Boy Untitled just dropped the video for new single, ‘Imposter‘, a collaboration with one of our favourite producers GESS. The track hits us like a total Depeche Mode x The Weeknd seductive, club-friendly emo-fest, with a melody that somehow transports us back to the cottagecore of Taylor Swift’s Folklore – all in the best possible way. As if any other way was even an option…

‘Imposter’ is the first track taken from the forthcoming longplay Zenith, which Boy Untitled tells us is ‘the beginning of a new sonic and visual aesthetic. This is the most vulnerable music I’ve ever made.’  We caught up with him to discuss the project further and find out how Boy Untitled is, ‘inspired by modern queerness and looking at where masculinity and femininity meet. Welcome to my TED talk….’

Hi Boy Untitled. Congratulations on Imposter. How are you feeling about the release of the single and this impending new era?
Thank you so much! I’m really excited. Getting to this moment (read: getting through this year) has been a challenge, to say the least. I’ve spent a lot of time wondering about my identity, especially as an artist, and what my output is ”supposed” to be. “Imposter” is the mood board for the coming project; the beginning of a new sonic and visual aesthetic that I’m going to explore more in early 2021. Altogether, this is the most vulnerable music I’ve ever made and I’m very ready to share that piece of myself with everyone.

The new single is about Imposter Syndrome. How does it rear its head for you?
Imposter Syndrome appears the most when I’m working on my music. I have been creating as Boy Untitled for a few years now, but when I sit down to write or when I’m writing with someone else, I still get that little voice in my head that says “you can’t do this.” My mind gets in the way a lot. I question my ability. I get fearful because creating today doesn’t look or feel the same as it did yesterday. When in reality, I intuitively know that creation is always different. If it (or I) were exactly the same from day to day, then I’d have nothing to say.

2020 has been the year that has allowed us to stay home and the temptation to stalk exes or present a fake version of ourselves to the world has been even greater. How do you deal with social media addiction? 
Honestly, my relationship with social media is a shit show. It feels like a “necessary evil” that I need to engage with in order to be seen and experienced as a musician. I’ve had to draw a lot of boundaries with it for sure because it’s so easy for me to fall into the spiral of comparing myself to others and seeking shallow validation from likes or horny dm’s. And the never-ending, constant turnover of content on these platforms really feeds my sense of inadequacy when I’m struggling to write or be in a creative flow. I log in to connect or get inspired and then immediately see all the things that I’m not doing quickly enough. I know now that this kind of negative energy is only as powerful as the amount of attention I give to it. I let myself delete the apps from time to time and go offline completely. The distance and time off is the best thing for recalibrating and realigning how I engage.

What is the future for social media and our multiple personalities? I attended a gig on IMVU last month and I am hoping that is not the future because it was not it! Have you got involved in IMVU? Which gigs have you been streaming during 2020 and how will performing work for you?
Tbh I had to google what IMVU is and I’m not interested at all lol. I think social will continue to splinter into 1) Ready Player One-style virtual reality like IMVU and 2) more authentic, less curated experiences. I think we’re already experiencing a backlash against the algorithm and being told what to watch versus organically discovering it. I think (hope) that that will drive us towards more authentic modes of communication. Clubhouse, from what I understand, is a step in that direction. But like most corporatist tools of oppression, algorithms feed a larger beast the governs our society by creating a false sense of competition in order to line the pockets of the 1% that vie for power. And we all know that that means the algorithm and virtual realities aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. Thanks for coming to my TED talk.
As for streaming events: Everything  I’ve attended – DJ sets and performances – have left me wanting. I’m more drawn to pre-tapped experiences – like the Rihanna Fenti Show – because it gives the artist the opportunity to present their full vision and really create a world that the viewer can tap into (without fear of shitty sound quality or bad internet service). I recently saw a pre-taped set by Tanerelle that I loved. It was so simple: She and her producer against a colorful backdrop. Clean and potent. Experiences like that and Color Studios are definitely the way I’ll be approaching my performances in 2021 (or until we can go live again).

What is the biggest difference between Boy Untitled and your day to day persona?
With “Imposter” and my upcoming releases, I’m experiencing more of a merging of Boy Untitled with Mark Tennyson rather than a difference. During the Boy Untitled EP era, I put this character “The Wanderer” on as a metaphor for emotional evolution. During that process, I was personally going through a hugely catalytic period of my life (getting married, losing my father). That character, however, created a separation between myself and the audience. With “Imposter” and “Zenith”, I’m exercising my ability to be as vulnerable and close-up as possible.

Your music seems to have become darker in 2020. Has this been exacerbated by the turbulent year that has been 2020? Have there been other factors?
2020 has definitely played a factor in the darker vibes that are coming through this project. This year has stripped so much away. I think it’s safe to say that it’s harder now than ever to ignore life and its troubles. Without the constant distractions of buzzing around social circles and doing whatever it is we used to do, we’ve had to live in varying states of survival. For me, this year has stripped away my sense of identity as an artist, it put my husband and I through the most tumultuous period in our relationship and it’s made me question who I am and what I am doing here in this world. The music reflects that.

