“Sleep is a Scam!!!!” is not a scam!!!!
babygh0st’s debut album falls asleep, wakes up, doubts, and perseveres, all at the same time.
I stumbled upon Sleep is Scam!!!! last fall when I was looking into cute DIY dance tracks on a random school day to make a playlist for my friend. As I half-listened to the album, the self-titled track, “babygh0st,” caught my attention: its weird bubble-gut bass, snappy breaks, and chopped vocals, reminiscent of pikachu’s “Pika Pika” voice, were super new to me. Many of the “breakcore” tracks I had listened to earlier either had Venetian Snares-like analog textures or otherwise more maximalist, full-on dreamy, nostalgic styles of those like DreamWeaver and usedcvnt. Perhaps I was introduced to what Bandcamp writer Michael Pantini dubbed “New Breakcore,” the maturation and diversification of the genre fueled by a wave of chopped breaks infused with Y2K-nostalgia and chaos called the “breakcore revival of the 2020s” .
I gave Sleep is a Scam!!!! a closer listen after coming across babygh0st’s outlandish and funny beat-making tutorials and content. When relistening, the album was no longer just another DIY dance album, but a deeply personal and existential piece that seeped into my subconsciousness.
The album kicks off with “bad technology,” an eerie groove interspersed with euphoric synth pads and distorted, chopped vocals that guide you into babygh0st’s inner monologues. “6footdeep” follows as the album’s popstar, a parfait of soft, morbid song, think breaks, and nostalgic melodies that remind you of Clairo’s early bedroom dreampop tunes. (Digging through babygh0st’s SoundCloud, I found one of her early tracks was a cover of “Nice Boys” by TEMPOREX, a hypnotic cult-classic of the quarantine bedroom pop scene.) “alone with my thoughts” is a personal favorite. It receives the baton from “6footdeep” in its catchiness while also featuring a chaotic instrumental turn that simulates a sleep-deprived and hyper-stimulated hypnagogic feeling. “system health,” similar to “bad technology,” harbors anxiety and intense amen chops, followed by “live for,” the last flourish of babygh0st’s ethereal psyche. Then, the album goes full-on party mode. The last three songs, “put your phone away,” “babygh0st,” and “your bluetooth speaker," are an ode to breaks and a symbol of perseverance from intrusive doubts and cruel reality.
Earlier in April, I had the awesome opportunity to ask babygh0st questions about the album. Beyond doubt, and as babygh0st reveals in the interview, Sleep is a Scam!!!! is embedded in the rich history of dance and indie music and its burgeoning underground. In fact, the album was released under Daybreak, the label of Chicago's own breakcore and drum ‘n’ bass DJ and producer Yesterdayneverhappened. (Yesterdayneverhappened also released their third album search bar on May 15th, on which babygh0st features on the opening track, "without u".) Still, I can assure you that even somebody who is unfamiliar with Sleep is a Scam!!!!’s cultural context could fully revel in the raw emotional depths and palpitating percussion that the album offers.
Who or what were your influences for “Sleep is a Scam!!!!”????
I guess I would say I have different influences for different songs. “6footdeep” was inspired by the depression I experienced on and off from highschool until recently. It’s a cute sounding song, but I was singing about how I wanted to die haha. The lyric “I wish that we could talk while we’re asleep” is about wanting to still communicate after we’re gone. I also listen to a lot of Mars Argo and PC Music so that’s where the cuteness comes from. “system health” was inspired by the artist saraunh0ly even though it doesn’t rlly sound like her. “alone with my thoughts” is about how I use my phone to avoid my feelings and was inspired by the band Shine Park. “put your phone away” is about my phone addiction and was inspired by death insurance. “bad technology” is about the paranoia I experienced regarding being surveilled by my devices. The tracks “babygh0st” and “your bluetooth speaker” were inspired by Bogdan Racynzki. Oh, and “live for” is also about being sad lol. It’s not really influenced by any specific artist.
I see...what made you start music? Who did you listen to when you were younger? Has your relationship with music changed now?
I knew I always wanted to make music but didn’t know how to start. I grew up playing violin but I wasn’t really good at guitar or piano which is what I thought was necessary to make music. After seeing artists like Clairo and Doja Cat start their careers from their bedroom, it opened my eyes up to what could be made with just a laptop. I tried making stuff on Garage Band but for me Garage Band and Logic is so unintuitive. At the end of my senior year my older brother got this DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) called Bitwig and gave me a license. It’s pretty similar to Ableton. It clicked with me really well and all of my really old stuff from when I was 18 or 19 is made with Bitwig.
