9+1 Q&A with BUHU

What inspired you to first start making music? And how did you come to be in your current incarnation? Or if you prefer, a brief bio about you.

More than just a moniker, BUHU is a retrospective of their lives and a reflection, or refraction, of their relationship. Nothing is held back, all is laid bare. To see BUHU perform is an experience so intimate that it feels almost illicit—like peeking through a window and witnessing a private moment you’re not meant to get to share. Rogers exudes true feeling on stage, bounding freely and dancing with the microphone, moving himself to the point that his legs buckle underneath the weight of all the emotion and fatigue. He wraps the mic cord around his neck like a noose, seemingly choking himself to get these words out. Meanwhile Paciga, like a goddess Rogers can never quite reach, holds court stoically, majestically, to the side, her throne an array of synths, drum machines, pedals, samplers, and loop stations, which she orchestrates like a conductor, weaving a musical tapestry that’s lush, sexy, and utterly captivating. The juxtaposition of the two performers together is impossible to look away from. It’s music you know somebody’s getting lucky to, whether you happen to be one of those lucky ones or not.

Born and bred between Wisconsin and Texas, BUHU’s recordings might be described as electronic bedroom pop, in the sense that Rogers produces them largely himself. But that term is way too reductive; these are no tinker-toy beats crapped out with GarageBand on a MacBook. BUHU’s compositions are powerful, sonically cinematic, multidimensional, precise, ever unfolding. The songwriting atop that composition borrows from many of the greats both past and present, from Jackson Browne to Modest Mouse, The Books, Tortoise, even Peter Gabriel. The beats bump and the hooks catch. BUHU’s music attacks from both sides.

Provide us with some info about your latest release…

Tenets: principles, convictions, the core essentials. The first studio album from Austin synth pop duo BUHU is an excavation of sorts, as lead singer/producer Jeremy Rogers mines the seminal aspects and events of his life, stripping it all down and laying himself bare. It’s a risky effort; no scrims of hipster irony to hide behind here. Take it or leave it, Rogers seems to be saying throughout. Here I am, this is me. Something about the album calls to mind the scene in Spike Jonze’s Adaptation, when Donald Kaufman gently, profoundly rebukes his twin brother: “You are what you love, not what loves you.”

Love—and loss—are in abundance here. Two women play vastly different roles in what proves to be a cohesive narrative: the first, a new lover who’s shaken Rogers’ foundation and caused him to reflect, sometimes unfavorably, on the person he is or once was; the second, his late mother, who he lost at a tragically young age. These women are objects only in the sense that they’re objects of his affection and catalysts for self-reflection. His respect for each is palpable and complex. Tenets is, in essence, a love letter to them both.

Which ones would you consider your main influences both music-wise & non-music-wise?

The nature of my relationship with my wife was the largest influence on this album. The works of Peter Gabriel, Tears for Fears, Boards of Canada, Bibio, Jackson Browne and Washed Out all informed my songwriting process.

In what way does your sound differ from the rest genre-related artists/bands and why should we listen to your music? In other words, how would you describe your sound?

I am most concerned with being honest and vulnerable above anything else. I actually have something to say and it is relatable and extremely vulnerable.

Please name your 3 desert islands albums, movies & books…

Ugly Casanova – Sharpen Your Teeth, The Books – Lemon of Pink… Thats all I need.

Do you prefer studio or performing live and why?

I prefer studio because it is more of an exciting process to create something new as it can only happen once.

Is there any funny-unique story you would like to share with us, always in relation to your music ‘career’?

Not particularly.

Which track of your own would you point out as the most unique and why?

Franny – Its easily the most vulnerable song I have ever written. My mother passed away from cancer when I was 9 and it took me 20+ years to write a truly honest song about how I have come to process and cope with her death.

Would you like to share with our readers your future plans?

I hope to release 4 EP’s in 2019… We will see though!.

Free question!!! (Ask yourself a question) you wish to answer and haven’t been given the opportunity…

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Photo credits: Max Beiler

Curated by: Christos Doukakis

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