Cementing herself as an unwavering sex symbol, Shygirl is not slowing down anytime soon. Anticipated projects and live performances have made the London artist a figure to watch. Informing a new age of dance music fusing hyper-pop, house, and hip-hop, Shygirl stands at the helm. While “CLEO” curves our collective hunger, keep your eyes on Shygirl.
Watch the music video for “CLEO” below.
The name Opium Angel sounds euphoric, yet mortal — a paradox that seems to capture your sound perfectly. How did you come up with it?
Omari Love— The first two letters of “Opium” are like “OP” for Omari and Pauli, but opium is also a drug that makes people feel really good. Euphoria is a good word, as you said, but it also destroys — that’s the mortal aspect I felt from it.
Pauli Cakes— And in a way it's like dying and coming back to life through ecstasy. Opium makes you feel euphoric, but if you do too much, you die. Then, you reincarnate into the world as an angel. The music isn’t dark, but it talks a lot about existence, deconstructing it, eating the body, bleeding, and then coming back — like the line going flat on a heart monitor. It definitely deals with mortality.
Pauli, as a New York native, how has your upbringing inspired your artistic approach? And Omari, coming from Minnesota, how has your background shaped your music, and what has been the impact of moving to New York?
PC— Growing up in New York, I’ve always been surrounded by different sounds. Music has always been my form of escapism in an overstimulating society. I have a very maximalist approach to sound because, in New York, there's always a million things happening at once. Growing up in the Bronx, I was constantly exposed to diverse music, like dancehall and futuristic Caribbean sounds. These sound bites have always been in my head.
OL— Growing up in Minnesota, there was always this battle between West Coast and East Coast music, but being in the Midwest, I was exposed to both. My dad loved West Coast music, so I grew up listening to a lot of that. For a long time, I didn’t listen to any East Coast rappers because I thought West Coast was the best. Knowing Prince was from Minnesota was also a huge influence — it was so unique, like nothing anyone had heard before, and I wanted that in my music. As I got older, I realized that every place has its own sound, and when I started creating music, I became a sponge to all of it. Moving to New York exposed me to things I didn’t even know existed, like noise music. Seeing artists like Deli Girls and Machine Girl was mind-boggling to me — it was so unconventional and inspiring.
Your EP has a strong political theme, especially on tracks like “Metallic” and “Need to Move.” There was a deep movement-based vibe to the lyrics. Could you expand on those messages a bit?
PC— For “Need to Move,” the line “abolish me, abolish you” comes from deconstructing the self — like, fuck my ego, fuck your ego. It’s about abolishing oneself and others, getting rid of the things that drag us down, like ego and authority. Nothing belongs to us, nothing in this world belongs to anyone — we inherit everything from those who came before us. The song is about abolishing it all and feeling the music, feeling the rage, without being trapped by ego or physical constraints. It’s like, “Fuck me, fuck you, we’re all pieces of shit, so let’s just dance and feel it.” Let’s just dance and move and feel it and not try to exist on some weird moral hierarchy.
OL— The EP was recorded during the time of George Floyd’s death and the protests that followed, which were focused on abolishing the police, the government, and the systems that oppress us. We wanted to engage in movements outside of ego. Whereas now, we’ve become kind of stagnant and almost regressed into this hyper individualistic society that depends on capitalism to move forward. Those songs speak all to that. I wanted to engage in movements outside of ego — to start understanding abolition and deconstruction, we have to abolish ourselves, our egos and unlearn the policing thoughts that live in our minds.
To me, art should be true to the artist while inevitably reflecting the time of the world they live in. I’d say you accomplish that here. What do you want people to learn from listening to your EP?
OL— The most important ideology I have is expression. People should absolutely express themselves and not let that be taken away, watered down, or diluted.
PC— When people listen to our music, I want them to understand that we’re attempting to break down binaries. We don’t care if a song doesn’t sound “professional” or “acceptable.” It’s about deconstructing sound and invoking inspiration and rage in people’s hearts.
OL— My view on expression is rooted in imperfection. That’s incredibly important to me — I’ve accepted that I’m not perfect, and no one I know is. The artists I revere most are fundamentally flawed, and that’s an important aspect of our music. It’s not perfectly mixed because I didn’t go to school for audio engineering — I don’t know music theory. Anyone can make music; you don’t have to be classically trained.
Who inspires you musically, and who did you channel while creating this project?
