Q&A: Ella Boh Expands Her Universe with the Deluxe Edition of ‘BLURRY’
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY IVONA HOMICIANU ☆
Photo by Sophie Gallagher
BLURRY ASKS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU LOSE SIGHT OF WHO YOU ARE—With an all-consuming obsession surrounding another person, Ella Boh leans into the dark facets of her inner world. With cutting songwriting and expansive sound production, the project delivers a cinematic journey into her consciousness. It asks the question, “Who are you when you’re alone?”
Boh is a California-based artist who self-produces and self-writes all of her songs. Well-versed in dark pop since the beginning of her career, she previously released her EP milk & honey and introduced the world to her artistry. BLURRY reached over 12 million listeners and created a community that begs for more. Recently, she released a cover of “Careless Whisper” just for them. Coming off her festival debut, she’s embarking on a headline North American tour and a supporting European counterpart for Artemas.
BLURRY dances on the line between reality and horror. With opening track “SERiAL KiLLER,” she draws in the listener before trapping them into a captivating atmosphere that they can’t look away from. The obsessive core of the project continues with “iNSOMNiAC,” where the thought of a person is enough to keep away from sleeping. There is a haunting and eerie dimension which accompanies both the lyrics and sound and becomes apparent on “LLORONiTA.” Along with the vulnerable nature of the EP, there is co-dependence translating into a need for someone’s attention, as seen in “STARLET.”
The project delves into the intricacies of a relationship that takes over everything and the effect that has on the psyche. “BLOODY MARY” sees the destruction of the self to become someone’s obsession. This process is grueling and horrifying. It leads us into “BAD MEDiCiNE,” which explores the knowledge that a person's presence isn’t good, but still allows them the control. “BLURRY” wraps the project with a dissociative state. After everything that occurred, there’s confusion and separation from one’s own body. It leaves an open question and paves the way for further development in Boh’s artistic universe.
Luna spoke to Boh about her latest project and her upcoming plans. Read below for more.
Photo by Wiktoria Cebera
LUNA: What have you been up to lately?
BOH: I played Lollapalooza. It was my first festival so I had a lot of fun. I didn't know what to expect, but it was definitely an experience. It was raining. I really enjoyed it, and seeing all the fans there was cool. I did Lolla and I released my deluxe EP a week before that, so I'm on a wave right now.
LUNA: Congrats on the release of the deluxe edition of BLURRY! You have three new tracks on this one—why was it important for you to release these on this project?
BOH: The song “BLURRY” I have had for years. When I was wrapping up the first version of the EP, I felt like it needed another song at least. It was easy, I listened to my old demos and I was like, “Oh, obviously this song is ‘BLURRY.’” I brought it back, I dusted it off, and I put it on there. “BAD MEDICINE” and “BLURRY” are very similar to me because they're about very internal, “how do I exist” type things, and I feel like that's what BLURRY is. It's five different pieces of my personality. “BLURRY” and “BAD MEDICINE” specifically help tell that story. “PRETTY BABY”—the fans wanted that song, and I was like, “You can have it.” I love this song, so I wanted to get that out as soon as I could for them.
LUNA: Going back to when you first had the idea for this project, was it the concept of the project that came first, or was it the songs?
BOH: I don't know where to write from all the time. I feel like sometimes I want to write from this perspective and sometimes this perspective. I have a bunch of different versions of me in my head that I want to write from, so I feel like the songs wrote themselves and then I was like, “Well, these obviously belong together.” I didn't know what was going to happen. I had two options. I either could hold some of them and [release] one, and then do a bunch of different songs that are from the same perspective, or I can put them all out, and then focus on them in the future and bring them back.
LUNA: There's an element of obsession that comes through in the songs. Would you say that's something that’s part of your personality, or is it more fictionalized?
BOH: It's definitely part of my personality. “SERiAL KiLLER” is definitely very obsessive. The part of my psyche that is very jealous and obsessive and unhinged. They're all unhinged in their own way, but the obsession is definitely there in all of them. That must be a fundamental part of my personality.
LUNA: If you could create a visual around BLURRY, how would you describe it? How do you picture it?
BOH: This is such a stupid answer and so unserious, but in my head, it's like the Spider-Man meme where he's like pointing at himself. I feel like it's like that, but with five of me.
LUNA: The EP ends with the title track, “BLURRY.” How would you describe this track?
BOH: I wrote “BLURRY” when I was so manic. I did not feel like I was in my body at all. I think that's why it fits so perfectly on the EP. The EP is—and I want to explore the story more in the future—but it’s very much five different parts of me. It's split and fucked up, and I don't really know where I am, but I'm somewhere in between all of these.
“BLURRY” for me is the easiest. It is exactly that feeling where I'm slipping out my body and I'm not even here. It's very dissociative. All the other songs are very obsessive, then “BLURRY” is like, "Well, I'm not coming up until you come back. I don't know what to do with myself.” It's all over, where am I? Who am I? What's going on? The end is, “I don’t know what’s going on and I’m scared.”
LUNA: You produce your own songs as well. Is there an instrument, a sound or a vibe that you usually go for, or that speaks to you?
BOH: When I'm starting a song by myself, I always start with bass. It opens up a lot more possibilities melodically because sometimes, if I start with full chords instead of bass notes, it blocks me in and I end up doing less weird melodies because I'll have less notes to choose from. When I'm by myself, I play with the synth bass until lightning strikes me out of the sky and then I keep going.
LUNA: Is there a song that was more difficult for you to either write, finish or release?
BOH: Writing wise, the one that we had to do twice was “iNSOMNiAC.” I work all the time with my friend Stint. We did “SERiAL KiLLER” and “STARLET.” I wrote “LLORONiTA” in the middle of the night. Like I said, I'm an insomniac, so I woke up in the night and I wrote it all down. I had that in my notes already and I had the production in my head. “BLOODY MARY” was the same. It was very fun and easy.
“iNSOMNiAC” was the one where I had all the lyrics and the general idea of the production, but executing it…The first time that we tried to make “iNSOMNiAC,” it was completely not right. So we took the same lyrics and made a new track. We brought in a different writer so we had a third perspective and we weren't just going into psychosis alone trying to do it again. Then we finally got it. That was the hardest one on the EP.
LUNA: “iNSOMNiAC” really resonated with me. You wouldn't tell it was a struggle because the finished result is incredible.
BOH: I truly believe that songs just exist and you have to unlock them like a puzzle. I do feel like that song already existed. I just had to figure out what it sounded like.
LUNA: What are you excited to do next? Is there anything on your bucket list?
BOH: I'm really excited for my headline tour that's coming up next month. It's the first time that I’m going on a headline tour. I've opened for people and it's been really amazing, but I'm excited to be able to dive in and see what makes this show different from when I open. Seeing all the fans again and having more freedom to put on a show. It's funny because I've been so shocked by the fact that these shows are selling out. That in itself is a bucket list thing. I remember years ago I was like, “I could never sell 30 tickets.” It's a small tour, but you have to remember to celebrate the little things. So that's what I'm excited about.
