Sound and Sonics: debbiesthuglife

Jellyfish isn’t one for the faint hearted. Be prepared to move, jump, dance, anything but sitting still is prohibited in debbiesthuglife’s new EP. 

This is Debbie's reawakening. She is ripping away her self-doubt and springing into action. Jellyfish is pulsating and vigorous with moments of calm and ultimately triumph. It represents a release of energy, a musical melting pot of personality carefully collated into a modern masterpiece. 

As you move through the EP, it becomes a reference to how a jellyfish operates, floating in the water harmlessly, before issuing multiple attacks, but as the listener, you survive and ultimately, you are hypnotised into kinetic poise. The music narrates your success, but you become immersed in your own chaotic life story. 

Debbie has produced something enigmatic and true to her very being. The shackles have been unlocked and we are given a playful, yet unpredictable project.

Track 1: FLOAT

How does this track set the tone for this experimental journey? 

Well, even beginning with the producer tag, which is Denzel Curry, it shows how I have been influenced by a bunch of things, how my mind is a melting pot for all types of music and and so I feel I record that in the intro, because obviously you've got a proper producer tag that's usually only meant for producers of rap. But then it goes into this electronic type beat, and it just shows how I have put things from all over my world into the music to show people this is what’s going on in my mind.

Track 2: MEDUSA PHASE

You use so many different elements such as a soundbite from ‘The Simpsons’ into this track. How do you decide what elements to draw in like this one and how do you know they are going to work within the piece? 

Well, this is the thing. I didn't know it was gonna work. I have that Simpsons video saved in my YouTube likes and it's one of my favourite videos. It's seven seconds long, and it's from the episode where they build the Casino. I loved that scene, and I just thought, how can I put this into my music? Especially because I love The Simpsons, I'm trying to immerse people into my world and what goes on in my head. The song already is chaotic enough with the vocals, and I thought, How do I make this even more chaotic? And I was like, let's throw Homer screaming in there and see what happens.

I also don't take myself too seriously. I'm a jokester all the time. And I've seen recently that people tell me that, oh, my Instagram is so serious, apart from my Driving With Debbie stuff. And I'm just like, guys, I'm not a serious candidate, don't ever take me seriously. Everything I do is just for the sake of doing stuff. There's no actual meaning to what I do sometimes. Also, no one has fun anymore! Why don't we put stuff that's funny in music anymore?

Track 3: JELLYFISH

This track makes you want to move. What is the importance of making music which frees the listener? 

I honestly love to dance. In a past life, I wanted to be a dancer. I really needed to take dancing seriously, but it just wasn't meant for me. Clearly, music was meant for me. But I've always been in love with moving and dancing. I realised people don't keep dancing unless they move for something they know, and then they stop dancing again. With electronic music, people are just constant. And I was like, this is where I need to be because I always want to dance.

I never want to stop, it takes a lot. I don't go out a lot, but if I do go OUT out; it's always 100%. I never want to be bored. I need people to not get bored. So with ‘Jellyfish’, I drew inspiration from Rosalia, because she has a little jazz breaks, and I just thought, I want to do something that's weird like that to get people always moving. I need people to keep dancing. And this one, honestly, it just makes you want to dance like a sl*t.

Track 4: U FOUND CHRIST 

What conversation is being had here and what is the meaning behind it? 

I wanted to have something which created a break from the madness. I wanted to include the people in my life who have made a difference. And the “you found christ” just sprung up in the conversation about the EP and I thought that was quite inspirational and hooked me. 

Track 5: STINGER

As these are quite different from your previous projects, are we seeing a new identity as an artist being born? 

I wouldn’t say there’s a new identity, it’s more so just me coming into myself on the track and talking my shit and really embodying the ‘thug’ persona. I got the name ‘debbiesthuglife’ bcos i kept writing ‘thug life’ across my fingers in school and did it so often that my teachers started calling me thug life and it's just stuck. then some of my friends would playfully call me a thug and i’ve decided to lean into it on the track

Track 6: SONAR

As the first single off the EP, how important was it to immerse the audience in the project’s storyline? 

For Sonar, I really wanted to show people what to expect in the EP sonically but also add a bit of my personality in there which is why I sample one of my favourite films of all time, as well as a voice note from an interview I did in my past life as a journalist. I feel like the bass is truly reminiscent of being underwater and ties in with the Jellyfish theme and so it felt right for it to be the first single

Track 7: SCARY SQUISHY BRAINLESS

Your sound selection is very specific. How much time goes into attributing this? 

A: Scary Squishy Brainless was actually for a previous EP I was working on that I scrapped so this specific track has been floating in my hard drive for almost 9 months now. It’s kind of a chaotic process regarding time. I select a bunch of sounds I love which could take me from 10 mins to 2 hours and even they may not even mesh together but then start to play around with the composition and make executive decisions to reach a point where okay, this is getting there. 

Track 8: BOUNCY 

There are Brazilian, carnivalistic tones dotted throughout, were you inspired by certain south american elements? 

Very much so, everyone and their mum was in Brazil earlier this year, and I clearly missed the memo, so I wanted to create something that made me feel like I was there. Also, I play a lot of Brazilian music in my sets so it just made sense. i would say a key influence in this song was definitely The Weeknd’s Sao Paulo, the beat hit me in my chest, and i wanted to make something that feels similar

Track 9: UR SO SWEET

Does this interlude feel like a triumphant victory celebrating your brilliance? 

For sure, Ur So Sweet are things I just needed to hear from people, because although I may seem incredibly confident, some days I truly doubt what I'm doing, only because as a black woman producing electronic music, the doors aren’t exactly swinging open for me. But with the people I have around me, they constantly remind me that the sky's the limit and the only person stopping me would be myself. 

Track 10: YOU CAN’T DROWN ME

You feel like a narrator throughout, what is the final message you are sending here? 

I think it's just a great finale to show that I'm here to stay and although i've been through a lot and it's been a rollercoaster to get here, I’m standing in my greatness and talent and showing that you can't get rid of me and God didn't give me this talent for no reason.

Listen here