PC— For “Eat the Body,” the line “eat the body, drink the blood” has a Catholic undertone related to communion in Church and more generally, guilt, but I was also thinking a lot about my own religious and spiritual practices. What sacrifice means to different spirits in order to maintain relationships with them — in Santeria there’s a lot of blood sacrifice for spiritual rebirth, our loved ones, etc., constantly. Listening back to the lyrics, I felt they were very inspired by 5)/5 and my veneration for my ancestors and dead people that I work with and talk to.
OL— My aunts were the first to inspire me to make music — they had a duo called Double Shot, which was gangster rap. Seeing my aunt Tiffany’s home studio was so inspiring to me. Rappers have always been my biggest inspiration, especially in their poetry. There’s a quote from Tupac in an unreleased interview that came out in 2015: “We’re not really rapping; we’re just letting our dead homies tell stories through us.” At first, I didn’t understand it, but the more I made music, the more it made sense. It’s like there’s a collective, ancestral consciousness speaking through us, communicating very important messages.
I think music carries a lot of energy, which is what makes it so relatable — everybody’s felt the same in some way or another. What were some of the perks and challenges of working together?
PC— Everything we do together is a byproduct of our love and individuality, but also our unity. I think that’s really special. We both contribute our unique experiences and perspectives to create something mind-blowing and it never ceases to amaze me. Omari inspires me in every sense, and their production is incredible. Both of us being non-binary and having a deconstructed perspective on sound and music created this sonic bendiness that doesn’t really fit into any one experience, which is such a special advantage to what we do.
OL— Pauli has introduced me to sounds I wouldn’t have tried on my own, which is the cool part about Opium Angel and our collaboration. It’s like raising a child. In the beginning, it didn’t feel like a responsibility; it felt like something that came together naturally. That’s what music and expression are about — it shouldn’t feel like labor; it should feel like expression.
PC— Coming from different musical backgrounds — Omari with production and me with DJing and working with pre-made sounds — sometimes we butt heads because I can be impatient. The musical process takes a lot of patience, as I’ve learned from Omari, and it’s not like a DJ set; it doesn’t work like that.
Both your vocals carry a unique and enticing pitch, and the beat is dense and heavy, yet relatable. Having successfully merged a niche sound with public appeal, what are your end goals for this project, and where do you see yourselves after the release?
PC— I don’t want it to end; I want it to keep going. I want Opium Angel to be part of a larger musical archive that people can reference throughout time, history, and culture. I want the project to grow, and for us to create more bodies of work. Eventually, I’d love for us to have enough resources to record in a proper studio, because right now, everything is recorded on our computer.
OL— I want to continue developing a body of work and dive into more visual aspects, like recording videos and incorporating visuals into our performances. I’d love to perform all over the world, take our project everywhere, and collaborate with other artists.
How are you? How is this week feeling for you?
I'm pretty anxious. If I'm being honest, just like the anticipation of the album is quite nerve wracking, but I feel very excited. I'm currently rehearsing.
How did the creative process behind this album differ from the last two?
I had been through a lot of specific things in my life that kind of slapped me back into reality. Prior to this album, I was writing about events that I had not quite understood what was actually going on in the situation, I would always constantly blame people.
And I think the things that had happened within the two year mark of writing this album definitely made me realize that at times I could be, I could be unhealthy and toxic in certain situations. So it was, it's basically me just finally accepting my own fault.
Would you call it an accountability album, in a way?
Definitely like, oh I needed to write the songs to understand what I was going through better. It's basically a growing up record.
What was it like working with Rick Rubin?
It was amazing. Honestly, he is such an amazing person, and the one thing I took from the experience was that I should feel confident in my own songwriting. And I think he made me realize that a lot.
How did he do that? Was it just like in talks with you, or just like a lot of one on one time?
It was a mixture of all that. When we first got into Shangri-La [Rubin’s studio], we had all these demos me and Jacob, Jacob Bogdan, who co-produced this record had made, and so we were kind of excited to show these demos to Rick, and he was like, I don't want to hear any of the demos. I just want to hear the songs the way you wrote them in your house. So the next day, we played him the entire record acoustically, like how I wrote it to begin with, and I had realized that all the songs sound good as it is, and I could probably release them as it is, you know, minus the production and minus all the instrumentation. And that's kind of when I realized, oh, like, I like my songwriting. This is pretty cool. And I think I needed that confidence to continue making this record with him.
When you were writing this record what art were you consuming?
