Wiktor Fejkiel: You recently had the pleasure of playing as a support act before two Polish performances of Baba Lasagna. What are your impressions after such big concerts day after day?
cherry blossom: – I guess that’s normal, but we were a bit nervous before, because we hadn’t played in front of such a large audience before, and the clubs were really packed. But when we got there, it was great. After the concerts, there was a long queue to my table with merch. People came up and said how they liked it, so positive impressions.
Do you think the music you make has found a place somewhere among Baba Lasagna’s audience?
– I think so. It’s also interesting that after the concerts I noticed more activity on my social media. As I said, after the concert a lot of people came up and said they liked it. Also from our observation from the stage it turned out that people were really having a good time.
Were you familiar with Baba Lasagna’s Eurovision performance and his work in general beforehand?
– Honestly, I first heard about him when a booking agent contacted me with a proposal to support him. However, sitting at that table with merch, I had the opportunity to watch what was happening on stage during the headliner’s performance and it looked really impressive.
On July 26, your single “grandma sold herself for photovoltaic proposals” premiered. What kind of reception have you had since then?
– Really good and I won’t hide the fact that I was surprised. This song is quite fast and loud, and sometimes even dirty. I thought it would reach a narrow group of recipients, but I was wrong. I have already learned that I am not able to predict whether a given song will go well or not. For example “I feel like I’m in Orange County” – I released it thinking it would be played on radios and do well on streaming, but it turned out completely different. On the other hand, “warm floor in the bathroom at 2 am” it was exactly the opposite, I did it more for myself than for the audience, and it turned out to be very popular. But back to “grandma”, I didn’t expect it to go so well.
On 13.09 your fifth single this year, “Puppy”, will also premiere, contrasting quite strongly with the previous songs. Are we getting closer to your second album?
– There are quite a few songs already. I have an average of more than one song released per month since the first song was released, which is really crazy. Each one is a kind of preview of the album and brings us closer to it. I can add that the album is in the preparation phase. At the moment, three songs are being created simultaneously, so we are really working hard in the studio. When will it be released? I think a few months.
Is “puppy” a special song for you?
– This is a very new song for me. Lyrically, all my songs are rather dramatic, and this is the first one that is really filled with just such joy and hope for life. And it had to happen eventually, because I am simply much happier than when I started writing music. All this shows that my life is shaping up the way that little Nicholas always dreamed of. So it had to be reflected in the music. And this is what the song was created from. Really, from the desire to express these positive emotions for the first time in such a blunt way.
Isn’t the title “puppy” too short for you?
– I imagined the tracklist on the back of the album and thought it would look funny if all the songs had such long titles. I would still like to stand out with them, but sometimes there has to be a simpler one, like “puppy”. And since the song itself is also so simple, I thought it would be nice to break this rule. Especially the chorus, which is so singable. The whole song is about things that are important to me, about staying myself and not changing unnecessarily. I think the title is also very appropriate for the song, because it is terribly puppy-like.
Returning for a moment to the previous songs, where did you get the courage to sing so boldly about problems?
– I’ve been attending therapy for a few years now, which taught me that I shouldn’t be ashamed of what I feel. So for a long time now, it hasn’t been a problem for me to talk about depression or my therapy. When I finally got rid of that shame and got rid of that fear of talking about it, I realized that it can be really important for someone to hear that someone else is struggling with similar problems. I’d like to help, to make others feel less alone. That’s where my openness to singing about how things can be hard and bad comes from.
Writing as a form of self-therapy?
– There are few things in the world that cleanse me as much as writing. If something bad happens, if I’m in a bad mood and I sit down and write this song, I’ll look at it, read it and be proud. It makes me feel a lot better. I definitely go to sleep calmer then
Do you feel that in your work there is a bit of a conflict between the cheerful music and the dark lyrics?
– I often hear this question, whether it’s intentional. It’s absolutely natural for me, because I’ve listened to this kind of music since I was a child. I’ve always liked the fact that you can throw out all the worst, ugliest things, but laughing and jumping in a pogo stick at a concert.
Coming back to concerts… do you think the music you create is made to be played live?
– I believe so. I try to make my concerts dynamic, and jumping on stage is one of my favorite things. In fact, my whole band and I want to convey as much of this lively energy as we can. It seems to me that any lively music, with the right commitment of the performer, benefits from live performances, so I hope that’s the case with me.
Where do you get your inspiration to create? Some people compare you to Machine Gun Kelly, I would add Chivas.
– Comparisons to MGK have haunted me since the beginning of my career. If someone wants to insult me on the internet, this is the first thing they write in the comments (laughs). How does it look for me? All of these are waves of pop-punk from 2000-2010-2020. My favorite emo band right now is Hot Mulligan, who took over after years of The Front Bottoms and The Story So Far, so they are definitely a big inspiration for me. But I think that pop-punk emo bands are my source of inspiration in general.
Finally, what would be your dream feat from Polish artists?
– I dreamt of Young Leosie for some reason. I think it’s just because it’s so absurd, plus she has such a lovely voice. I don’t know, but I’ve been manifesting it for a long time (laughter). Besides, I think that maybe Chivas would be someone really interesting, with whom I could create a sensible song. However, as I say, I never thought about it in any particular way, because in my head, in place of the dream feat, there had been Młoda Leokadia for a long time.