There are pros and cons to doing something for as long as I've been doing Stereofox, but one thing I certainly appreciate is the fact that I get to follow an artist's journey, watch their evolution, growth, change, and learn from it. Don't get me wrong. I do miss being 24 and not having knee pain, but hey - we all have to pay the price.
Back in 2020, I had the pleasure and honour of interviewing Sleepy Fish - one of the most impactful artists in the so-called (by me) late-night ambient lofi scene. His music had given me a lot of clarity and calmness, and helped me through stressful times, so I was thankful for the opportunity to learn more about him. Today, we can do this again. After a decent break from music, Izzi is back with new music via our friends at Chillhop Music, so I wanted to take the opportunity to catch up with him again.
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Now it's time for our interview with Sleepy Fish. Hope you like it, friends.
Izzi! I can’t believe it’s been 6 years. When we first spoke, you were studying statistics, data science, and machine learning while making music on the side. Six years later, what does a normal day in the life of Sleepy Fish actually look like?
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YEAH, man it’s been a while! Honestly, not a lot has changed, haha. I’ve just swapped studying math and programming for working a math and programming job. In the morning I feed my cats, make some coffee and cereal, and sit down to either work or do music stuff. I’ve also gotten really into MaxMSP over the past few years, genuinely a really life-changingly beautiful program. Maybe I’ll release a Sleepy Fish Max4Live module at some point haha.
Something Forgotten is your first solo full-length since 2022 (since you dropped 2 other collab records). Was there a particular reason you took so much more time with this one?
I think I felt like I had hit a bit of a wall with saying new things with Sleepy Fish, which is why the solo stuff felt harder to do without other people providing their talent to help me along. I think late last year I just wanted to have an outlet for making something comforting, and making this album was incredibly therapeutic. It was a mix of new and old stuff from the past years, and it was just really a nice experience to immerse myself back in this musical space and remind myself how healing the process of art can be.
In my review of "What Do You Know" I sensed some maturity in the new music. I did recognize the Sleepy Fish sound and sonic DNA, but it felt … different. Do you think there’s a sensible evolution, and how would you describe it?
Maybe it’s just because I’ve taken a break! I think there is a lot of artistic growth that can happen if you step back from one type of creative work to just focus on another. It’s kinda funny cause “What Do You Know” is maybe the most in line with my last solo record, in my opinion, but I’m really glad you hear an evolution, it means I'm doing something right.
Why Something Forgotten? What does that title mean to you?
So first most I was so inspired by the art that @albabbgg made for the release, and the direction from Chillhop. The idea of an overgrown civilization underwater that was reclaimed by nature was really beautiful and cool to me, and I wanted to capture that. The secondary meaning is that I sort of forgot how fun it was to make Sleepy Fish music haha. But overall I think it has a nice abstractness that fits with the music, whether it be themed by nostalgia or decay or whatever the listener interprets it as.
What did the recording process look like? Do you tend to work in isolation, or involve other people too, like our friends at Chillhop.
So for this album I did like 85% in isolation, then gave it over to Chillhop for some feedback. They’re really kind and are super down to let me do whatever, so I usually just ask them for help with track order and stuff. They did all of the art direction and spent months doing research and grabbing references, and I spoke to Bas beforehand about what we had in mind for the theming, so it did all feel collaborative regardless.
Where does Something Forgotten sit in that larger Sleepy Fish universe?
I like to imagine Sleepy Fish like Batman or something hahaha where there’s multiple valid stories of what they’re up to, and they’re all sort of disconnected. I think we did aim to do something just a bit more moody, with ghost fish swimming through abandoned subways, maybe a bit à la Spirited Away (one of my favorite movies ever, of course) and BioShock.
What would be the perfect setting to experience the album for the first time?
Oh man, anywhere really. I think so much of the music is inspired by everyday life and boring memories from my childhood or college. Maybe listening while walking to class in the morning, on a road trip, or trying to calm down your cats. Somewhere that sticks out in my mind, though (that one of the tracks is named after) is pool-side at night, especially when the pool lights are on. Something about the way the water dances and is tinged by the blue-green of the pool has forever been in my brain haha.
If there’s something you can tell to the 2020 Izzi, what would that be?
Music will get fun again, don’t worry. Enjoy playing the Souls games; they will be deeply influential and inspirational to you. You WILL beat Sword Saint Isshin, it’ll just take you like 50 tries. Also, listen to more System of a Down before you see them in concert, they will become one of your favorite bands, and you’ll regret not knowing more of their music before their show.
What inspires you these days? Any format, person, vibe…
Lots of sci-fi horror lol. Also this new trend of “pocket grooves” on Instagram? The type of drum lines these people are programming are just NUTS and make me wanna try and go entirely off grid for my new Sleepy Fish stuff! It’s way harder than you would think though haha, these people are wizards.
What’s on your playlist nowadays?
So much metalcore. My friend Nour showed me a bunch of bands, and it totally broke open the genre for me, and I’ve been addicted since. My favorite bands right now are 7 Angels 7 Plagues, Car Bomb, and Botch. I think I just love weird time signatures and grooves, and I’m trying to pull that into my lofi work more. Also, to circle back to an earlier answer, System of a Down and Deftones. Those two bands captured a moment in time of perfect music for me, and their discographies I constantly am appreciating more and more.
In our first interview, you said you liked the fact that people could connect with the project without necessarily knowing who you were - almost like a virtual persona à la Gorillaz. Do you still feel the same way about anonymity and the separation between Izzi and Sleepy Fish?
Haha yes, but I feel like more and more people know stuff about me, which I don’t mind. It’s kinda there but only if you look for it, so I feel a bit flattered whenever people know my name or other stuff about me!
Six years ago, when I asked what your favourite type of day looked like, the answer involved staying home, drinking coffee, making music and playing video games with friends. Has the perfect day changed at all?
Not really, just add on spending time with my wonderful partner and our 2 silly cats!
Thanks for everything, Izzi. Can’t wait to talk to you again in 6 years, I hope. Any words to the future Sleepy Fish?
You should stream more! And save more of the vods.
Side note: the people who come to my Twitch stream are some of the nicest people of all time lol, I probably have the nicest chat on the entire site. Also looking forward to diving back into creating art again and again, and continuing to be excited and inspired.
And to all else: Thanks for your time spent reading and/or listening. It means the world when people interact with my art, and I am thankful for it always.
