Indie’s iconic Bad Bubble has released a whopping seven albums in the few years since his music first emerged. His story and his sound have continuously carved out an incomparable lane in modern music, his stylistic voice and conceptual honesty connecting increasingly with each new release.
Things had to start somewhere though, so for the fans who’ve never heard the project from start to finish, here we delve into a conversation with Bad Bubble about his first ever album.
Future 9 an impressive debut, to say the least, and it shines light on so much that’s to follow as you explore the rest of his repertoire.
* * *
Hi BB – always great to catch up! How has this year been treating you so far?
Hello Hello Hello! I can say with a tad bit of honesty I have had worse years than 2024. So far, I have finished the All My Friends album, and am presently finishing out the EP, Am I a Good Man?, which of course, is the build up to Album 7. I cannot believe I am on album 7!! Time has flown by and stood still all at once.
It was a pleasure to take things back to the beginning of your musical journey with the debut album Future 9. Tell me about the inception and recording of that project – what prompted you to start recording the songs, and why the title Future 9?
Future 9 will always be the most conflicted album from my point of view. Something extraordinary happened at that time. Something I have never experienced before, and I am still experiencing it today. I was just going to write one album to give to whoever wanted it. I wasn’t going to put it on any platforms or videos or anything like that. But one album very quickly became more. In October, 2022, I started writing and I have not stopped since. To this day, I don’t know why I was hit with an enormous amount of motivation to write. Perhaps initially, it was simply because I had so much to say. It had been years since anyone had really ever spoken to me outside of ‘Can I help you”, or “excuse me”. There were so many conversations I never had with anyone. But also, I wanted to convey the things I wanted in my life, and how simple and small these things are, & how I was never asking for too much. I had been alone, and this was a chance for me to speak. To say something I thought was important to anyone who is decent enough to oblige me. It wasn’t so much a want as it was a very desperate need.
The title is very difficult for me to explain. Not because it is complex in any way, but because it is something I hold sacred, and I don’t discuss it very often. Understand when you are alone for a large amount of time, you do things you wouldn’t normally do. Not to say these things are all bad. They most certainly are not. Some are ridiculous and others are wonderful.
I began thinking more and more about Anna, all that she missed, all what I was not able to ever do. I just remember thinking that is unacceptable. I know wherever she is, I will eventually be there. I must believe that because if I believe anything else, it’s unthinkable. I started thinking of where we will finally be when the wait is all over. This day will come. Period. So, I had a lot of work to do. I started small. A room. What would I want in it? What do I think she would want in it? But then I realized I had to back up and figure out how large the rooms are. Made of what material? Lumber? Brick? Stone? I researched everything I would need, and I built it, in my head and on paper. Down to the last detail. But then I didn’t stop at a room. I went ahead and designed her the greatest place my heart could buy. It isn’t a house anymore. It grew into something much bigger. It’s a destination. To put it in plain terms, Future 9 is my heaven. It is where I will meet my daughter. She’s there now. I believe this as much as I believe I exist myself. I believe I planned it out as close to perfection as possible and it took me well over a year.
Future 9 is…again this is very difficult, but necessary. It is something I have hidden for my most ardent of listeners. I always liked music with hidden agendas, easter eggs, hidden meanings, and puzzles. I liked listening to an album and trying to figure out the meaning the artist intended. So, in several songs, I hid an important thread to a specific song in my catalog. I have many threads with many different objectives and destinations. But this one leads to Future 9. I have several songs with a poem repeated in all of them.
“There’s a place in my heart where we live together with our daughter. It only rains when we are thirsty, and no one will ever take that away from me.”
Us (This is for Us EP), Overwear (a Well Devised Plan, Album 7), April, 2022 (I’m a Junkie EP) among others have this poem. A very big thread in Digital Zero (Future 9 Album). They all point to a song I released in late 2022. A song most would overlook. I could not have hidden a thread like this in a more popular song like Digital Zero or Kori. It had to be in one almost no one would ever listen to unless they were an actual fan, or they had to for some reason.
Retch (Album 4, Underscore’s Accord). This was the perfect capsule. It’s a longer song, which I know people ignore. But if you make it to the 4-minute mark…It’s there. That is Future 9. That is exactly what it is. Retch is split in half. The front half is basically this same poem repeated. However, in the back half you will find Future 9. Why the number 9? I have 8 albums in this story, plus a prequel titled “The Quill Noir” which goes back to the very beginning. This is where I want to be after this is all over. This is what I wanted all along. And one day I will be. When I’m hopefully old and gray. Retch goes into greater detail, and it is where anyone at any time can hear for themselves. A line in the song which some may find puzzling is, “no one will ever take that away from me, not even you”…I’m speaking to Underscore. We’ll get into this on Albums 7 & 8. But you’ll hear everything there to answer this question. It’s in my heart. I built a special place there for Anna. She never got a chance to breathe here. So I built a place she’s breathing quite easily, I assure you. I’ve taken care of everything.
