From the moment she first heard Avril Lavigne as a toddler, BABYNYMPH was destined for a life in music. Born in the 2000s and raised on a diet of pop-punk anthems, her early years were filled with impromptu living room concerts for her grandparents, where her passion for music started. This early obsession transformed into a way of life as she navigated her introverted childhood and later embraced the vibrant nightlife scene, performing in bars and hustling to establish her unique sound. She describes music as her lifeline and a medium through which she could fully express herself, detached from the material world.
INTERVIEWS
In this exclusive interview for DSCENE Magazine, our Editor, Pavle Banovic talks with BABYNYMPH about her distinctive musical style, that is a reflection of her multifaceted personality and diverse life experiences – raw, unfiltered, and unapologetically her. She talks about her latest EP’s intense and cathartic production, born out of frustration, a personal tragedy and grief of losing her dear friend SOPHIE.
In addition to her solo career, BABYNYMPH is the founder of the “Kunthouse” label, a collective that champions independence and creative freedom. She stresses her commitment to cultural progress and collaboration that is evident in every project, reflecting her belief in the power of uniting diverse voices. As an artist who defies categorization, BABYNYMPH and her work transcend superficial labels, aiming to create inclusive spaces and inspire others to discover their true selves.
When did you get interested in music? Did you always envision yourself as a musician? – I’ve been obsessed with music and sound for as long as I can remember myself. I was a very musical child, born in 2000s my first love was Avril Lavigne, my aunt being a teenager back then used to blast her music around me all the time and I got hooked. At the age of 2 I already knew the lyrics to every song and was singing them everywhere I went. I used to throw concerts for my grandparents in their living room. My grandma would help me dress up and I would sing and dance for them. I feel like I’ve always been detached from the material world, I didn’t understand it. I wasn’t connected to my body, I was a very introverted child and didn’t really appreciate human connection. Music has been something I always understood tho and it kept my interest in staying alive like nothing else. Later on in life, as a teen, I started going out a lot, meeting people and playing music at bars for my night life friends. I knew that’s exactly what I wanted to do as a lifestyle. It was either this or nothing, I chose to hustle to the fullest and see what happens, even tho I’ve always been very confident that it would work out cause I knew objectively I’m sexy and my s*it slaps.
How would you define the style of music that you produce? What are some of the different influences and references that you recognize within it? – I think its just very me, everyone who knows me tells me that my music sounds exactly like what hanging out with me is like (lol). I listen and appreciate all types and genres of music, I appreciate creative expression overall. I take references from my life experiences but also from every aspect of my personality as well as from everything that has been surrounding me throughout my life.
“I don’t want to be put in a category of a queer artist, I don’t need a queer safe space. I’m an artist, period. My art should be available and accessible to everyone, so that any type of person could potentially find something for themselves in it.”
Your latest EP “Pornpop: Abhorrence” gives us a daring take on different electronic club music genres as well as the themes of dominant/pop culture, trauma, sexuality, and violence. Can you tell us more about the inspirations behind it? – So… At the time, I was actually finishing working on an LP, that has been in works for over 2 years prior. I always only kept my files on my laptop and an external hard drive. End of 2022, after my first world tour, I have moved to Berlin. Ive been renting a demented apartment on a ground floor with my friends Harry and Goth Jafar. We all have PTSD after living there (lol), but I wish there were hidden cameras installed cause the shit that was going down was absolutely epic and definitely top notch reality TV material. So on the f*cking Christmas Eve, while I was taking a bath I’ve heard noise from the kitchen. I go to check and I see my laptop, the bag with my hard drive, my id and passport all gone and the window wide open… So that’s pretty much was the reason my album never came out, cause it only existed on that laptop and copied on the stolen hard drive. The anger and frustration that I felt, I got myself a new laptop and took myself to a studio, where I recorded the entire EP “Pornopop: Abhorrence” in two long research chemical induced days. Looking back tho, it all makes sense. The stolen album I’ve been working on started off as a collection of sexy club bangers, but dealing with the passing of my dear friend SOPHIE, working further on those happy tracks while being extremely depressed has completely changed the associations I have with these songs. If I would end up putting the album out, I would have to tour with this music on top of that, performing tracks that have completely lost their original meaning and now carry a very heavy energy. It almost feels like SOPHIE took away the hard drive from above and said “You can make something better, b*tch”.