For most of high school I listened to Mac Demarco, Homeshake, and other people in that genre. I think the genre is called slacker rock or something like that. My favorite parts of those songs were always the synths they used. I also really liked Björk, especially her album Vulnicura. In my senior year I started listening to more electronic stuff like SOPHIE and AG Cook. I really love PC Music. I also listened to Grimes, Mars Argo, Poppy, and also Rico Nasty. I really love female rap and rap in general was really important to me since basically all of the beats are made on a computer or drum machine.
My relationship with music has definitely changed a lot since I started making it. Now that I know what kind of work goes into making a track, I have so much more respect for producers and audio engineers. Even for the most boring and generic pop song, there’s so much that goes into making sure it’s ready for streaming or the radio. I also started listening to a lot of purely electronic music like techno and hardcore after I started going out to clubs. I never listened to that kind of stuff in highschool, but now it’s my favorite kind of music. Music is also now not just something that I listen to but also a way to connect with people. I made a lot of friends through SoundCloud or DJing that I otherwise wouldn’t have known.
Never heard of Bitwig. Wait, I listened to slacker rock when I was in high school too. And I recently discovered PC Music—never knew they were the originators of "hyperpop." Your point about the care put into pop songs is really interestin—I never thought of that and sort of dismissed pop songs as not really interesting production-wise.
Anyways, tell me more about your album cover!!!! Is the figure in the middle you? Why does it say "Why are we here?" Who is the figure on the top right with the bouquet?
The cover art was made by my friend Summer (@summerbluelight). I don’t know if the figure in the middle is me to be honest, but it could be! I basically just asked her to draw a girl eating bunnies with spiders in her hair. I wanted something cute but scary at the same time. It says 'Why are we here?' because it’s a question I ask myself whenever I’m sad or just feeling existential. When I was really sad I started to wish that not only that I didn’t exist but all of humanity, the universe, and everything ever never existed at all. It’s an existential question that’s basically asking why does our world exist and why or how are we sentient. I don’t know if it was correctly translated into Chinese, I asked my mom to send me the characters and I didn’t tell her the full meaning. I have no idea who the little guy with the flower is on the top right haha. I think Summer would have a better answer for that, maybe he is my friend.
Who are some artists (musical, nonmusical, or just people even!) who you’d like to shout out?
Ooo, probably some of my producer friends! Their artist names are Yuurusu, 3mouth, and Yesterdayneverhappened. They’re all crazy talented and I’ve learned so much from them. Yesterdayneverhappened also helped me release Sleep is a Scam!!!! through their label Daybreak and motivated me to even make the album in the first place since I had never done a project like that before. Also my older brothers who are both super artistic and creative and I probably wouldn’t be making music if it wasn’t for them. One of my brothers is also a really talented visual artist alongside making really good music.
And my boyfriend Layne for always encouraging me, giving me feedback, and for recording my vocals for the next album. He is a really talented classical music composer and he’s another person I wouldn’t have been able to make the album without.
Wait I've heard of Yesterdayneverhappened! I also have two older brothers who introduced me to producing.
Yesss, I met them through SoundCloud. They’re super nice!
That’s awesome it’s really great to have brothers that inspire you like that.
Ok I have a couple more short questions. Do you have a favorite pokemon?
Hahaha. My favorite Pokémon is Mimikyu or Whimsicott, I can’t choose.
My favorite is Mimikyu too. Hmm, on that note, how have video games and culture shaped your life and music?
I grew up playing Animal Crossing and it has the most amazing soundtrack. It definitely influenced my music for sure even if it doesn’t sound like it. Nintendo games in general really played a big role in my development. I also grew up watching the animes Lucky Star and Shugo Chara and I feel it changed my brain chemistry. My friend just introduced me to this Japanese artist called IOYS and the music is so cute I’m so obsessed. I just love Japanese culture in general, especially the fashion and music.
As a Japanese citizen, I love that :) Rate your love for cats from 1 to 10!
1,000,000!!
Ok last one, but this one is deeper. What is next for you? As a musician, artist, DJ? Do you have upcoming projects?
Yeah I do! I’m working on a new album that will hopefully come out next month. I’m going to try and make videos for the songs, maybe not full music videos but just short visualizers. I’ve been learning Adobe Aftereffects and it’s really fun. I have a few DJ gigs coming up that I’m really excited for.
Ok wait last last one—how bussin are Lanzhou hand-pulled noodles?
Omg hahaha it is my favorite Chinese dish hands down and I wish I could find Lanzhou noodles as good as it is in China in New York.
Need a China trip in my life.
Yes!! It’s so close to you, you definitely should!
edited by Sebastian Torres.
album artwork believed to belong to either the publisher of the work or the artist.
