The hyperpop duo indigo forever featuring the likes of Wxmell (Maxwell) and wsteaway (Tea) recently released their eponymous first album in October, a genre-bending emotional journey exploring the trials and tribulations of love and change. The band reveals their motivations, methods, and meticulous plans for the future in this written interview.
How’d you get into music?
Wxmell: Well, if we’re looking far back – I took Taiko classes (a Japanese bass drum) in elementary school , which I suppose was my first introduction to drums and rhythm. I attribute the foundation of my musical taste now, to my older brother – who was always blaring early 2000’s dance music from his room. (think Cascada or Alice deejay era dance music.) Before the EDM explosion of the 2010’s, rave culture had this dangerous & mythic aura surrounding it that my 10-12 year old self could only fantasize about. Think shuffling, scene haircuts, rainbow LEDS, everything.
wsteaway: Music has always been a pretty major factor in my life! I first grew up exposed to music through my parent’s listening, and in elementary school I started to learn how to play the violin. Throughout all of middle and high school I played viola in my school’s orchestra, honor orchestras, and was a part of my local youth symphony in high school. I’ve always been fond of writing poems or journaling, and with time that evolved into full-on songwriting. In 2020 I picked up bass playing as a hobby, as I’d already known how to play guitar from teaching myself throughout high school, and wanted to expand my musical horizons a bit. Around this time I also started dipping my toes into the music production world, and had a few friends back home who I’d work on music with. One of these sessions made me realize that I’m actually capable of writing a song if I wanted, and since then I’ve been taking more time to focus on making music of my own.
Who were some of your major inspirations?
wsteaway: A few of my lifelong inspirations are Teen Suicide, Death Cab For Cutie / The Postal Service (shoutout Ben Gibbard), and Daft Punk. Each of these artists/bands have musical projects that have altered the way I consume and appreciate music. Teen Suicide’s Sam Ray is a huge inspiration to me because of his talents under so many different artist aliases. Ben Gibbard’s carnal songwriting and interesting melodies always strike my soul. Daft Punk’s Discovery is one of my favorite albums of all time, and the concept for Interstella 5555 was SO interesting to me as a kid, and a piece of media I’m incredibly inspired by today. More recently, Ecco2k’s music and presence as an artist have been very inspiring to me. E is such a special album, and the way Ecco2k presents himself authentically is very inspirational. FKA Twigs’ music and image inspire me in a similar way. In high school, I loved her earlier projects; her music videos and music were just really weird compared to some of the other stuff I was consuming. That authenticity and artistic approach to her music is very inspiring.
Wxmell: Naturally, watching videos on Youtube of deadmau5 and Skrillex led me to my dream of one day becoming a “superstar DJ.” In middle school I used to burn Deadmau5 songs onto CD’s and take them to Best Buy to fake dj on the display turntables. I even made a deadmau5 head one halloween! Then, on Christmas my mom bought me some cheap numark CDJ’s, where I could finally teach myself how to DJ. I definitely had NO IDEA what I was doing, but I’d close my eyes, and put my hands up and imagine a crowd. That was enough to fulfill my childhood fantasies of being up on a stage.
What has gone into this album? Tell me about the process behind building it.
Wxmell: Many studio sessions at pirate studios. Plenty of silly vocal stimming, sandwiches, late nights and hanging with your bestie. Zoom calls about which artist to commission, 7 bazillion hours mixing, 14,000 hours choosing a kick drum, and 2 years of fine tuning songs. One of the tracks, Bloodsxcker, had over 50 different versions in the span of 2 years.
More examples of hard work include: keeping ourselves sane, programming LED’s for our live show, scheduling and recording tiktoks, and just deciding when this album was done. I recall many times where I would send Tea a revised version of one of the songs and they would say, “ I literally can’t tell the difference.” I went a little crazy, and even damaged my left ear for a bit. It’s all a labor of love, but I definitely have obsessive perfectionist tendencies that I struggle with. My girlfriend calls it “being a Virgo.” I call it “making awesome art.” Whatever! It was all worth it because the project is extremely meaningful to us and for it to have resonated with people is an incredible feeling.
wsteaway: Two whole years have gone into this album. A LOT of money to Pirate studios. Tons of Trader Joe’s salads and wraps and Kombucha have fueled it. I have three different journals that I’ve gone through in the process of writing and refining the album because I prefer to write with a pen on paper. Not all of the writing in them is specifically for the album, of course, but it’s been funny to try and find lyrics for a song and realizing it’s from a journal from two years ago. A countless amount of memes and inside jokes have been shared and created in the process of making this album. Lots of songs that will probably never be released (pour one out for the boys, rip). A whole lot of myself has also gone into this album, and it’s been wild to look back at my growth as both a person and artist with the development of indigo forever.