Tell me about the character of Autumn – who is this person, and why did you decide to tell her story in Future 9?
Autumn was my wife a very long time ago. This is how I wanted to establish an order. Future 9 being the first album, this is the reference point. Autumn would be here if I were actually starting from the beginning. Technically, if you were to put in any kind of chronological order, The Mall Chronicles (EP, April 2022). That discusses my childhood. But I thought let’s address this first thing. Autumn makes appearances on Love Slop, Autumn & the Overture, and That Day. She does make one more appearance in a song titled, February 2022.
I used to be a completely different person. No mohawk, spectacles, or any music at all. I was a corporate hack. I used to play baseball and lift weights. I would go to ‘parties’ with Autumn to friends of hers and stand with the other guys who were dragged there against their will. We would discuss the best routes to take to get somewhere and the new line of whatever car was about to come out. I would drink beer and watch NFL football on Sundays. Mow the yard and do a variety of other things I do not do now. I was a completely different person in this part of my life. This was my opportunity to briefly say goodbye to that person, that time, and to Autumn.
What was the purpose behind the now infamous series of ‘The Eggs’, and what can listeners expect from the final part of this story, set to emerge in August’s album release?
Funny you mention that. I will be releasing all four “The Eggs” songs in a complete EP due out September 20th. The Eggs, along with another early release titled, Loops, is about trying to remove all the things or characteristics for someone which that person does not like, hoping to gain her back. But along the way, you learn about yourself. You really do become a better person considering all the things which this person did not care for were negative things. You become stronger, both physically and mentally. You become more organized. Sober. Patient. At the same time, all the things this person liked about you, you zero in on and try to become the best at whatever that may be. This is harder than anyone can imagine and takes a very long time. This took me over a year.
In the end, I wonder, were the things Underscore said she did not like…were they what attracted her in the first place? I don’t know. I’ll never know. But in the end, I was right where I began. That is the essence of this series. Which is why there are so many parts. Part One on Future 9 is powerful. Parts 2 and 3 become weaker, more corrosive and paranoid. Part four is humble, as you will see in September. It’s a full circle.
You mentioned being quite nervous vocally when you first began – how did you overcome this, and do you still get trepidation when new listeners arrive, or a new project is releasing?
In the studio, I was extremely nervous at first. For starters, I hated my voice. I’m just now coming to grips and accepting it, after three years and almost 7 albums released. I remember shopping for vocal processors. I originally wanted my voice to be completely unrecognizable. But I knew that would take a lot of time to master. As it was, I had to learn how to play the piano, run a mixing board (which I never did before), learn the Korg Wavestate, drums, and all that goes with this business. Vocals, bass, guitar, drums, Videos, social media, find a distributor, marketing, branding, promotion, press, and the list goes on…I couldn’t spare more progressive time finding a vocal effect which the listener would enjoy. That would be a process spanning months and dozens of releases which I would look back on and cringe. So I began just as everyone does. Doing the best I could. It took a good 2-3 months for me to gain my confidence. Now I love it. I got into vocal layering heavy as you will see in my later work, released in 2023/2024. I feel completely comfortable now. But those early months were brutal. I had a lot to get comfortable with.
You talk about the underlying recipe for this venture. Did you craft the entire story in your mind before starting, perhaps even write it down as a brief, or has this been a step-by-step process as and when you remember certain details and feelings?
All the above. Future 9 was to be my one and only album. But when I couldn’t stop writing, I knew I had something bigger wanting to move forward. So, I had to make a decision. Small, medium, or large? Knowing I’ve never been flooded with musical inspiration like this before in my life, I figured it could/would stop as fast as it started. But I decided if this newfound motivation does come to a grinding halt, I could change direction. After all, a week prior, I had nothing. Worst case scenario I again have nothing…
This is how I did it. I don’t advise doing it this way, but then again, I don’t want to discourage either. Keep it simple. If you were going to tell your life story, how would you divide it up? I chose albums, which are much like chapters of a book. I divided up everything into 8 major events, or in my case, albums. All centered around my daughter. She’s the glue connecting everything. It’s very hard to get in all you want to cover on these subjects. So I needed some supporting material to kind of let people know where I’m going. Those are my EP’s. All the singles I’ve dropped were all supporting both the album, and the EP’s.
