BON-PSY & SHAUNI 'BLÜM' WITH NEW RELEASE
This first breakthrough for Bon-Psy on the production side of the project ended up being the first main chorus in “Blüm.”
“I find it much easier to work on a song once I have an initial beat idea that I’m happy with. Sometimes it can take me a while to get to that point but that’s all part of the process really,” Bon-Psy continued. “As long as I keep pushing, I normally achieve what I set out to do.”
Much of Bon-Psy’s work pulls in elements of the natural world. Shauni’s lyrics focus on self-acceptance and self-love. “Blüm'' is the harmonization of both themes, through creating parallels with domestic violence and the growth and blooming of a flower.
“Bon-Psy’s interpretation of the lifecycle of a flower really mirrored what I was writing about and it ended up being a pretty dope mix of perspective and life,” Shauni said. “Our personal perspectives allowed it to grow and change as we were working and ultimately, we didn’t know it would be what it was in the end.”
As the author of the poetic lyrics, Shauni personally said she connected most with the line “this thunderous applause can only drag you down, but don’t you let go.” She explained how the line came from “a desperation for more lyrics for the project and ended up becoming what explains my childhood the most.”
“The thunderous applause signifies the imposter syndrome as no one really knows what goes on behind closed doors,” Shauni said. “This noise can mute your reality in a sense, which was a coping mechanism. As you go through life you realize you needed that applause for some sort of normalcy, so you hang onto it. This is where the magic happens. For me, the applause took me into my deepest serenity and allowed me to find my true passions in life and what made me the happiest.”
A common motif throughout the song is the growth of a flower, from the title “Blüm,” to the lyrics, and the video graphics. In particular, Shauni often references a common daisy. Although her favorite flower is the Ranunculus in the buttercup family, the common daisy, which is often considered a weed, holds a special place in her heart.
“I always think back to when I was young and would pick these flowers [the common daisy] and bring them inside for my mom to put in a vase. Although they are weeds, in theory, they are still incredibly beautiful and sweet. My Nonna (grandmother), now deceased, used to doodle daisies on napkins and scrap paper when my mother was young, and we believe she tells us she’s with us whenever a daisy pops up.”
Bon-Psy describes “Blüm” as an “ode to all the random thoughts that go through [his] mind on any given day.” These wandering thoughts are where the connection of the life cycle of a flower as the foundation for the project was sparked.
“I like to go on walks every now and then just to reset my mind and pull my attention elsewhere…I would find myself watching plant life and imagining how it got there, everything it is experienced, and where it will go from that point,” Bon-Psy said. “Basically, envisioning its lifespan and everything this little flower would go through before its eventual departure. I wanted to create a piece of music that could somehow represent that life cycle.”
“Blüm’s” foundation is the process of life. If you watch the music video this is clear in the literal sense as a flower grows and blooms. Or if you tune into the lyrics of the song, it is true in a metaphorical sense, the process of growth and change and hardship in human life.
“I think Bon-Psy has a really beautiful perspective of nature and how it has an effect on life,” Shauni said. “It was an eye-opening process because he loves to get all the details right and it allowed me to hone in on what I really wanted to say.”
Any collaboration has its difficulties and compromises. But searching for a middle ground can also stretch the creative process to form a stronger final project.
“It was wonderful to have someone else work on the tune alongside myself, it can be a bit stressful at times when you get stuck on a section of a track and you don’t know where to move forward,” Bon-Psy said. “But with Shauni’s vocals on top, I found the inspiration came a lot easier. She has her own interpretation of the track which I found to be quite intriguing, and it gave me some brilliant material to work with. The addition of her vocals made me realize the applicability of the idea of the song to not only flowers but to people as well.”
Shauni’s process for writing lyrics deals with a fair amount of self-reflection. The process begins with free-flowing journaling, and transitions into forming those words into an overarching story. She says she feels “like a kid in a candy store just sifting through and finding what [she] connect[s] with the most.”
“It felt like a safe collaboration to really start sharing important pieces of myself and my journey. There is something about being able to send over tons of vocals to a producer who can sift through and find what they connect to and really try and find gold to be able to really craft a true organic collab. Feeling safe to do this allowed me to let go.”
Many of Bon-Psy’s previous tracks, focus solely on repetitive vocal chops, or contain no vocals at all, pushing the chill melodies that he excels at crafting. The edition of Shauni’s vocals and lyric writing allowed him to refocus his work in an entirely new way.
“Having a singer on board with the project is definitely a new thing for me and my sound. I normally use a lot of vocal chops and try to arrange them in a way that accentuates the feeling of the tune. But with the addition of Shauni and her own lyrics, it adds another layer of depth and even more material to decipher. I think overall it is probably the most thought-provoking tune and reflective tune I’ve written.”
“Blüm” is an introspective story from two artists' points of view. Every person’s life path is different, but nearly everyone looks for a connection with others, and “Blüm” embodies that human connection and self-reflection in sonic form.
“I hope that listeners can relate to the struggle and how they felt emerging from that struggle and that it comforts them that it’s all a journey,” Shauni said. “You are forever making your garden beautiful and full. I hope survivors and victims of domestic violence can connect with the journey of the record.”
Bon-Psy & Shauni' "Blüm", out now on all platforms.
Song link: https://ffm.to/bon-psy-shauni-blum
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Shauni Online: