Interview By Ryan Renger
Call her sacrilege, call her blasphemous, but don’t call her a bad musician. Busting onto the scene as one of the hottest new artists in her sect of the genre, Baybe is breaking barriers and making a huge name for herself! The Florida-born, Nashville-based songwriter perfectly blends the best elements of Heavy Metal, Pop, and Alternative together to create a unique sound that sets herself apart. A musician from her conception, Baybe is multi-talented with experience with many different instruments under her belt, and she uses all of that experience in her songwriting. With an eclectic music taste and controversial world views, she wrote and released her newest endeavor, God’s Favorite. The EP is a wonderful display of those great qualities that make her a fantastic artist. An album of pure fun, God’s Favorite contains great songs like Father, Son, Holy Ghost, and Stray Dog, which are interesting commentaries on the world and religion as a whole. Those lyrical themes are a huge part of what makes Baybe who she is. Whether it is her intriguing point-of-view on these issues or the fantastic music accompanying it, God’s Favorite Is worth a listen. In support of the new album, Baybe played a rare live show just last night; hopefully, it sounds like more are on the way. Clean Capture Magazine sat down with Baybe to discuss the new release, how she got started in music, and her future plans as she matures as an artist. Read below to find out more about Baybe and what type of artist she is!
What was your life like growing up that led you to this path?
I started when I was three by doing voiceovers. I have some stuff about that on my TikTok about the doll voices. But, it's just where I got started in music because it was singing educational songs for dolls. Then when I was a teenager, I took piano lessons and was really into classical piano. This was also when I was in bands playing guitar, synth, background vocals, and whatever I could do. Just learning on the fly.
Tell me about this album. Where'd the name come from?
I'm all about tongue-in-cheek and poking fun at things. So I wanted something that sounded serious but also is not serious, and it's just lighthearted. Just poking fun at the concept of being God's favorite.
Was the whole album about poking fun?
Yeah, for sure. I just squeezed as many puns, weird innuendos, and things that make me really happy because I love those kinds of lyrics.
Tell me about the lyrical themes on the album and other songs?
I think in the future, I'll probably conceptualize albums and EPs a little bit more. For this one, it’s crazy because it's my first one; it just happened to do that on its own. But all of these sessions were with different producers, and it became a joke because no matter who I would write with, the topic would end up being somewhat religious, and I was like, I can't write about anything else. I just think it's so much fun to write about it and more interesting than things that I've written about in the past. I still like writing love songs and stuff here and there, but there's Love and War that doesn't have any religious aspects to it. That's why I ended with that one. I just wanted to close it out with something that's not so in your face.
Tell me about the people you're writing with. What kind of influences did they have on each different song?
There are three producers on the EP. One thing about all three of them, kind of a common theme, is that they all do Pop music, but, they all grew up listening to metal. When I brought this idea to them initially, I thought, wouldn't it be crazy if we did chugging like some Metal guitars in the song? One of them thought it was perfect because he was obsessed with all those kinds of metal bands growing up. So all these producers that had grown up listening to those bands that we just like somehow all had that in common, which was awesome. They were like, I would love to work on Metal, and no one in Nashville really does that kind of sound, so they were just like excited to participate in that.
What is your favorite song on the EP?
They were all made months apart from each other, and whenever I finish a song, I run it over and over again until I'm sick of it in my car. So, I feel like I've done that with all of them. That's a really hard question. I feel like my answer's probably Stray Dog cause it's the heaviest, and I really love the video that I did with my friend Grant.
Let’s discuss the Metal influences in Stray Dog. What was the difference in writing between Stray Dog and then some of your other songs where they had Indie-Pop influences?
For Stray Dog, I just love like the Math Rock elements of chugging patterns and stuff like Of Mice and Men and Issues. I'm just obsessed with the really technical guitar playing. I tried to incorporate metal into almost every single song, and I think I did.
What is the first song you want a new listener to hear first?
I feel like I could have two different answers for that. One answer could be Father, Son, Holy Ghost because it's the most off-putting; I like being off-putting and, and making people mad. But, if I were genuinely trying to get someone interested, I feel like Love and War would be a good way to ease into that because it's just a good old rock song.
What touring plans do you have to support the EP?
I'm obsessed with the idea of touring and obsessed with playing shows that it's all I wanna do, but I'm so precious about it, so I haven't played a lot of shows in my life. The album release show is my second real show. But, we're talking about some touring options later this year and early next year.
What would the dream line-up be for your first tour?
I feel like I could have different answers. I have the answers that my heart would love to open up for a heavy band, the stuff that artists like Ash Nico are doing. I love Ash Nico; I think she's like just so unique and has created a lane for herself. I think that would be a really good fit. Someone like that or Rico Nasty. I just really appreciate it when artists make their own world like that, so someone like that would be cool to tour with. I have a long list. I've literally typed it out. It's like 80 bands or artists long, and they're categorized by genre because I'd love to open for a hip-hop tour or a rock tour.
Where do you see yourself in 2-3 years?
Touring. My main goal is to tour and keep making music that I have fun performing. I never felt that spark performing until I started this project. There's nothing I wanna do for the rest of my life than this.
How does it make you feel that people are listening to what you have to say?
I think that's great! As far as having influences and role models in music that's what has driven me all these years and to see people that are in either something similar to what I'm doing and being successful, I love having those people see what's working.
To end, what is something you have never shared in an interview before?
The main thing that I already kind of touched on is, it's easy to see someone on social media. My TikTok is freaking insane right now because it's all hate comments, it's inundated with hate right now. I know that ebbs and flows, and it'll pass, but I think it's really easy to see things like that on social media and to think that whoever's behind it is an evil person, but that’s not the truth.
We appreciate Baybe sitting down to talk with us! Go check her EP out and be on the lookout for more information about her upcoming shows!
Comments