Your upcoming album is called Zenith. Why did you choose that name?
“Zenith” means “the time at which something is most powerful.” I truly believe that we are at a cultural inflection point; that we are watching our current, collective worldview die as a new, shared vision emerges. This moment in time can be seen on a global scale, as well as, in our day-to-day interpersonal relationships. Everything is shifting. In that, I think that this moment of potency is ours to capture. If we as a society can collectively say, “yes, let’s change,” then we will. “Zenith” uses that idea as its foundation while the songs themselves talk about normal every day human shit – like struggling in my marriage or feeling like a total fake who’s just trying to be important. 

What sounds are you exploring on it? Who else have you worked with and how much is with GESS?
For this project, I am pulling inspiration from all over. 80’s inspired synth-wave, early 90s house, new age sounds from the late ’90s, early-00’s pop, and modern EDM. I’m also incredibly inspired by Afro-beat and South American dance music from the time I’ve spent exploring and working in Colombia over the last two years (go listen to “Skin – Cuchara and Chriz Samz Remix”!).
GESS actually helped write all of the Zenith-era music. I hosted a writing camp earlier this year with him, Rush Davis (My Executive Producer from Boy Untitled) and Andre Mohring  (my percussionist and 1/2 of Two Neighbors). We spent a week together diving into material and unpacking the emotional experience of this year. This project has definitely brought an entirely different sound out of me. To me, it feels rawer and closer to who I am as an individual and artist.

Tell me about the visuals for this new era. How did you choose the look?
The visuals! I am really excited and grateful to be working with Felipe Q Noguiera on this project. He and I met on Instagram and began a creative love affair with each other. Since then, I’ve brought him on to Art Direct “Zenith,” and have had such a fun time exploring this side of myself with him. Where Boy Untitled EP was more nature-driven and ethereal, Zenith is definitely dark, slick, and moody af. It’s inspired by modern queerness and looking at where masculinity and femininity meet. I’ve also been working with visual artist, Simon Malvaez, who is leading the branding and graphic design for the project. He’s also responsible for the collage-style art that I use on my Instagram. Together, the three of us are exploring the duality and cross-section of analog and digital realities that those in our generation grew up in.

Tell me about the prominent Boy Untitled sign? 
This was designed by my good friend, Simon Malvaez, who I first worked on the “Awakening” cover art earlier this year. We’ve been working together the last several months to come up with a new visual language for Zenith. “Imposter” features the first taste of that exploration. The split mask – which is both the cover art and the key set piece in the music video – represents the two versions of self that exist inside of the Imposter Syndrome feeling: 1) The person I present to the world and 2) The person that I actually want to be. How do those identities interact and/or conflict with one another? This is what GESS and I try to tackle in the music video.

I’m sure that filming the video during this time cannot have been easy. Was there anything serendipitous that came from shooting during the Covid-era?
During COVID, I was able to reset my relationship with social media and I learned how to use it in a way that supports my mission as an artist. Largely because of my relationship with Felipe, I was able to get inspired, pull references, and find the team that made this video happen. Inside the experience of 2020 lies so many seeds of inspiration. I believe that this moment in time is birthing a huge art movement. I’ve never been as connected to so many people who are ready and inspired to create. For the shoot itself, we prepared as you do during the pandemic: we kept the crew small, socially distanced, and wore masks on set. In a lot of ways, it made the experience more intimate. You really have to have trust in those you’re working so closely with. It adds a whole other layer of vulnerability to an already vulnerable process. I’m very grateful for everyone that came together for this.

Who were you channeling for this video?
Honestly, myself lol. Like I said before, my first project was very much about wearing a character. “Imposter” is meant to convey a raw emotion and I wanted to tap into my own fears, sadness, and anxiety. Throughout the video, I go back and forth between sexual-posturing and sad-boy vibes. It’s that dualistic nature of the syndrome that pulls me back and forth between arrogance and crippling self-doubt. Also, I haven’t explored my sexuality  – which is a big part of my identity – through my music yet. So, for me, this video was the ultimate exercise in making myself more vulnerable and being grounded in my own experience and truth.

Lastly we are named after the biggest selling single of 2001. What is your favourite Mariah Carey song?
My favorite Mariah moment is definitely “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home).” During my first Burning Man, I was biking around the Playa with two new friends (now, 6 years later, two of my best friends) with a speaker blasting music. Mostly reggae until suddenly my girlfriend put Christmas on and then people started following us around dancing and scream singing the seasonly inappropriate bop. By the end we had an entire chorus of nearly naked, crispy desert folx dancing and singing to Yuletide Mimi. It was one of the highlights of my trip and a formative memory in our relationship. For my birthday the following year, my two friends even recorded a cover of the song as a gift.

Boy Untitled x GESS – ‘Imposter’ out now.
The album Zenith – coming soon.
Boy Untitled – Instagram / Facebook / Website