew she was the one for it. It also kind of ties it back, because I live in Sydney now, but it ties it back to my hometown in Adelaide, which I also like.

FMM: Yeah, it's incredible. It sounds like it was the perfect fit and as you mentioned, it's good for you, too, that it ties it back to your hometown.

Boone: Yeah, because it's a very Sydney esque song and also, all the videos I made is me in Sydney on the streets. It's about the Opera House, so I liked having a bit of Adelaide essence in it, for sure.

FMM: Yeah, and as you said, it is very Sydney based, but I feel like it also connects anyone in Australia because I'm based in Darwin at the moment, so I wasn't trying to get tickets for myself, but my friends in Sydney were messaging our group chat expressing their frustration, so I was feeling frustrated for them, even though I had no intention of going to the concert.

Boone: Yeah, I have a question for you, so did the hype reach to Darwin? Like, the frantic everyone trying to get tickets energy?

FMM: Yeah, so I know one mate in Darwin who was trying to see if she could get a flight to Sydney in time. I’m from Sydney originally, so I still keep in contact with my friends there, and they were messaging me saying that day was very stressful for them trying to get Fred again.. tickets. The hype and stress definitely reached other places in Australia.

Boone: Because my Adelaide friends said that the hype was there, but, what can you do about it? He wasn't coming to Adelaide either, so they missed out. But the hype here was unparalleled because it was like, he's playing tonight, oh, my God, so a lot of people were feeling it.

FMM: Yeah, I saw TikToks and people were physically trying to queue at the Opera House as well and that was chaotic, too, by the looks of it.

Boone: Yeah, yeah, imagine that. I wish I got a ticket.

FMM:Yes, well maybe you were just too late.

Boone: I did, by the way, get a ticket for his show one one of the Sydney dates, not the Opera House one, obviously, but, yeah, it was amazing. Great show.

FMM: Amazing! I love the way that your music's been described. So someone's described your music as being a combination of Gotye's sampling style, Skrillex's production chops, and then Fred Again's emotional quality. They're huge people to be compared to. How does that comparison feel?

Boone: Yeah, that's amazing. Did you say Skrillex’s production?

FMM: Yeah.

Boone: God damn. All right. I'm very honoured to hear that and also, the Gotye comparison is cool. Bit of a wild card.

FMM: And obviously Fred again.. as that's what inspired this release.

Boone: Absolutely. Yeah, Fred. I absolutely understand that one. The Fred stuff is like, the emotion, the dance music based with emotional power with the chords and all that. I love that, so I'm really grateful to be compared to that. Skrillex is like, yeah, what an absolute beast. Production wise, you can't be that guy. So, yeah, I love that.

FMM: This follows the release of GOOD 4 ME, which went viral. When a track goes viral, do you find it hard to come up with a follow-up release? Is there any pressure to have something that’s great to follow it?

Boone: Yeah, I don't know if it's pressure. It's more like if you really believe in the song, you want to give it a good go, you know? I suppose there is some form of pressure on myself that I'll be like, all right, I'm going to put in an extra slog on this one to make more videos, try more ideas, because really, it's about what can you paint in front of this song that makes it just excel and a shareability factor other than just the song being good? It's the song plus, oh, look what he did to show it off or whatever. So, yeah, there's always that pressure, but the videos are also part of the fun. To me, it’s what makes it three dimensional and it kind of puts everyone on a level playing field, which is what I really like, is that there's less and less gatekeepers if you want to get your music heard. It’s more about what are you going to do to make it stand out? It's totally up to you and I love that. It's quite exciting to me, actually.

FMM: And it's great to hear that you do come from the perspective of excitement as opposed to some other creatives who might feel pressured to make the next viral hit after that successful first one.

Boone: Yeah, I think so. I think people have quite a negative relationship with their music and try and promote it on social media. But all I'll say is reframe. You get to to be seen exactly how you want. Can you connect straight to the audience? It's a one to one now, so that is cool.

FMM: That is really great and it sounds like your fans are thinking it's great, too. Obviously, people are behind you and loving what you put out there. What do you have planned for the rest of the year? Is there any other projects you're working on or places we can come out and see you live?

Boone: Yeah, speaking on the live front, actually, on Friday, I just had the best show of my life ever, which I'll quickly shout out, which was a Boiler Room set, which was thrown by Scott Tweedy, whom I knew as a child from Prank Patrol, who's now like a megastar ad he's throwing these parties in every state. The Sydney one came around, he gave me the call. He said, Boone, do you want to do it? I was like, hell, yes. He found me from my TikTok videos, which is so sick. I think that's the precedent for new shows going forward, myself included. These Boiler Room style stages in the middle of the venue and it's just off the hook. It's crazy. There's people bloody coming out of your ears, behind you everywhere and it's a lot funner. I think going forward, I think my shows will look like that just because I had so much fun and the energy is great. So, it's a Boiler Room style. Yeah, that's on the show front. Then on the music front, I have a huge folder of music that I just need to decide. This one. This one. I’m progressing a few and am just always excited to get new music out because you make a new thing. Like, I want to put this out, forget about that old stuff. So, I need to just go no, finish and put it out. I think that's what I'll be doing hopefully in the next month to five weeks or so, another track and keep going because I'm excited. I reached a new audience of people in Sydney, which I hadn't reached before, which I'm super grateful for. They want to hear new stuff, so I'm super excited to give it to them.

FMM: We're super excited, too, because obviously, what you've already released is great, so we're really excited to hear what you release next and also hopefully see you live as well when you're out and about.

Boone: Yeah, absolutely. I got to come to Darwin.

FMM: Yes. It's very hot up here, but there's some beautiful locations. There's a few people that have performed at Mindil beach. It's actually on the beach and it’s just a wholesome experience.

Boone: Oh, yes. That's beautiful. An outdoor set is really exciting, but I think the energy… You almost can't beat that energy of a sweaty little thing. It's just, you know, it's off the hook. It's awesome.