Interview: “Just Live Your Life!” Says Asian American Musician damnboy! as He Gets Candid on His New Album, Process & More
Speaking to a musician always leaves you with new bits of information each time. Like loads of song samples and demos stored on their devices, their brain holds a lot of ideas that are always great to chat over. A songwriter is no less than a philosopher who has ventured on a path to uncover mysteries of the world and the mind. While a song is an extension of an artist himself, once it is out in the world, it finds its place amongst other kindred spirits.
During one of our recent conversations with Asian American singer-songwriter damnboy! aka Edward Nguyen, we came across some interesting bits about not only his work process but also his philosophy on life. In times like these where the virality of a song decides the shelf life of a song, damnboy! writes for himself and the generations to come. He released his first ever album “nvr ending UNKNOWN” in May 2024, thus hitting a pause on a history of releasing singles and EPs. This album contains all songs from the EP “Warning!” which was released in February this year in addition to four new tracks.
Photo Courtesy of damboy!
Our conversation with damnboy! was immensely delightful. When you listen to a song for the first time, you make an impression of it. But when you talk to the person behind it, you begin to look at the song from a new perspective. That’s what is going to happen to you as well after you read this interview!
Q: Could you introduce yourself to our readers? Who is damnboy!? What's the philosophy behind your music-making?
Hi! My name is damnboy! I'm from Honolulu, Hawaii. I live in LA now. I've moved around a lot, but I've lived in Hawaii most of my life.
What is my sound? I feel like damnboy! is ever-changing. But I feel like with this new project, it was more releasing and healing my traumas. I read a lot of darker music. I really love it. So this was good to just get it out. It's always hard to answer those questions!
Q: It has been a while since your album “nvr ending UNKNOWN” was released. How are you feeling now? Have you come across any fan comments that made you feel that the album is in good hands now?
I think anytime I release anything it actually feels so weird to me because you spend a lot of time writing it, mixing it, mastering it, planning the release, and then [afterwards] you spend a lot of time promoting it. It's just a lot of time [spent] on things, and I'm always the artist that is always making new stuff all the time. Even when something new drops, I am already onto the next!
It has been really nice actually though, because some of these songs I've had for years. For example, I’ve had “Love Somebody” for three years, and I've had many different versions of it. So it was nice to finally release it.
I think for this project, it was [difficult] to stem it down to just nine songs. Because if it were up to me, I'd just put 20 songs but that’s a lot of songs for an album! It has actually been nice though. It has been healing.
I have geared my head space on how to navigate as an independent artist. It has been [about] just research on other independent artists and how they do it. So it's just been nice because the album is out now. I get to promote it forever.
Q: Which is your favorite track from “nvr ending UNKNOWN”?
I really like “Incomplete.” It's probably one of the hardest songs I've ever sung and released. That's probably why I like it so much. And I guess, next is “She / Her / Hers” probably, which was the start of the project.
Q: You mentioned that “Incomplete” is different from what you've sung before. How different is it from your usual music styles? Why do you say it was challenging for you?
My career has been interesting. My very first song “How High” is still my biggest song. I was living in Hawaii at that time, and I just wanted to get the song out. Hawaii is really big on reggae. So I created my name. I made “How High” with my friend, and I released it. It is a reggae-pop song. In Hawaii, we have reggae [radio] stations that actually support independent local artists, which is great. So, I got it onto a reggae station, and it ended up doing really well. It hit number one in Hawaii, and then it crossed over to the pop stations.
My sound has been changing and evolving ever since then. I love reggae. But I don't do reggae. I could have a reggae song down the line, but it wasn't my focus.
And like I said, I love darker music, but reggae is really happy. So it's a contrast. After that, I just ended up evolving. I did some EDM stuff because I met my friend nøll. nøll's on this album too. It's just crazy that from 2018 to this year, 2024, I never had an album.
Whenever I listen to an album it's not just about the songs. I feel like an album and artistry is more than just songs. It's like [an] identity. “What does the artist sound like?” “What are the little quirks and things that they do?”
So, last year I went a little soul-searching. And I just came across the fact that [in] a lot of boom bap and hip-hop songs there's not a lot of pop singing over them. It's mostly just rapping over boom bap or R&B. There is some pop stuff but not a lot, so I thought, “Okay, this is kind of a new territory.” I like challenging myself every time I make music.
Honestly, “She / Her / Hers” was completed in one session, and I was like, “Okay, this is different. I'm going to go with this.” If you think about it, if you remove the musical layers, the song is almost like an Adele song. Funny, isn’t it?
Q: Let’s talk about your music-making process. What is it like? Do you have a set process or do you go with the flow?
