Artist Profile: BeerbellyJake
BeerbellyJake, beyond the waggish name, is an artist with a unique understanding of the inlaid humor and irony of the lo-fi scene, capable of committing himself to a full-bodied vulnerability while simultaneously maintaining the distance presented by raw and, at times, unintelligible vocals and accompanying melodies.
His name having originated from a practical joke he played in his high school theater class, BeerbellyJake’s foundations lie in the comedic. In fact, he originally began making songs only in order to make his friends laugh.
However, his interest in music underwent a stark transition when he realized what could be accomplished even with limited equipment and resources.
“Finally, when I was about 17, I started getting involved in the local bands around [socal], and I started realizing, like ‘Oh sh*t! You can actually make legitimate music if you know what you're doing.”
This realization was supplemented by an email he sent to Alex G who was, at the time, merely a striving underground musician. Alex responded, and he gave BeerbellyJake a host of advice on how to record his own music at home. He heeded the advice, almost verbatim, and began to develop his own style within these parameters.
As a child, he loved electronic-indie artists like MGMT, Passion Pit, and Toro y Moi, and these naturally bled into his newfound creative output. While these early projects, including “Fantazia” and “Space N Sh*t”, showcase much of his affinity for distinctive soundscapes, there is a definite hesitancy present in his songwriting and delivery.
He attributes this to the uncertainty of exposing himself emotionally through his music. Early on in his musical journey, he admitted to embedding himself behind a sort of “character” which allowed him to overcome this doubt.
“I know DAVid bowie does this [thing] where you kind of sing from a character that you create, and I kind of did that because I was having a hard time being authentic and expressing myself in a way that I wasn't afraid to do without saying ‘Oh, this is my voice. This is me.’”
Yet, his newest project “&Friends”, showcases brilliant displays of authenticity, a simultaneous call back to his youthful self and an attempt to push his musical identity forward.
The album utilizes the bold wistfulness of an MGMT record while maintaining the raw melancholy which defines BeerbellyJake’s earlier projects. It is, as he puts it, an album for his 10-year-old-self.
“Hot Rod”, the ninth song on the album, tells the story of his father saying his goodbyes as he was entering a lengthy prison sentence from BeerbellyJake’s perspective as a child. To him, this is the pinnacle of the authenticity he has worked so hard to cultivate.
For his next project, he has been in the process of reworking his entire creative flow, selling off everything he used to create “&Friends” in search of an entirely new sound. He wants to do away with some of the more , including the live drum set he recorded with, in order to separate himself from the landscapes of his older projects. In his words, he’s aiming for an “intimate electronic vibe”.
As BeerbellyJake continues to come into his own, his unique blend of childlike openness and lo-fi yearnings will be something to watch.
Listen to “&Friends” here.