In your music, you often have this anti-hero, mean persona, overtly sexual. How much of that is a character, or is that 100 percent you? – I don’t think there’s any separation between my every-day self and my artist self. BABYNYMPH is 100% who I always am. The “unhinged” tracks were driven by anger and frustration triggered by real life events. Music is the best way for me to express my feelings, so if I wanna talk some s*it, I might as well make a song about it.
You are also the founder of the “Kunthouse” label. Can you tell us more about it, and what does it mean to be an independent artist in the music industry in this way? – It’s a hustle but I enjoy it a lot. KUNTHOUSE is a passion project of mine. It’s a collective before anything else. When hot b*tches unite it’s just too powerful. Being an independent artist for me personally is the only way to go. In the current age, everyone can blow up. Everyone has equal opportunities. I wouldn’t want anyone to dictate what I can and cannot put out, especially considering the content of my work, that has always been labeled as too hectic, extreme and unhinged. People kept telling me throughout my upbringing that what I do is “unserious”, that it should be edited and that it cannot be successful. Well, guess what b*tch, I’m doing great. And I have so much talent around me, so many new artist keep showing me what they are working on. It’s my pleasure to provide some sort of platform to them, share my resources. After all, in exchange I get to witness something absolutely amazing happen. What else could I ask for?
You have collaborated with a bunch of people from the music industry, especially focusing on the trans community. Is there any collaboration in particular that you would highlight as transformative to you? – The trans factor didn’t necessarily play a role in choosing the collaborators, rather than just picking some of my favorite artists that just happen to be trans. Even tho it’s common knowledge that the dolls make some of the most iconic, psychotic and genius music out there. I would say each and every collaboration I’ve done has a special place in my heart for different reasons, but of course if I’d have to highlight one it would be my release with SOPHIE, who has been my dearest friend, supported me from the beginning of my journey and believed in me, gave me a push like no other.
What is something that keeps inspiring you over the years? – Seeing how much cultural progress is happening by uniting forces with all types of artists, seeing so many kids inspired by what I do, getting inspired by them. There’s not much ego in what I do. I don’t care about being the bitch that kickstarted something for the sake of taking any sort of credit. I care about seeing the beauty that is being created through collaboration and exchange of ideas, ideologies, cultural references etc. it’s educational, eye opening, brings me so much joy and I just love witnessing so much beauty happening around me in real time.
It’s my pleasure to provide some sort of platform to them, share my resources. After all, in exchange I get to witness something absolutely amazing happen. What else could I ask for?
What is your personal relationship to queerness and understanding your own identity and position in the world? – I don’t really relate to the word queer. Never did. Understanding social patterns of human behavior is very important for that sake. Humans are self-aware conscious species and that scares the s*it out of them. All people have an identity but they have a natural tendency to put themselves in a box/ certain category. I feel like a label erases individuality or can be used as a compromise of a lack of individuality, so people use identity politics to fill in the gap. We should be aware of the fact that as intelligent beings, things like sexuality and gender identity are such small and superficial parts of who we are. There should be so much more to this. But of course, that requires a lot of work on self discovery, an ability to self reflect and separate ourselves from others. I don’t want to be put in a category of a queer artist, I don’t need a queer safe space. I’m an artist, period. My art should be available and accessible to everyone, so that any type of person could potentially find something for themselves in it. Every space should, and WILL be accessible to me, and if some spaces aren’t safe, b*tch, try me, I bite hard.
How would you define your personal style? – C*nt.
What’s next for you? What have you been thinking about and researching lately? – My album Climax that is fully dedicated to my fiancé, more KUNTHOUSE releases, throwing label events separately from my solo shows, bringing all my favorite people together under the same roof and showing b*tches how it’s done worldwide.
In the spirit of Pride, could you share some advice with our LGBTQ+ readers on how to take care of themselves both mentally and physically? – As someone who grew up in extremely oppressive and dangerous environments, grow claws and learn how to fight. Don’t limit your life experience to only existing in what people label as safe spaces. The world is your oyster and learning how to not be a victim is very important. Nobody said it’s gonna be easy but it definitely can be easier if you stop getting offended by everything and work on your confidence, find who you are in this world and separate yourself from the boxes society is trying to put you in. Taking care of yourself mentally and physically is a constant struggle we all go through and it can be really hard at times, so I don’t think there’s one recipe that works for everyone. But discovering what would work for you is worth it no matter how long it might take.
Keep up with BABYNYMPH on Instagram – @babynymph777
Wow this is beyond ❤️❤️❤️