I used to have a process, and I would try not to have one. All the songs on this project, I have had hands-on producing as well. It’s usually me and another person or just me solo working on the track. Sometimes we make the beat, I do melodies or if I have a song concept, I try and follow it.
But either way, whatever approach happens to the song, lyrically and melodically, I try not to be influenced by other artists as much as possible because I feel like it's easy nowadays. Especially with pop music whether it is just having a catchy song or anything else. So, for me, it's not always about being catchy because I feel like catchiness for me as an artist is not enough.
I think you need to have your own voice and soul. And I think concepts are very important too. In this album, the reason why I've had the title “She / Her / Hers” for so long is I actually had a demo before “She / Her / Hers” called “She / Her / Hers”. And it was basically a song about an ex. And I just thought it was an interesting title. So that's how I like to approach my songs. Even ‘damnboy!’, I found that name and no one had it. I took it up, that's how I kind of do my music too. It's like, “Oh, nobody's doing this or this has not really been touched upon then I'm running with it.” That's how I work.
Q: What inspires you the most apart from your own experiences? What's your inspiration when you make music?
There are not a lot of things that I do besides music, but I love to watch anime and movies. It's like a relaxing time for me. I love food. I was just in Hawaii performing on the beach. I really love the beach. I live in LA and I was spoiled with Hawaii beaches and I have actually never jumped in the water in LA before!
My inspiration has been a lot of movies, to be honest. I feel like movies are like a grand art form. Visual and music all in one.
And also listening to other music. At the end of the day, I'm a fan of music. I'm always on [the] New Music Friday playlist. I'm always listening to playlists and new releases just to listen. I think with music, once you stop being a fan, you don't evolve. You have to listen to music.
Photo Courtesy of damboy!
Q: What has your experience been like working with nøll? How did this constant collaboration come into being?
Yeah, I met nøll…I think this was like 2019. I forget how I met him. It was either online or something like that but we ended up working on a song and we just kept working. He just was starting out, and I was kind of ‘inspiring’ him on the writing aspect and other things.
And as he evolved, we had songs here and there and then we kind of just became friends. We've made so many songs together that probably will never come out. But with this project, besides being on the song “One Last Time,” he actually mixed and mastered a lot of the songs as well.
Q: Is there any funny or memorable incident that you can share with us that happened while working with nøll?
“One Last Time” is the song that nøll is on. I actually started the song with production. When I started the song, it was mostly just boom bap. And I had some melodies and it was just an idea.
And then I took it to Chando, [a producer] who has also helped produce most of the songs on the album. And I liked the idea we came up with. I actually haven't really collaborated as much in general. It has just been me and nøll, maybe one or two other people.
So I wanted to get nøll on my project. And he ended up adding his own sound to “One Last Time.” I think that song is pretty unique because it's a boom bap song with pop singing and with future bass production, you know, so it's like in this interesting world of boom bap and EDM.
But actually the most memorable moment, I would say, me, nøll, and a few of my friends, we had a hotel room in Lake Tahoe. We made a writing session out of that trip.
Q: What is your process to deal with having artist's block?
This applies to music, or I think any art in general. But for music, if you get a writer's block, it just means you're not happy with something that you're making.
It doesn't mean that you can't write any word or any idea. It just means whatever you are making, you feel that it's not suitable, but that's just your opinion at the end of the day, right? It could be decent, actually, but if you're going to try and get out of writer's block, what does that mean?
It just means you're not inspired. So what do you have to do? You just have to live life, go watch anime, go out, and then come back to it whenever you're ready. I mean, I feel like that's it. I feel like I hear a lot of people talk about how do you get out of a writer's block. It's just, you're not living life. That's basically the answer. You can write a song every day. That's just honing the craft. But what are you writing about? You have to live, you know what I'm saying?
Because to be quite honest, I never get writer's block. There are so many other ways to do something. I mean, honestly, I can write anything to anything because there's no such thing as writer's block. It's just you're not inspired. So just go live life, that's all. Just go watch anime.
Q: You have been the opening act for artists like Jimmy Brown and brb., to name a few. What has been your experience like?
I just actually opened up for Surfaces a while ago in Hawaii. It was amazing. I think opening up for artists is amazing because when you do open up for them, you're performing mostly in front of their fan base, right? So it is quite an interesting place to be because you're opening for them and it means you have to kill it.
And usually, the main act is always going to be the best act of the night. That energy is great, fans give them most of the energy, which is great. But if you can somehow craft a performance and win people over I think that's always the goal and also to connect with people as you perform.
