We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Boy Deluxe a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Boy Deluxe, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

I love being an artist. I write songs, play shows, make music videos and do it all all with my favorite people. I think self expression is one of the most important things in this life. We’re here for only a moment in history…. so why not live fully and share it with others?

But do I sometimes wish I would have been satiated by going to school, getting a good job and settling down? Absolutely. The status quo is appealing because there’s no risk to it. It’s plotted out because it’s a system that works so you don’t have to think about it.

It’s a fantasy for me. Similar to imagining what it would be like to have a different partner or to move to a farm in the middle of nowhere and have a million dogs. It’s not something that would actually fix everything, but it’s fun to think about.

Maybe once a month I say to myself “I could just not… I could just leave and live in the woods.”
I haven’t yet. Probably won’t anytime soon. But it rolls around in my head.

Being an artist can be hard. Not just because of the non linear path it takes, but usually because of all the other shit that comes with it. Like our brains. You just experience things differently and it can be really isolating. Overwhelming. We’re all delusional, get over stimulated, obsessive about our craft, selfish with our time, and need a lot of space. I even need space from me. Like damn, I’m a vibe even to myself.

In the end though, this is the path I choose and I’m so excited to be on it. I like thinking about another life, but for now I love where I am.

Boy Deluxe, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Hi I’m Hope and I’m the singer and one of the songwriters for Boy Deluxe. My producer is True and we write all of our songs together. We make dark electronic music and always seem to have an edge.

I unintentionally started writing music with True 30 thousand years ago. Nobody was trying to start a band, but here we are. It was a pretty wild time in my life, to be honest. Everything felt so familiar when we started writing songs together, but all of it was so new. It was super intense.

There have been many iterations of this project over the years, but I’m the most excited about what we’re making right now. It feels like all the lessons we’ve learned from everything before this is all coming together into a sound that we really love. It has the intensity and high energy of our earlier songs, but with polished elements and quite frankly better song writing.

Being genuine is one of our top priorities. That doesn’t necessarily mean serious. But authenticity is a must in all that we do. I love it when people are themselves. It makes me feel like I can really be myself. I hope to bring that with the music we make and that folks feel like they can let their true selves come through.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

Sometimes I think people don’t understand that this isn’t exactly a choice for us. This is just how we came out. I would love more than anyone else to not be neurotic and slightly mentally ill, but that’s how the cookie crumbled and if I don’t create I turn into a way less fun version of myself.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The people I’ve met, the unique experiences I’ve had, watching things I create resonate with the world and the ability to transmute ugly feelings into something good. It’s messy and fun and all of my friends are slightly insane. I love the color it brings to my life.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/boydeluxe_
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@boydeluxe2056

Image Credits

V Robitaille, Boy Deluxe, Arden Fischer