Kieran Webber
Director and Founder of CLUNK Magazine, CLUNK Events, and other CLUNK affiliate businesses. You’ll probably find me tucked away somewhere sending emails, listening to music, and creating content.
Washington, DC based artist Boy Grapes sits don and talks to us about his recent EP ‘Uh Huh’, life in America, and much more
DIY music is well and truly alive in the 21st century, in fact, I’d argue it thriving. More than ever, the artist has the tools at their disposal to write, craft, create, and sell their own music. All from the comfort of their own home and without meddling from labels. It’s an exciting thing to witness and artists such as Boy Grapes continue to keep it that way. The Washington DC artist just dropped his recent EP ‘Uh Huh’, a wild collection of 5 songs that are oozing in post-punk attitude.
After getting ur ears around the EP we wanted to find out more about Boy Grapes and his music, thankfully he leant us a few moments of his time to answer all our questions.
Kieran: Boy Grapes! Thanks for taking the time to chat! How have you been?
BG: I’ve been great, thanks for asking! It’s been a busy yet rewarding time for me, balancing music, work, and finishing up my degree, but I’m loving every moment of it.
Kieran: How’s your 2024 been so far? Any highlights?
BG: 2024 has been pretty neat so far. On the tails of my album Rocking Horse, which I released in late December of 2023, one of the major highlights has been the release of my latest EP, which I got to work on immediately after Rocking Horse’s release. It’s been exciting to see how listeners are connecting with the music after finally starting to find listeners through my social media music content series. After releasing my music for this long, it’s refreshing and rewarding to finally have a release plan and a way to reach out to an audience. Another highlight is the growth and development I’ve experienced working at the 9:30 Club in Washington DC. It’s been a great environment for learning and inspiration.
Kieran: How’s life in the USA right now?
BG: There’s a lot of energy in the music scene, especially in places like Washington DC where I’m based. It’s inspiring to be from such a rich and dynamic city under a lot of civil unrest, we aren’t bound by a specific sound as much as an authentically expressive attitude.
Kieran: So, how did you first discover music and when did you know you wanted to start making your own?
BG: I took piano lessons from 8-10, and played trumpet in middle school band, but never fell in love with music until I went to my first local rock show at 14. As a freshman in high school, some of the people who I met that talked about being in bands I ended up really looking up to because of this, and after that first show I really wanted to do it too. I learned how to play bass, and as I learned how to play more songs my musical palette grew even more too. I picked up guitar, drums, and began recording my own music, producing it with just Garageband and my Apple earbud mic. I ended up releasing two full length albums with just that before leaving high school. From there, I knew I was going to pursue music and keep creating, and it’s just devolved from there!
Kieran: Are there any bands or people that inspired or influenced you as an artist?
BG: Radiohead was definitely the biggest band that got me into appreciating music production. A few other influences are Ween, Pixies, Fiona Apple, Joanna Newsom, Alvvays, The Smiths, Jimi Hendrix, Alex G, and David Bowie. My taste is a bit eclectic. Lately, two older artists I’ve discovered who I’ve drawn to that’ll definitely influence the next releases are Fela Kuti and Skinny Puppy.
Kieran: You recently dropped your latest EP ‘Uh Huh’, can you talk us through this release and what it means to you?
BG: “Uh Huh” is a very personal project for me. It represents a period of growth and experimentation in my music. Each track explores different themes and styles, reflecting my journey as an artist. For the recording I tried some older techniques mixed with newer things I’d learned. I tried to give each track its own flavor with a sense of continuity from the songwriting, which came from a place where I felt like I had to make my voice heard by those who dislike me the most. Some of the songs are encouraging, pitiful, scathing, or powerful. There’s a raw mixture of emotion and experimentation. This EP means a lot to me because it showcases my evolution as a person, not just an artist. More than anything, I look forward to what comes after “Uh Huh”.
Listen to ‘Uh Huh’ here:
Kieran: Do you have any favourites from the EP?
BG: It’s hard to choose a favorite because each song was made with a different work process and has its own flavor. “Hell o” stands out to me, it’s the first piano-based song I’ve written since “Mistake”, way back in 2021. It was an experiment in blending electronic influences, scathing piano, and some Nick Cave-ish noise rock influence with religious themes while balancing trying tomake it kind of catchy. I’m really proud of how it turned out.
Kieran: What was the writing and recording process like for this release?
BG: The writing and recording process for ‘Uh Huh’ was both challenging and rewarding, I always say my production is a labor of love. I spent a lot of time experimenting with different sounds and techniques, pushing myself to explore techniques that just aren’t sensible in a working studio that maximizes efficiency. There were moments of intense flow state where everything just clicked, and others where I had to really push through creative blocks.
Kieran: Did you learn anything new from this experience you will take into other releases?
BG: Definitely. One of the biggest lessons was the importance of trusting the creative process and being open to songwriting from a more extroverted, extreme position to challenge certain emotions more effectively, it gave a bit more human-ness to my world of sound. I also learned a lot about blending different genres and using new production techniques into something that stands on its own as something completely new genre-wise, which I plan to incorporate into future projects.
Kieran: Lastly, what else can we expect from you in 2024?
BG: 2024 is shaping up to be an exciting year. You can expect more new music, including another album I’m working on that’ll be out before the year is over. I love what I’ve been growing with my video content series, and will definitely be continuing that; I’m also planning to perform live more and connect with the audience in person. Plus, I’ll be continuing my venue work and looking forward to new collaborations and opportunities to grow as an artist. In the meantime, it’s music, music, music!
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