TIW: Why is your band named babychair?
babychair: A babychair is a tool that almost all babies have used in the past during their growth. We feel like babies are able to imagine without rules or even structures, and that's how we would like to approach our music too!
TIW: Growing up, what kind of music have you listened to? Are there any specific genres you like?
babychair: We have known each other for a long time and we believe that every one of us had slightly different influences when we were younger. But, currently, we're venturing into vast genres, as we would like to listen to alot of different music, even getting inspiration from genres that we don't really do. Dream pop, psychedelic pop, soul, R&B, etc. are what we really enjoy listening to!
TIW: Did you always want to become a singer/songwriter/band?
babychair: Coming from a different background, Young and Aaron actually started their path on music production, while Sean is an all time artist/singer songwriter himself.
The idea of forming babychair sparkled when we were in a casual meeting, and we realised we shared a lot of similarities when it comes to music that we wanna make/experiment.
TIW: You are all from different backgrounds, could I ask a little more about that? Before the music industry, what did Young and Aaron do?
babychair: Aaron is actually a graduate from the audio school, and he started his music career rather early, compared to the other two of us. In early days, Aaron was an engineer in a well known studio in Klang Valley, and he definitely picked up a lot from where he came from. As for Young, he learnt his piano since he was 4 years old, but gradually extended his love of classical music to a variety of different genres when he grew up. Before actually entering the music industry, Young actually performed as a keyboardist, and also vocalist, in various scenes. Then slowly, he turned his focus into music production and continued until now.
TIW: Your songs have a mellow taste that makes us feel nostalgic. Where do you get your inspirations from?
babychair: Thank you! We share our love towards vintage and retro sounding synths, song structures, and, most importantly, the classic vibes! We would like to think that our parents are the one who exposed us to these classic sounds and music, and that makes us really inspired to explore how we would infuse these elements into our music.
TIW: When you write a new song, which comes first, lyrics or melody?
babychair: We actually would prefer to come up with a general direction first, usually starting with making the track. We like having our tracks project a specific kind of mood, story, or vibe. Then it helps when we proceed to the melody writing.Then, lastly, the lyrics!
TIW: Are these inspirations from your own experiences? Or do you imagine/create a certain world for a song?
babychair: Yes, some of them are inspirations from our own experiences, like the song titled "Oh Darling." The song is actually about expressing the emotions of accepting one's fate when you had to leave your loved ones behind. At the same time, we also believe that our vivid imaginations not only help us to develop our songwriting, but also to be able to feel emotions easily.
Sean, vocalist
Image courtesy of babychair
Sean, vocalist
Image courtesy of babychair
TIW: How long does it take to write one song?
babychair: Usually it takes us a week or two to have the melody and lyrics written on the track. Then, we would get into the recording session to figure out whether to fine tune any of the melodies or lyrics. We definitely enjoy trying out different ideas during the sessions!
TIW: What do you think is the most important thing/part of creating your own music?
babychair: We think that the most important thing in creating music is to enjoy the whole process of it, from zero till completion. We really like it especially when we discuss each others' ideas and try to make something out of them. Other than that, we think that exploring different sounds is really an interesting trip that we wouldn't get tired of!
TIW: If possible, could you tell us a little bit about your current project? Have you been working on new music?
babychair: We're currently working on a few collaborations with different artists/bands from other countries! It will be released soon in the 2nd half of this year, and we are really looking forward to it!
TIW: If you could work with any artists in the world, who would you want to collaborate with? And why?
babychair: There're so many artists/bands that we would really like to collaborate with - Khruangbin, The Marías, Still Woozy, BENEE, Clairo, Benny Sings, etc. We really enjoy their approach to their crafts, and we would like to have the opportunities one day to create music together with artists/bands like them.
TIW: What would you want to achieve in the next few years?
babychair: We're really looking forward to performing in different shows around the world, conceptual live sessions, collaborations with artists/bands that we love, trying out different perspectives in creating our music, and so on!
TIW: Considering your own style of creating music, how do you describe yourselves as a band?
babychair: We love to explore sounds that revolve around elements that sound dreamy, psychedelia, and retro. With our different backgrounds and inspirations, we aim to create music that soothes you and ourselves. Always think freely and imagine the unimaginable.
TIW: Can you say something for your fans?
babychair: Thank you to everyone that supports and shares your love towards our music through these difficult times. We will be releasing some new content real soon, and we hope our music keeps you company. And may all of us drift into the sea of inspirations!
Editor’s Note: At The Int’l Whisperer, we do our best to maintain the original integrity of our content. Interviews are edited for clarity only. While many of our subjects are interviewed outside of their native language or use their own local variant of a particular language, we recognize this as authenticity and refrain from “standardizing” their original expressions, syntax, or spelling.