I wear my references on my sleeve, almost, and it's always been Elliot [Smith] throughout my music, but I was listening to a lot of new music, like Pine Grove, and I got really into Fiona Apple. I took a lot of inspiration from them, but the most inspiration I got was from everything that I had experienced.
So going through a breakup and falling back in love again, and you know the drama around that, and you know, just the drama of everything that had happened in those two years.
I saw the clip of “Real Man” that you posted online. What do you think when people tell you you’re “Fiona Apple-coded”?
It's funny when people say that, because with that song, I guess Fiona was a reference… but it was actually Lana Del Rey — Lizzy Grant-era — I was definitely referencing.
I'm so honored to be even compared to Fiona Apple, but there's only one Fiona Apple, and there's only one of me. So, yeah, I can't take it… it seems disrespectful to Fiona. She's amazing. She's too amazing for my own good.
When you write songs, what is your creative process? Do the melodies come first? The lyrics?
The chords come first because I usually write on guitar, and then I find the melody and then the lyrics come quite naturally.
When you're asleep, do you ever have chord progressions come to you? Or when you go on walks? I know for a lot of writers, lyrics will come to them whenever they’re in motion.
It's definitely not chords, because that'd be like some genius shit. It's mostly melodies I hum, melodies that I really like, or even phrases that people say that kind of stick to me. I note it on my phone.
Earlier, you said you were anxious, but how do you think you'll feel when its out?
I've been using a very strange comparison describing it. Every time I talk about the leading up to the release of this record, it feels like I've been bursting for the toilet, for ages, and on Friday, when it comes out, I’ll finally reach the toilet and I can just fucking breathe. Basically.
That's a great metaphor, honestly. Do you recognize this album as more of a concept album?
In a way, you could argue any album is a concept because you're writing in a certain period of time in your life. So I guess This Is How Tomorrow Moves is a bit of a concept album, but it's just me kind of navigating my way through this newfound womanhood I'm trying to understand.
When you look back at your songs, do you ever feel a bit cringe, like, “Oh, I'm not going through that now”…
I definitely used to, but now writing this record, I kind of cut myself a lot of slack, especially with my first record, Fake It Flowers, I couldn't really listen to the songs without cringing out. But now I look back at it so fondly, and I realized I had to go through all those things to be able to write the music I make now.
What was the most difficult song to write on the record?
Probably, “Tie My Shoes”, or, “This Is How It Went.”
Why?
[For] “This is how it went,” I was writing about a situation that happened to me on that exact day. So it word for word describes the tea being spilled in that song. I was going through a lot of emotions, and it was very intense to me to write and then [for] “Tie My Shoes,” I kind of delve into my past childhood trauma to try and understand it whilst I was writing that song.
Did opening for Taylor Shift change how you're going about this album and how you go about performing now?
It'd be stupid to say if it didn't, because I saw her every night and I have so much respect for her as an artist and as a performer. Because I was on the road with her for a little bit, I watched her show every night and realized that she's obsessed with bridges.
So on this record, I really took my time when I wrote the bridges, and I have Taylor to thank for that. And just like all the music I listened to, I kind of subconsciously reference within my music. Especially songs like, “Ever Seen,” I was listening to “Begin Again,” by Swift all the time, and that kind of made an influence on that song.
With Kimchi and Miso your kitties, when are you planning on releasing new merch?
We actually have but I decided to just kind of sit on it for a little bit before this album comes out.
Are they [the cats] involved in this record at all?
Well, they're a huge inspiration to me. So [the song], “Coming Home,” is about them and their dad and my boyfriend.
Everyone is talking about you and Rob from Love Island. Do you have anything you'd want to say to him? You are not only his favorite musical artist, but you're also his big celebrity crush…
It's cool that he's mentioned my music so much and that he loves the music. I definitely want to send a vinyl out to him. I really appreciate his support and stuff. I don't know what he's like as a person or what he's like in the show, but I'm glad that he put so many people on to my music. So thanks Rob!
Being from New York, have you experienced the music community change?
It’s funny, I feel like I’ve been on the periphery of it. I have a lot of friends in different cliques, but I never felt like I belonged to any specific group, even though I have an incredible support system that I’m really inspired by. I always felt like the way I wrote songs and presented myself was a little different. A lot has changed since I first started music.
The project has interesting collaborations on it, like Dev Hynes, Aaron Maine, and Ren G. In that way, it’s really New York. How have the people around you influenced the project?