Can you explain the narrative aspect of you album and that component of your band? How does it contribute to your artistry and how did your characters come about?
wsteaway: In regards to the themes of the album, as a whole, indigo forever is very much about relationships. I think it’s funny actually, because the album sort of just came together over time, rather than us sitting down and being like, “Okay, we need one song that does this and one song that does that, and everything will be cohesive because we planned it to be that way.” I naturally write about my own personal experiences and feelings because it’s the easiest way for me to actually understand them, even if I don’t realize exactly what I’m writing about when I first come up with my lyrics. With indigo forever, a lot of the themes are about different types of love: love for myself, for the friends around me, to and from my parents, and the lack of it or misunderstanding of what it’s supposed to be as a whole. My songwriting is very personal, as it’s my way of reflecting and connecting with how I’m actually feeling.
When it comes to our characters, Gen and iRi, they’re mostly inspired by Max and I’s appreciation for animation and digital media. We took the time to create mood boards to map out how we wanted our characters to look, which was easy as they’re like extensions of ourselves. When we got the first draft of the characters from @bubbltek, I remember losing my mind and being so stoked about them. They’re a really fun way for fans to visually connect with our project, and I’m excited to see how they evolve with our project.
How’d this band start?
Wxmell: Tea did a write-up for one of my tracks, “e-boy” with Jagro, Sebii, Belis & Bby Goyard. I followed them on instagram, saw they had a similar appreciation for the music and art I liked, so naturally I DM’d them to work. We also had a few mutuals so it didn’t feel completely out of the blue. When I work with people, I look for a few things. A deep passion for music, similar taste in art (do they like Bladee?), and a good sense of humor. Tea fit all of these qualities, and every studio session felt less like work and more like two kids playing with paint.
How did the indigo forever aesthetic come about?
Wxmell: I think me and Tea both have a deep love for animation.I think seeing Yameii Online live, being fans of Hatsune Miku, and the idea of having fictional characters be extensions of us was really cool. We created a vision board of what our characters Gen & iRi should look & act like. We sent the ideas to @bubbltek, and he created them perfectly. I remember seeing the characters for the first time and being beyond stunned.
wsteaway: Max hit it right on the head. I’ve always been fond of animation, preferring it over live-action media as a kid. We both have this appreciation for it, as well as fantasy-like worlds and environments (for example, we’re both fans of “Skyrim” haha). When it comes to the visual aesthetic/presence we have online, we’re really just doing shit that we think looks cool. I love having the freedom to put on whatever outfits I like for our TikToks and shoots, and this personal style from the both of us is super reflective in our characters, Gen and iRi.
How would you describe indigo forever’s unique sound?
wsteaway: It makes sense that our music sounds the way it does because of how we approach making it. When I make my own stuff, it’s very instrument-forward: I’m playing guitar, bass, viola, and whatever other instruments I’ve managed to get my hands on because I don’t really know how to make a song on a computer like Max does. So we’re just blending our approaches to music making in a fun and collaborative way. We put our own personal tastes into it, and these tastes have some overlap as well, which is what makes it work, I think. I love the idea of mixing genres and blending aspects of different sounds to create something refreshing, and Max makes it really easy to do that.
What are your plans looking forward? What do you want to accomplish as a band?
Wxmell: We plan to do more shows! Personally, I think our album is best experienced in person. I’d like to believe that the emo and dance music influences translate well live. There’s so many themes many can relate to in our (mostly Tea’s) writing & to deliver them with some really loud bass drums and guitars is pretty awesome. World tour could be cool, maybe some new music. This era of indigo forever is still fresh, and I want to show as many people as possible this cool album we made.
On a cultural level, I’d love to spread the message as an Asian person (or any POC) that you can make any genre of music and that you shouldn’t be afraid to be weird or seen. As Asians, it’s easy to feel awkward or self-conscious, and we need more musical role-models that aren’t just DJ’s who throw cakes at people.
wsteaway: YES to more shows! After our album release show, I remember being so hungry for more. It’s one thing to listen to the whole album, but Max is completely right–it’s a different level when experienced live. We also want to keep making new music, of course, and expand out into different sounds or avenues with the songwriting (less depressing and emo, for example).
As a band, I’d love to create and foster a community of people that are in it all for the love of the music. The idea of connecting with people that can relate and attach themselves to what we make is so special, and definitely a goal of mine. I’d also love for people to have the inspiration to do what makes them feel good, similarly to how I approach the way I present myself. I put on my silly little outfits and dance the way I do on stage because it’s freeing! I think this ability to inspire others to do the same, in whichever way they seem fit, is a goal that wasn’t exactly planned for this project, but sort of comes from the nature of how we approach being indigo forever.
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