Incubus’ Brandon Boyd talks to Dom Smith about his new album, ‘Echoes and Cocoons’, as well as current creative inspirations and his attitude towards his success, and legacy.
When reflecting on all the work he has been able to do, Boyd says that right now is an interesting time to re-evaluate what it means to be “successful”: “Being on the cover of magazines, or making tonnes of money is definitely something, but it is not everything.”
The vocalist talks about how, without confronting and reflecting on our “stuff”, all the trappings of fame, or levels of success can lead to ” the financing of your neuroticism”, and doing more harm than good in terms of unleashing any personal issues. “It will put any of your unturned stones on steroids.”
As someone who is fundamentally hopeful for the future, Brandon discusses how he copes on the more challenging days, if and when he has them: “To me, bad days are important. Pain is incredibly informative and educational. If we listen to what that stuff is saying, we can transcend spiritual and existential suffering and become better versions of ourselves because of it.”
Indeed, Boyd’s goals in 2022 are to speak as authentically as possible: “I feel successful when I’m writing a song, and it’s naturally inducing an emotional response in me – that means I’m tapping into something authentic.”
At 45-years-old, Brandon is able to reflect well on how art has helped him to grow as a musician, and as a person: “I have a lot of learning to do. [Creating] is not as much about me, as it felt like it was when I was younger. I’ve learned to channel art. The more I get out of the way, the better it is. I am just a pen, and the ink is coming from some place that I don’t have the capacity to understand yet.”
When going deeper in on the new record, ‘Echoes And Cocoons’, and the writing process, Boyd says that there were definite challenges in pulling it together. Creating during the global pandemic, the artist reflects on how fortunate he has been to have space, he adds: “So much of it was written under a societal duress. I am very blessed to live in the Santa Monica mountains. It’s very beautiful and rural.”
The album also co-written remotely with producer, John Congleton (St Vincent) who Brandon e-mailed with regularly to source ideas. Discussing the tracks that we have heard already from the album, which releases in March, Brandon reflects on latest release, ‘Dime In My Dryer’: “It was the first track that I wrote with John, and the first track that I heard, and I was compelled by it because there was a tension. The lyric is more hopeful, and offers some contrast to that tension,” Boyd continues. “The ‘Dime In My Dryer’ is a metaphor, for the signal in amongst all the noise from the washing of the day. It’s a signal to those looking for hope.”
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Listen to the full audio chat where Brandon talks more about ‘Echoes and Cocoons’, other current projects, future UK shows and more here:
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