I’m so inspired by the people around me and their work. Most of the songs were all written first, and I wanted to find ways to give them more life with features. With Dev, I wanted to collaborate with him since we worked together in the past. I previously sang on his most recent EP, and I was basically in Blood Orange during the Harry Styles shows at MSG. I knew our voices sounded good together, so I wanted both of us on a song. It honestly took me a year to build up the courage to ask him if he wanted to be on the song, and he was totally down. The song Aaron and I produced had been a work in progress on and off for two years, and we finally finished it earlier this year. Ren is one of my closest friends and brings a kind of levity to everything she touches.
I love her. You guys have such different styles. I’m so excited to hear the song you have together.
Oh yeah totally. Ren has the best music taste of anyone I’ve ever met in my life. We immediately clicked on that first. We have such kindred music tastes. She’s like an encyclopedia of music knowledge. Dev and Aaron are too! I love people like that, total nerds in a way.
What are you listening to right now?
Oh gosh. I’m listening back to everything that I was influenced by while I was recording. I want to see if I can spot my references. I was listening to a lot of George Michael, The Dandy Warhols, and Jimmy Eat World, honestly. I love the idea of this early 2000s singer-songwriter, borderline gay guy in music. Kind of like an Enrique Iglesias type of figure.
Enrique Iglesias? Like a metrosexual guy?
Yeah you know what I mean? Like metrosexual or metropolitan, loungey, emo-dance music in conjunction with guitar music and the snottiness of britpop. I was really inspired by the attitude of Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Dandy Warhols. They were kind of doing Britpop in a Portland, Pacific Northwest way. There’s this song “Not if You Were the Last Junkie on Earth '' by the Dandy Warhols that I listened to constantly for the last year and a half. David Lachapelle did the video for it, and the band hated it even though it’s such an iconic video of these dancing girls dressed in syringes. It was so inspirational for me because it was how much humor I wanted to put in my project. I found the presentation to be so engaging.
Yeah I love how much humor is in your project. I love the line in “Dust” when you sing, “When I think of you / All I think of is your dirty room” What’s the dirtiest room you’ve ever been in?
It was probably my freshman dorm. I had a crazy roommate who would trash it. He was a dancer, so he would exercise in 5 hoodies and sweatpants with the heat on. It was like a garbage dump / sauna. I would have to interfere with his situation.
Was that around the time you opened for Azealia Banks? Tell me about that tour.
Yeah she was my good friend in high school and we were in musicals together at LaGuardia. My old band, Strange Names, opened for her on the Broke with Expensive Taste tour through North America. It was so fun with such a crazy rowdy audience, but some of the coolest people ever. She’s great, and we continued writing together afterward. We did something together in 2019 that we abandoned that sounded like a show tune.
When I was listening to your music, it brought me out of my body. It taps into this dreamlike world. What are you typically thinking about when you’re creating and writing about this kind of atmosphere?
This record is borderline testimonial, and I typically write first through gibberish and fit in the words afterwards. I write a lot while I’m walking and daydreaming. I tend to write about myself in the third person based on how I think people are perceiving me.
What kind of objects do you have that inspire you while you’re creating music?
I’ve only had this home studio for a few months. When I was writing this record, I demoed a lot of these songs on my friend's equipment because I was moving around a lot. It was kind of a crust punk-y in a way, but I would probably say my dog is a really grounding presence in my world.
This upcoming project is different because it includes your band also. How did you all come together?
I knew I wanted them to be in my band before I knew they played instruments. My initial thought was that they were going to be miming everything like total theater. They were meant to look cute and stylish like a TV program, (The Monkees or S Club 7). We got into the rehearsal room, and it became apparent that it would just be easier for them to learn the songs. I was really inspired by these 70s, European one-hit-wonder boy bands who were industry plants, so “Splash Band” was super in that world. We all created lore for our characters in the band.
What is it?
There’s Dalgo, who’s a semi-retired hustler; Tony Jet is a Balkan bodybuilder who just arrived from a war in the Balkan Sea; and Silas, who is obsessed with how he was abducted by aliens. We all ended up in New York and created the band to get by.
What about yourself?
I’m just Liam, but I wanted people to know that something-something wrong side of the tracks, been through something-something tormented. As today is the day I released a song, I’m typically insufferably on my phone with a grass is greener mentality. I’m usually a total terror to be around when I release music.
Watch the video for "Other Guys" feat. Blood Orange below.