So then, I got 8 index cards and began writing on them what I wanted to cover. With Future 9, I wanted an introduction. Me, Autumn, and Anna. Socks Off, (Album/index card #2) was when I entered the phase in my life where I began to be very alone all the time. This was card number two. Cards/albums three and four are introducing Anna’s Mother, Underscore. Card 5, we’re back on me and a really good place to pick up from Card/album two, which is where I left off as I hadn’t moved an inch in the years that passed. Card/album 6, is of my military past. Cards/albums 7 & 8 are both very close to each other and pit me and Underscore together for the first time in the entire story to gsconclusion. But many other things and situations were covered. MY childhood in EP’s “Past One” and “The Mall Chronicles”. In hindsight, “The Mall Chronicles” should have been its own album, not an EP. It covers my experiences being bullied as a child, which messed me up more so than card/album 6. EP’s “This is for Us” & “I’m a Junkie” are self-explanatory for the listener. “Am I a Good Man” EP, which is finally out along with the last EP this winter.
…and that’s how I did it. Eight index cards, eight albums, eight EP, and a ton of singles all telling one story. All that was left was a timeline. I did not want to tell this story for years of my life. People say I move too fast. And yes, I certainly agree. But ask yourself how long do you want to keep these wounds open? For me it’s three years. I promised my daughter I will finish this with dignity. I am (to my knowledge) the only person to ever promise her anything. I’ll be goddamned if I’m going to break that promise. But I am tired. I am so tired, and I am uncertain whether this was healthy for me. But being alone every day and every night with no end in sight isn’t very healthy either. Six of one, half dozen of the other I suppose…
By the way & for what it’s worth, I’ve never told anyone any of this before. But that’s how I did it.
Your sound is intricately electronic and always distinct. What are your go-to plugin or hardware / software must-haves that consistently help shape your style?
No software unfortunately. And this is where a big part of my career is spent discussing. My studio is like a museum. I have a TASCAM 24 channel mixing board which is a tank! I love it!! My primary instrument is the Korg WaveState. If they ever want a thorough endorsement, I am their man. I will swear by this synthesizer. I have written every release on this one synth and have zero regrets. As condiments, I have a Arturia Mini brute, Micro freak, A Behringer Pro One, An Arturi Micro Freak, a Roland JD-XI and a Behringer TD3 to help out on bass grime. But the WaveState is the primary port of output. The WaveState allows you to build your own waves, which is what gives anyone the opportunity to build their own sound. The learning curve is very high. It took me a while to learn and there are still things I do not understand about it after all this time. But I’ve got my money’s worth out of it.
I’m often asked if I had it to do over, would I stay organic. I would say yes. For this project, it made it hard. I do old school takes. If I mess up, I start all over from the beginning. So each song means something. I can tell you now Messier Thirty One took me all night to record. The piano run or riff…whatever you wish to call it was so complicated. I never played the piano seriously. Sure, I learned from my mother, and I could find my way around on it. But I always played guitar and drums mostly. Never piano. Here I had to play a complex composition and I had to teach myself. But I got through it and I love it! But that doesn’t mean it took me all 98 attempts. So to me it’s just worth a little more.
You didn’t let the lack of response or streams in the early days discourage you from powering through with more music – a choice that has rewarded you massively with a growing audience. How did you find the courage or determination to push through that early struggle to be heard?
I was told two things at the very beginning. No one is going to hear my first album with no base built. I was highly advised to spend a couple of years building and release very little. When I reached a point where I had at least a few people interested, then release. But I didn’t have that kind of time. So, I knew this would be the case. Instead, I have been using, and will continue to use the anniversaries of my releases that did not get the daylight I believed it deserved to do just that. That has worked and it does allow me this opportunity to go back and highlight these songs. It broke my heart to have Digital Zero come out to crickets. That song deserved better. I submitted that song everywhere. As the weeks and months went by, I did slowly build, but other favorite songs I have in my catalog came out to crickets as well. Hice was a hard pill to swallow as I had and still have very high hopes for that song. Potato Command. Die, You. Messier Thirty-One, SummerFall. All of these just break my heart to know they were, and largely are unheard. But….That’s the business. To get people to stop and listen is not easy. If you get them to listen past 8 seconds…you’ve done something extraordinary.
Anna. She gives me motivation and determination. The promise I made to her. To tell her story and give her the rightful dignity she’s earned. One day soon I will be gone from here and will no longer be a professional artist. I’ll be back in obscurity and living a quiet life in mediocrity watching TV or whatever else people seem to do. My best hope is that people somehow stumble across what I’ve done. Start from the beginning and see I have accomplished something important in such a short period of time. This is not only the most important thing I have ever accomplished in my small, shitty life, but also the very last important thing I will ever do.
I am thankful. Most people where I am from don’t do shit. They do absolutely nothing but play video games and work a shitty job. They could wake up and do something…but they choose not to. So I am very thankful for this opportunity that came to me. I was able to meet people and speak with people I would have never known otherwise. I became friends with the very best artists in the world. And they came at a time when I needed them so very badly.
