BUFFEE On Writing Songs At Gigs And The Fun Of Showing Off

Clara Bullock

Freelance journalist based in Bristol. Loves hardcore, her heated blanket, and pasta.

We chat with experimental producer and artist BUFFEE about her new EP and the joys of being apart of a thriving scene

Bristol-born and Manchester-based producer BUFFEE is set to release a new EP this month – processing her backlog of music that has been building up since her last release ‘Heaven’.

BUFFEE tends to gravitate towards the more unusual sides of electronic music, coming from a hyper-pop background but blending it with dance music and choir vocals. Most of her songs are based on samples of her voice, which are compressed and distorted to create something completely unique.

On her debut EP ‘Victory Lap‘, BUFFEE said: “I started most of these songs when I was 19, hence the sharp swings between melodrama and hedonism. The EP explores the desire to fictionalise your experiences when on an emotional downturn, and how addictive it can be to do so.”

She said she has been making music since Covid – what started off as an obsession with internet hyper-pop turned into a project that has its very own sound. I sat down with her to chat about being part of a scene, getting inspiration from gigs and seeing people dance to her music.

What are you currently working on, anything new?

I finished my new EP and am getting ready to put that out, which I’m really excited about. All the music I’ve got out right now is music I made two years ago, so I’ve got a two year backlog of new stuff I just can’t wait to put out. I feel like it’s a more mature output because I’m older and I’ve got better at producing and writing. I’m currently working on the finishing touches of the EP.

How is that process for you? You say you have a backlog of two years. When you write all that music, how does it work as a process from start to finish?

I used to get on my laptop and stay up all night and have to finish it in one. Now, it’s much healthier, I just do it in bits, when I can. Especially at the moment, I’ve been really busy, so I’ve been producing on the train, producing where I can. Most commonly, at the moment, I write songs when I go to other gigs.

If I listen to a song I like live, I tend to get an idea for an alternative melody or lyrics and I write it down in my notes app. And then probably in a few weeks I’ll forget what that original song even sounded like and I’ll use those lyrics for a new song. It’s sort of weird, but that seems to be the way it’s happening at the moment (laughs).

Speaking of going to gigs, do you feel that as part of the music scene it helps you that you’re part of a community?

Being part of the community makes me want to keep going with the thing. As well as being a practical inspiration in that respect, it’s the thing I actually love about music and doing it. It makes it really easy to make friends with other people who are interested in music. I really enjoy seeing other people’s weird projects and weird music. I’m lucky to be involved in a community, that’s definitely a really important thing to me.

In that community, how did you find your own sound?

I guess just by making loads of music. Just doing it again and again and again on the computer. It has evolved over time, I haven’t necessarily been making any big decisions about: maybe this is more me. I’ve been taking a more scattered approach to production and I’m sort of selecting my sound out of a bunch of stuff.

How do you relate to your own music as a form of expression?

I never feel like it’s necessarily expressing me. I’m always using it to wear a different hat, to go on stage and be a person I’m not day-to-day. Not in an extreme way, but there’s a showiness to getting up on stage and doing a pop song or dance track. I get to be a bit of a show-off (laughs).

With summer coming up, do you have any gigs or tours planned?

I have a tour coming up, I’ll be playing in Brighton for the first time and then in Leeds for the second time, going all around. I’ll hopefully have a festival or two this summer, but it’s not announced yet – that will be really exciting.

Speaking of that, what does it feel like to you to play live?

I used to find it really nerve-racking, now I feel really happy and I’m going for it. Or I’m beating myself up because it’s not exactly how I wanted to do it. But it’s the satisfying conclusion of the process of making music for me. I made this song with performing it in mind and now I get to do that. Especially when people are dancing. It feels like: okay, this thing did as intended.

Listen to ‘Heaven’ here: