Baby Fuzz is the alter ego of Sterling Fox. In 2017, Fox was peaking as one of the more successful
songwriters in the pop music world, having written with the likes of Madonna, Max Martin, Lana
Del Rey, and others. Abruptly, and shortly after the Trump election, he quit collaborative
writing, moved to Canada, and disappeared from the music world completely. After being in Canada for a year Fox came back to the US as Baby Fuzz and referred to the project as audiovisual glam rock and normcore. Baby FuzZ unapologetically jumps all over the genre map, with songs ranging from folk ballads to punk anthems and everything in between. As diverse as the music is, the lyrics are a singular and hyper self-aware narrative with strong political and social undertones. Last year Baby FuzZ, released his debut album Plastic Paradise independently and embarked on a 100 date DIY tour around the US. His new album coming this fall Welcome To The Future was made in quarantine and is a wild concept album focusing on dystopian America, which will sure be one of his best projects to date. Be sure to check out more from Baby Fuzz, he is definitely an artist you don’t want to sleep on!
Stream the new single “We’re All Gonna Die!!”
http://https://soundcloud.com/babyfuzz/were-all-gonna-die-1/s-20jFRQmEAp6
We had the pleasure of getting to chat with Baby FuzZ about his new album Welcome To The Future dropping soon, what he’s been up to in quarantine, and a few more fun facts so check it out below!
Hey! Appreciate you taking the time to chat. For those who may not know who you are give us a little background on yourself
Hiya! My name is Brandon. I’ve been inhabiting the musical alter ego of Baby FuzZ for the last few years. Before that I was a songwriter and producer for other artists. I also run a little indie label called Blanket Fort on the side when I’m not being Baby FuzZ.
We’re in some weird times, how has quarantine been treating you? What are some things that have been keeping you sane?
Quarantine hasn’t been that bad for me. I was planning on being in the studio working on a new album most of the year anyways, so it didn’t really distract me from that. I think mentally it’s been hard on everyone with the isolation and what not, but I was kind of already acclimated to from years of being a studio rat. I’ve been playing a lot of video games and working on a lot of new music. That’s basically my year in a nutshell.
Welcome to the Future is set to release in the fall, what can we expect from the album?
It’s a two part double album. Part 1 is releasing later in the fall. It’s a tongue in cheek album about the end of the world. Maybe it’s like reverse futurism or something. Anyways, sonically it’s maybe a splash of My Chemical Romance with an Ezra Furman ice cube and a chaser of Elton John.
“We’re all Gonna Die !!” is a masterpiece that calls for a full on mosh pit, how did this song come to be?
I was driving on the road on tour in 2019 in my van. It was really late one night and the idea just popped into my head. I had the concept for a while and finally finished it during the quarantine in May because it felt super appropriate. It’s not meant to be disrespectful, just stating the fact that everyone dies. I thought putting that in a fun punk context would just allow people to bond over that in a non serious way. Even though everything is so serious and death is really bad, it happens to everyone, so I thought some levity would be nice.
How would you describe the new album in three words?
Not that bad
You’ve worked with countless artists like Lana Del Ray and Madonna, does the songwriting process differ from writing your own material? Or do you take the same approach?
It’s a different approach in that I can say anything I want. I’m limited with other artists. For Baby FuzZ in a new song, I have a verse from the point of view of an orca who is in AA for drinking too much oil. There’s another verse from a Karen and Kevin suburban bbq cookout where they try to decide which dvd to watch. Those kind of songwriting approaches don’t really work for other people haha. You’ll usually get an email from their mgmt or label that’s like ‘wtf is this?’
You dive into so many different genres within your music, where do you take your inspiration from? Is there one genre you favor over another?
I like glam rock a lot…like 70s era. Rock and roll glory days type stuff. I also like bands that are influenced by those types of artists as well. I like Lemon Twigs and Ezra Furman a lot at the moment. My own music is unfortunately more computer-y and self produced, but in my dreams I’m like fronting a rock and roll band Springsteen style and just punishing the crowd for 4 hours straight with badass rock songs.
Which song of yours are you most proud of?
“We’re All Gonna Die!!!” is actually a high point for me so far personally, because it’s funny and offensive and people still seem to like it. My personal favorite lyrically is “Weekend Blues”, which I dropped earlier in the year. Lots of fun wordplay on that.The project has slowly been diving into absurd comedy live, so it’s nice to see myself actually being able to pull it off with some recording. I think there are a few songs I’ve written I’m super proud of that aren’t out yet also. One is called “I’m Trying My Freakin’ Best” and the other is called “Roadkill”. Stay tuned for those.
Your music videos are wild and I’m here for it. The art direction on them is my favorite especially on Burial, which video was your favorite to make?
Thanks! Yeah I try to be involved in the videos and convey my aesthetic to the directors. Occasionally I’ll edit or shoot something myself. If I’m not actually in the video, I’ll try to be involved in either storyboarding it or editing or some other aspect so it still feels grounded in Baby FuzZ land. I collaborate a lot with the director Nesto, who made the video for “Burial”. The art direction in that video was kind of a team effort, but Jade Harris helped a lot and did the bulk of it. People have told me they think that video is like a subversive masterpiece, so I’m super proud of the way that thing came out. It still feels super relevant.
What music have you been jamming to lately? Favorite artists?
The new Lemon Twigs album is rad. I also love the new Sparks album. It’s cliche but Phoebe Bridgers Punisher has been a lyrical inspiration for me. Dorian Electra is also on all my playlists right now. Some other artists I’ve been jamming: Loyal Lobos, ABSRDST, Thundercat, King Princess, etc.
Lastly, once this whole quarantine is over, what is one thing you can’t wait to go out and do again? (Thanks again for your time!) TOUR! Can’t wait to get back out there and play shows. The live show is going to be insanely insane when I return.
Keep Up With Baby FuzZ!
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