I think opening up for people or performing on your own, you being the headliner is great. The only thing that's difficult is every venue is different. I always say this to people. [At] every show you do, at least one wrong thing is going to happen. Always. Sometimes it's the stupidest problem, but it’s okay. If you can overcome that hurdle then it is great. I do the soundcheck, I go on stage, I do my thing. I try and connect and that's all you could do. And if there are no problems, perfect. You know?
Q: What type of venue would you like for a concert?
I've usually been just singing on stage with the backing track. But a lot of my experience in Hawaii was actually playing in bands and playing instruments. I'm actually gearing to that, building my live set.
I also plan on performing more in the West Coast for now. Because I live in LA, so probably shows in Orange County, LA, San Diego, San Jose, Denver, Seattle, kind of in my area. And then kind of branch out. I would love to perform all over the world eventually, but I think I've now gained the experience of entertaining and performing to a crowd by myself on stage.
Not an easy thing to do. When you are performing by yourself, it's very different. You have to know what to do with your arms. What do I do with my arms? But when you play and sing, you can hide behind the guitar. And now that I've learned how to do no guitar, just my vocals, now I feel I'm going to bring the live set and just expand.
Q: What does your dream collaboration look like? Which artists would you like to collaborate with for your next project?
I would love to just make music with all the people I listen to. I love The 1975 [and] Kanye West. My favorite band is The Cure. I think Jacob Collier is cool. I just saw Jacob Collier and Kimbra live last month. Everyone that is big, famous and does music very well I would love to either have a song with them or just even write for them. Because that's actually what I also do. I have been writing in the K-Pop space and the Asian market.
I have a song I can announce that I wrote with nøll. It is coming out with a group from China called TNT. I would love to write for anyone in everything, any genre. My goal as a songwriter is I would love to write every genre I love. I love metal and jazz.
But now, realistically, at the moment, I actually am collaborating more. Earlier, I used to just make my own things and release them because I was just trying to find who I was.
Now, I'm writing and releasing a song with my friend Ebony Loren. It is kind of a summer Bossa Nova acoustic track that we are finishing up, which is interesting. It's a little different from what I'm doing now. I just want to collaborate with all my friends, whether it's in LA or via Instagram, or online that I keep in touch with. The old way of releasing music used to be like a couple of singles, and then an album, and then you don't release for a bit because you're making the next one. But with streaming, I feel you can do anything you want.
Life's short. I should just make music with everyone and all my friends and just release it. I know this is a very non-industry thing to say, but I don't care about numbers or the success of a song anymore, to be quite honest, because that's dependent upon how hard I push and the fans, the people that want to listen.
And I think the beautiful thing about releasing music is that it's released. It's out, you're going to hear it forever. My kids, grandkids, can hear it. I think that's the most beautiful thing. So I've overcome that thought process of the industry. I don’t care if any song is going viral or not. I think that's kind of lame, actually. If the song is doing good, that's amazing. But if a song is doing as well as you think that’s okay, too.
Photo Courtesy of damboy!
Q: I think that that philosophy of yours also reflects in your songs because there's that underscore of honesty in all of the creations that you make.
Even before being an artist, I'm a songwriter. I pitch K-Pop demos all the time. So I know what kind of writing it takes to be catchy. I want to write a good song, but if it's for myself, to be quite honest, catchiness is out the window when I write.
That's not my goal. My goal is to write a song and not be super catchy. But if that happens, then I love it, great. I'm playing a different game than the norm, especially being in pop music. I know that's the goal, but I feel like for me, longevity matters. I don't have a big machine behind me. It's just myself. So the goal is to just express myself and find my tribe and build.
Q: What message do you have for anybody who wants to make it into the music world?
I would say put 10,000 hours or more into your craft. If you're starting young, like as a kid, you have all the time in the world, put all as much as possible into your craft, but also live. Just live. I think people don't talk about that enough about their craft, whether you're a writer, writing music [or even] visual arts.
I think what makes a very great creative is that they've lived a certain life, right? You have to experience trauma and pain and happiness and joy. It's part of life. It's part of art. You can hear that when you listen to people who write their own music. If you don't live your life, you're not going to make good art.
I'm sorry. That's just [how it is]. I know nobody wants to go through trauma, but it’s a big part of music. It’s very interesting, right? A lot of artists go through trauma and release that into the music. And then that music can become joy. It's crazy.
Practice, practice, and don't give up. Be consistent. I think little victories make big victories. Don't listen to [just] anyone. Listen to somebody if they mean well and they have great insight on things. Do it for you. Don't do it for anyone else. Play your game, don’t play someone else’s game.
As our chat came to a conclusion, damnboy! took a few minutes of his time to speak to us as well. You rarely come across an artist who thinks of the person they are talking to. “Everyone gets jaded,” said damnboy! while commenting on how fame and success get to people.
