Author: Bridget Benevides
I had the opportunity to do a phone interview with American singer, songwriter, and record producer Blackbear. While I was super nervous, and a giggled like a smitten school girl on more than one occasion, I did get to know a little bit more about one of my favorite artists. His manager was nice enough to hook me up with a ticket to his concert and a photo pass (and since I sadly had work that night), my friend Sophie went and got some super sick, one of a kind photos which you can find throughout the article. Below is my interview:
Bridget: Chocolate or vanilla?
Blackbear: Vanilla.
Bridget: Mountains or oceans?
Blackbear: Oh that’s hard… oceans.
Bridget: Cats or dogs?
Blackbear: Dogs.
Bridget: What is your most irrational fear?
Blackbear: I am scared to be pecked to death by birds.
Bridget: What is a small thing that makes your day better?
Blackbear: Being uncomfortable. I try to do something uncomfortable every day that gets me out of myself.
Bridget: What have you done today?
Blackbear: Today we were walking around and I told someone “What year is this?”, like I had just gotten off a spaceship, I was like “Oh my gosh, how are we going to get back to 2050?” It’s just a little uncomfortable and fun, so I like doing stuff like that.
Bridget: What is it about your music do you think fans respond well to?
Blackbear: Honesty, realism, angst, I think it’s relatable.
Bridget: The last time you released music with Mike Posner was 2017, is there more to come from the duo Mansionz?
Blackbear: Yes, as soon as he finishes walking [across the US], I think he has 1,900 miles to go. So, hopefully he writes a bunch of cool song ideas while he’s walking and I’m writing too and that’s how we started the first project– I wrote 10 to 15 ideas, he wrote 10-15 ideas than we picked the best ones and made songs out of them. Some of them were really stupid, those didn’t make the album.
Bridget: A lot of your music is remixed by trap or EDM artists, how does it feel to have your work altered in that way?
Blackbear: It’s a vibe, I loved it. Sometimes there’s really interesting dubstep stuff that I wouldn’t necessarily listen to in my car, but I am super appreciative that people can see it in a different way. I am a huge huge fan of remixes.
Bridget: So much of your social media and music involve very raw and emotional content, are these all based off your own experiences?
Blackbear: To some degree, yes. I would say more than half of it. But I also am a performer, and an entertainer and I like to entertain my brand and I have fun with it.
Bridget: What do you hope fans remember from your shows?
Blackbear: I hope they remember whatever feeling I made them feel, even if it is good or bad, I just hope that some emotion is intertwined with their memory of me. I create art to make people feel things and I think that is the definition of art: feeling. So I hope people can draw some type of feeling, whether it be nostalgia or heartbreak or whatever it is, cool.
Special thanks to Blackbear for taking the time to talk with me and supporting college radio, thank you to his manager, Sam, for helping arrange it, and thank you Sophie for being able to work a camera, and doing a great job (cause lord knows I can’t).
Bridget Benevides | KXSU Music Reporter