It’s Baby’s world and we’re all living in it. That was the impression left on the dancefloor of Angrybaby’s debut Elsewhere headline show, which we were lucky enough to attend.
We’ve been following Angrybaby since the very beginning, and his journey in the dance music scene has been nothing short of electric – as was the vibe of the crowd that night. We’ve been to many shows at Elsewhere, but the dancefloor that night was one of the most vibrant. Of course he played his own classics: gorgeous emotionally charged stutter-house anthems like “Hold You” and uptempo melodic tracks like “Back To Life.” But he also sprinkled in some unexpected bass-heavy headbangers and garage hits. Regardless of the vibe switch up, he had the crowd enthralled the entire two-hour set.
View this post on Instagram
We caught up with him right before he hit the decks, where we had a quick chat about his journey, his bass music side quests, and what’s next. Enjoy!
TSIS: So I’m with Angrybaby! It has been a journey…I don’t know if you remember, but I gave you your first interview ever. And you were opening for Emmit Fenn on the Elsewhere rooftop. I think since then, correct me if I’m wrong, you have played festivals, released an album, (most importantly) quit your job, and now, you are headlining at the very venue that a year and a half ago, you opened for. Do you want to reflect on that?
Angrybaby: Oh, God. Honestly, I don’t think it’s hit me yet. Yeah, I think up until this point, I’m just kind of like, oh, we’re vibing with friends at Elsewhere and I don’t think it’ll hit me until I plug in my USB and I’m like, New York, how we feeling?…It feel feels very surreal, I guess.
TSIS: You were in Atlanta last night and before that, SF. How’s the tour been so far?
AB: It’s been great. Well, the first show got canceled because of the LA fires, but it got rescheduled in February [21st at the Roxy]. So I guess technically the first show of the tour was San Francisco, which sold out. Hometown show. We had like the full production, the flower towers. And then we did Seattle the next night, also sold out, which was crazy. Low key one of the most fun shows we’ve done, probably.
TSIS: What made it so fun, though?
AB: I think people were just like, into it. I don’t know, for lack of a better term.
TSIS: People were like, there for you.
AB: Yeah. Which always makes it fun. Which is still something I’m getting used to…Ryan, my manager always says, you gotta play your music because there are people that show up for your music.
TSIS: In that vein, what is an unexpected song that you’ve been throwing in your sets that gets like a really good reaction?
AB: Ooh, okay. As of recent, I’ve been kind of experimenting with bass music, dubstep. And I made this flip of “Pretty boy swag” at bass cannon…that always catches people off guard.
TSIS: So you played at Lost Lands, right? Was that what started your bass journey?
AB: Well, I feel like I got into electronic music through trap. Which is like, kind of bass adjacent…And so it’s nice to tap back into those I guess, like, early roots of my love for dance music. So it’s nice to experiment.
TSIS: Okay, so can you confirm or deny: Angrybaby is turning into a bass music DJ? Bass baby?
AB: Yeah, Bass baby. No, honestly, it’s a lot of fun to produce bass music. I have yet to, like, find my sound in it, but it’s just…something I’ve been experimenting with.
TSIS: Okay, so I’m excited to head bang tonight. Maybe. Okay, last question…What’s the big picture?
AB: That’s hard. Just have fun with it all and not be too stressed.