Q&A: Smurgy Uncovers Love Lost in New Single, “Imogen”
WRITTEN BY FAITH LUEVANOS
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Hidden gems can be found within any genre, and our favorite Auckland-based hidden gem, Smurgy, is quickly expanding his reach to new fans worldwide. His complex experimental pop sound offers not only addictive melodies, but layers of textures that beg for multiple listens, each one guaranteed to uncover something new.
His latest single, “Imogen,” was a project of love and devotion, spanning over the course of a year to be finished. Each freestyle and each musical element that led up to the final version feels like divine intervention, and listeners can hear the dedication that was put into making the single sound the way it does today.
Life on Jupiter had the pleasure of sitting down and chatting with Smurgy about the process of making “Imogen,” what he loves most about electronic music, his side project, and more.
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LIFE ON JUPITER: For our readers who may not be familiar with your work, can you describe it for them?
SMURGY: Digital experimental pop is what I would call it! It's very synthy and textural ambient singer/songwriter music. I’m heavily inspired by Vegyn, A.G. Cook, and Sega Bodega.
While listening to your first EP from 2023 and your recent singles, you can hear your sound building. Textures and new layers get added more each time as you progress. How do you feel your artistry has evolved?
SMURGY: That is a great question. I’m obsessed with bringing more dimension to my music, it’s something I'm working on every day. I also work with a lot of other artists and producers who I’m constantly discovering new gems with.
Would you say music is the core thing that inspires you?
SMURGY: Music is my core inspiration for sure, and life experiences second. I'm always replaying the moments I have, trying to divinate from them; How does that sound? How does that feel? When I make music, I'm trying to direct a film, I'm searching for the colour of my memories.
For a song like your recent release, “Imogen,” that has so much texture to it, what does your creative process look like to make a song like that?
SMURGY: With “Imogen,” I had this persisting emotion that I knew needed to be music. I sat down in front of my laptop and started experimenting, throwing a lot of random cut up sounds and samples at the wall. Inputting audio into arcane plugins, reversing them, and scrolling through countless patche settings. I also freestyle a lot and that was a key part of this song. It led to details like the robot voice layer in the background that I sampled from an hour-long freestyle I did lying on the floor. My creative process consists of using methods to turn off my thoughts, synchronise with my emotions, and enter flowstate.
So then was everything done in one session for “Imogen”?
SMURGY: None of the songwriting came until maybe six or seven months after the instrumental was finished. I wanted so badly to write something with gravity, but I just had these silly lyrics where I was adding numbers together to make 7… “25, 34, 43… 43” I knew deep down I wanted to write about my most recent heartache, but for a minute it was too recent. Finally in the summer holidays I took two weeks off music, and the moment I stepped foot back in the studio all the lyrics and melodies just tumbled out.
As you continue to experiment in this digital electronic genre, what would you say is your favorite thing about making electronic music as a whole?
SMURGY: I love that electronic music is limitless. I get so much joy out of experimenting. I love being surprised by what I make, and letting it all spiral out of control. Typically when I walk into the studio I have no idea what’s going to happen. I may have a rough inkling, but I love to stumble through the ether hoping to find something new.
Absolutely. You have music coming from different places now, not just Smurgy. Who is boyracer and what’s the intention behind this project?
SMURGY: boyracer is my duo project with local Tāmaki Makaurau artist/producer (and GOAT DJ) Nima Astria. We first started collaborating about six months ago after realizing we were mutual fans of each other's music. We quickly made friends and have since been lucky to have had so much fun already this year releasing songs and performing. Making music together has felt so effortless, and we have so much crossover with our music taste.
She invited me to a songwriting camp earlier this year held by producer and DJ Intersektt, and we made a crazy song sampling this Eurotrash song we shazamed at a pawn shop. It evolved into this hyperpop/deconstructed club 10 songs-in-one beast. We then decided to drop it as a duo and boyracer came online. Special mention to Intersektt, Teddyyy, rede. and our friend Sami for helping us with the songwriting and production!
We released it on the local NYMPHO label, which for me has felt like such a movie as I’ve been a fan of NYMPHO ever since I moved to Auckland 5 years ago. Big mihi (thanks) also goes out to First Rodeo who let us use their beautiful studio to shoot the cover art!
The support from the community has been incredibly special, and it deeply inspires us to keep creating and performing. We have some outrageous new music to share very soon.
You mentioned that Nima is a local artist, so I wanted to ask what the Auckland electronic music scene is like and what your particular local scene looks like?
SMURGY: The electronic scene here is quite diverse, especially with the genre being so broad. Locally, there’s plenty of house, techno and D&B.
The experimental and underground side of the scene is where my heart lies and I feel so proud of the incredible talent we have here. Shoutout Glass Soap, TomRadio, Nima Astria (of course), rede. Teddyyy, Monoga.my, Intersektt, JHL, and Maxwell Young, to name just a few!
What does a Smurgy show look like?
SMURGY: When I go to a concert, the setting and the visuals and the stagecraft is so important to me. I went to see Weyes Blood perform a year ago, and she had the glowing heart in her chest, and her dress flowing and floating behind her, all backlit, that combined with the video projections made for such a transcendent experience.
A Smurgy show will be moody, and hype, loud at moments, and soft and intimate at others. I want to make the room dance and jump and then pull my guitar out and make everyone cry. I also might start to do some bad stand-up routines if I get nervous. My friend and collaborator Troy (@la_bourer) is a genius when it comes to TouchDesigner and archival visuals, so also expect immersive audioreactive projections. Oh, and there will definitely be horses in there somewhere.
Is there anything you’d like to share with our readers and people who may be discovering you through this article?
SMURGY: Welcome! I hope you love the music and that it transports you somewhere else for a moment. Stick around because I’ve got some wild things up my sleeve for this year of the horse.