Flowerbabe released his track 'The Moon' on November 22. Robby Spence, who plays guitar, bass, keys, and records all the vocals, is responsible for the project. Robby is from a suburb of Chicago and has lived there his whole life. Flowerbabe's main musical influences are Mac DeMarco, Clairo, Gus Dapperton, Enjoy, The Cure, Led Zeppelin, and The Rolling Stones. 'The Moon' was recorded entirely in Flowerbabe's bedroom and no one was involved in its production other than he. This is his first release using his newly acquired dream gear - the Roland Juno 106 and the Yamaha DX7. Both are synths from the 1980's.
By Kamil Bobin
Discovered via Musosoup
Kamil) Hey Flowerbabe, super nice to have the chance to chat with you. What have you been up to over the past year in this big old mess?
Hi Kamil! Thanks for giving me the opportunity to chat a little bit! - Truthfully, I've mostly been doing the same things I was doing before it all started: working, hanging out with friends, and making music of course. The pandemic gave us all a chance to slow down for a moment and think a little more internally about our lives. Personally, my reflection lead me to mindfulness meditations and a (beginner) experience with yoga. It's been a while of trying to get my mental and physical health in check a bit more.
Describe your favorite and least favorite part about being a musician.
Ahhh, that's such a tough question to be honest. I'd have to say that my favorite part of being a musician is the chance to just ~create~. I can hear a cool sound, feel an emotion, or have a cool experience and run away with an idea from it. It's really cool being able to make a song that has never been in the world before. After all, I think that's all art is in its simplistic form; to create something new. On to my least favorite part of being a musician....I'd have to say that it's just waiting around for exposure to start picking up. Not to say that I don't do any type of promotion, because I do, but it's still a matter of whether or not it'll get the ball rolling. I've honestly spent a lot of time looking at my song stats eagerly waiting for them to grow.
Your latest song is 'The Moon'. Can you share with us the background of its creation and did any unusual things happen during its creation?
The moon! I absolutely adore this song!! So, I record and produce all of my music on my own, with a very small budget. I've been using digital synthesizer emulators for a few years now, and on all of my previous releases, but I've been endlessly longing to get a real piece of 80's gear in my hands. Within the month of October, I actually managed to snag a Yamaha DX7 AND a Roland Juno 106 for a great deal on Facebook Marketplace, both of which are absolutely iconic synthesizers from the 80s and the two that I've been dreaming of owning for years. 'The moon' features BOTH of the synths and it just felt like a very, very congratulatory moment within my music and my heart! This song is definitely about my vast love and connection for the moon and cosmos but there's also ties to an ex-lover of mine that meant a lot.
Where do you get inspiration for the very original photos you post on your social media?
Haha~! I have a huge hate/love relationship with social media. I love to connect with friends, family, and fans on there but I really don't like conforming to a standard of social media beauty. I post whatever I feel like posting and quite honestly, I love to post pictures that are probably the ugliest thing that people see while scrolling through their feeds.
Where are you from and do you have a stable home or do you prefer travelling?
I'm from Chicago! It's definitely my stable home but for the past few years I've been traveling to Arizona for a bit during the winter to escape the cold and visit family. I'm actually in Arizona right now and I'm loving every second of it!
You have a lot of songs on your account. Which one are you most satisfied with?
Honestly I'm actually the most satisfied with my newest release containing two songs; 'the moon' and 'and the stars'. I usually spend a long time trying to perfect my songs, which is actually very soul-sucking for me. These two songs are very imperfect and quite sloppy from a production standpoint but it's exactly why I love them. They're catchier than a few of my other releases, as well as containing more emotion and imperfections.
Can you write what was your best performance in your career? How do you remember it?
I actually haven't really performed much. I've been practicing and gearing up to do so but at this moment in time I am quite literally a Bedroom artist haha.
If you could go open a show for any artist who would it be?
I would LOVE to open for Her's. They're one of my favorite bands of all time and it's truly a tragedy what happened to them. Tears my heart apart.
Who's your ideal musician to collaborate with and why?
I would love love love to eventually make a song with Mac DeMarco - He's one of my other big influences. Simply put, he is like the Godfather to the iconic sound of this era of bedroom pop and indie with detuned synthesizers and chill drum loops.
What are your plans for next year? Do you have any productions ready to be released?
I absolutely 100% definitely will continue to work on more music, BUT I also just graduated with my Associates degree so I'll be looking for my next step with that. I'd really like to continue to my education and get my undergrad. As for music, fingers crossed that a few of songs get a little more traction so that I can begin to play shows! It's a dream of mine to tour the country! I have a new song that's almost ready to be released but I think I'm going to wait on it for a bit. I'd like to make a bigger release (5-7) songs) whenever I publish more music.