Can you share any top tips for people who want to grow their audience and maintain their authenticity at the same time?
I’ve thought about this a lot. I am a deep cynic when it comes to this business. But I would say the following:
If the question is regarding authenticity, I would be remiss if I did not begin by stating what I’ve found in the last 3 years. Authenticity is much like wisdom. It’s an old word whose meaning has been seemingly forgotten. However, if it is important to you as an artist, then nothing I can say can change your mind as to how high you should or shouldn’t value it. There are no shades of gray and nothing in between can exist. So I would have to say, don’t expect a very large audience. Look around you and see what is happening. I know you won’t change because that isn’t even possible as it would chip away at who you are and what you value the most.
The ones who do listen and value your work are the ones who seek authenticity. They are to be treated like gold. Like absolute gold. That is what they are. They are who you have been working towards this entire time so make it count with them on an individual basis daily if necessary. Never take them for granted and be ready to offer twice the support to other artists as you yourself receive. That is the only route up. Any other way is a short cut and those always hurt and never help. If you’re just starting out, need to be heard, and you value authenticity, put it in my DM. I’ll hear you.
Do you ever think about releasing a written version of your story, or is the musical route the only way to capture the true feeling and weight of all that’s happened?
Music was my best bet at the time. It’s the only thing I’ve ever been any good at whatsoever. I did for a very short time consider writing a book, but my passion however is with audio art. I’m sure a gifted literary writer can convey the same scope, but music was always my thing. Poetry is a different story. Could I have accomplished this through poetry? Absolutely. In fact, I still have full intention of releasing a poetry book at some point in hopefully 2025. I had considered making a book about my experiences here. And I still may. But I will release a book of poems focusing on the future, which is something I’ve never covered.
I was thinking the other day of all I’ve actually left out. If you gather all the pertinent things and put them in one place, it would be a very sizable dish. So I’m not ruling anything out.
One day soon I will be gone from here and will no longer be a professional artist. I’ll be back in obscurity and living a quiet life in mediocrity watching TV or whatever else people seem to do. My best hope is that people somehow stumble across what I’ve done. Start from the beginning and see I have accomplished something important in such a short period of time.
I have a few things on the way. I always planned to make whoever enjoys my work very happy. Which is why I am pleased to say I have a ton of music coming out in the next year and a half. First is the prequel to this story called “The Quill Noir”. It’s going to be a darker album. But sometimes “darker” doesn’t exactly mean bleak. Right now, I have an album I’ve been promising everyone for a long time titled “an Intricate Cacophony” which is going to be available on Bandcamp and my website only. Big Tech will have to wait. But I will make it as easy as possible to obtain. It’s a massive album made up of fifteen tracks and it’s completely free. Big tech aren’t the only ones who can give my work away for free…I can do it too!
I have a record releasing at some point titled “the Triumph of the Puissant”, which is my take on the importance of IRL connections and how unappreciated basic things are.
I am going to drop a huge musical bomb. I just haven’t decided exactly how it’s going to work. Regardless, I will be releasing either a single album with many many songs, or break them up into volume I, volume II, etc. But it is a huge number of songs. Probably in the hundreds. For almost 3 years, I have written and recorded music, non-stop. When I say non-stop, I mean every single day. So there is a ton of music I’m going to release.
Finally, I have a record coming out which is an amazing collection of compositions. It’s titled, “Regarding Flor”. I cannot wait to release this. It will be my final album. And it will be my absolute best. That is going to be very hard. But at some point, it’s time to put things where they belong. This isn’t my world anymore. I’m not meant for 4 second attention spans and trending videos and algorithms. I’m just not meant for it. And to try or adapt to something like this will degrade everything and I won’t allow that to ever happen. Bad Bubble music is meant for people who listen. And it’s that simple. I am not meant for playlists and gatekeepers. But I also am not meant for impatient listeners who want instant gratification I cannot give. But I am here now and I am grinding as best as I can. I’m not leaving for a long time…depending on your personal definition of what a long time is…
Is there anything else we need to know about Future 9 or the upcoming album?
The night I released Future 9, that was the greatest night of my life. I was alone at home. I watched as it made its way to each platform…I never thought that would happen.
“All of this has been extraordinary. I’m a guy in a house in Midwest USA. I’ve spent years looking out of this window. I never thought I would be in a place where someone on the other side of the world is reading the words I’m saying or hearing the songs I wrote.”
I would want everyone to know I am grateful, and I’ll never forget it. We are about to drop album 7 out of 8. And it’s going to be special.
Thanks so much Rebecca…
-BB
