Talking with Bob: An Interview with Bobbing
By Caleb Peck
California-based artist, Robert Ross, first entered the music scene as a member of the futuristic math-rock band Feed Me Jack, who’s final EP, Ultra Ego, was released in 2016. After a hiatus of a few years, he returned under the name Bobbing, keeping the rapid mathiness that helped Feed Me Jack stand out, but shifting away from indie rock to more of a synth-based pop.
Bobbing and I last corresponded after the release of his debut EP, Thank You For Singing to Me, when we discussed his musical exploits as he drove home on the freeway. This time around, the potential threat of injury and death mid-interview was less present as we conversed from our respective bedrooms, and talked about his new mixtape, Mixtape.
The release contains 17 songs yet spans just 23 minutes, creating a sampling platter of bite-sized tracks for listeners with standout titles such as “The World’s Last Mango Juul Pod,” “Near Death Bossa Nova,” and “Mastodon Matador.” While some might expect musical simplicity from such comical titles, Bobbing’s attention to detail shows on these tracks; he perfects every measure on each song, even if their titles are about a shortage of vape flavors.
How much of the Mixtape was made during quarantine?
Like, most of the work of actually recording and producing was done since…like March, but I had had the idea for it and had started it late last year. Also, most of the ideas were already little sketches, dating back up to three years ago. They were all just kind of orphaned little projects that I didn’t want to let go of completely, but I also didn’t want to go through turning them into fully-fledged songs.
We basically took those projects and completely reworked them from the ground up. It’s almost like they molted…
(PC: Maddie Deutch)
They evolved, kind of like a Pokémon.
Exactly, yeah.
I noticed that, on your last EP, you did a lot of longer, 3-4 minute songs, but they would have a lot of different segments. This time, it felt like you took those segments and extended them into their own projects. What was that process like?
I think I just felt satisfied with the amount that was packed into the little chunks as they existed. I wasn’t as interested in being like, “Ok, so I’m gonna repeat this section and add something else to it.” It just kind of conceptually worked better.
There were a couple of songs that were gonna make it in but it just didn’t really work out. Whenever I listened to [the EP] all the way through, once I got to the actual song songs, [they] would just kind of break up the flow a little bit so I decided to take them out.
So, it was kind of like perfecting those little chunks to the point where you felt comfortable calling them their own songs?
Yeah. I just kind of got them nice and presentable; it would have been a lot more to develop them over time. I put a lot of effort into each measure of a song. There’s no way I’m just gonna be like “repeat this section;” that’s not how I work. Dense nuggets are kind of how it ended up.
I don’t want you to have to predict your entire future as an artist, but do you feel more comfortable working with smaller songs than larger songs going forward?
Um, I don’t really draw a distinction ‘cause I do have some song songs. Going forward, I know I have some I’m planning to release as singles. I have about 8 or 10 of them that I definitely want to be out in the world
I think [this EP] is more like, “Hey, I gathered all these ideas and they’re here.” It’s like a little grab bag.
Was there any type of challenge you set for yourself with this project? Anything new you were trying to incorporate?
[Long Silence]
I guess I was trying to get more vocals in there. It’s hard for me to make vocals work on things ‘cause I don’t really think my voice is the best suited for stuff, but I do think the human voice is a super compelling instrument. I did a lot of vocoder stuff.
Yeah, I saw the video of you using (the vocoder) on the Behind The Scenes video you posted.
Yeah, the vocoder’s super fun. I had my girlfriend sing […] Anything that you hear that has my actual voice in it has been, like, heavily edited. Like, very comped.
I was gonna say, your girlfriend is the lead singer on the most popular song off the EP right now. How does it feel to have her steal the show?
[Laughing] Yeah, exactly. I think she might need to have another feature. She probably will.
What was it like having her feature? Was it cool to work with your significant other on something?
Yeah, I mean we work together on other stuff, but we just hadn’t done music before. ‘Cause, like, the way that I work is super nitpicky…it’s very very personal. I’ve wanted her to sing on something for awhile and this was a good opportunity because we could come together on the lyrics cause she speaks French so we just, like, bounced off what words would fit for the melody. And the melody is short and it’s not a super involved melody- like, not simple, but it’s a straightforward melody. She just did it in two takes and it was like, “Ok, awesome, this is great.”
I was wondering, because you’re clearly really passionate about your music and, sometimes, it’s hard to work with other people you have a strong connection with. It’s cool that it worked out.
She has stuff like that, too. She’s a really good cook, so she’s always, like, cooking a bunch of stuff and I’m like, “Oh, hey, can I sous chef for you?” And she’s like, “Ahhh, no” [laughs]. But, we garden together though, so we have some activities that we can connect on.
It’s always good to have at least one thing in common with your girlfriend.
[Laughing] I’ve heard, I’ve heard. It can be helpful.
I was also gonna ask about the footage of the flowers and the bees that you released. What was it like combining two things that you’re really passionate about? Is there a connection between plants and music for you?
No, not really.
I was hoping for a real poetic answer about how they intertwine perfectly.
I need to come up with a canned answer for that so the next person will [get one].
I went to school for natural history so I’m really into native California flora. I used to work at this native plant nursery and while I was supposed to be doing other stuff, I would just film slow-mo videos of flowers. Also, I went on this super awesome solo summit of this mountain called Snow Mountain a few years back; I filmed some [of the footage] during that. I just happened to have all that footage lying around so I was like, these will kind of go together.
You also did some behind the scenes stuff recently. Does it feel more official when you’re shooting stuff behind the scenes or when you’re releasing some type of video accompaniment?
I like to just film whatever just to see if something funny will happen or something special will happen. I just feel like it’s hard to figure out what your Internet presence is; artists have to create some supplementary content and build up their web presence. I’m just always kind of filming goofy shit in the hopes that something…like…will happen.
Yeah, I think candid moments like that, with friends, are almost always the best content.
I really agree. I don’t even know why I’ll record things. Sometimes, I pull out my voice memo app if I’m having a good conversation or someone’s being really funny or something. It’s kinda creepy actually [laughs]. I’ll just, like, start recording without telling the person- not even to use later; I just want to hear it later.
I definitely have plenty of voice memos of me and my friends just talking. One time my friend and I got locked out of his house so we just decided to record the entire night of us trying to get inside. I feel like stuff like that is always good, and to put it out there for other people to enjoy is super cool.
(PC: Maddie Deutch)
In terms of talking about Internet presence, you definitely interact with other people who do covers of your songs and other stuff like that. What’s it like to see people show support in that way?
I get so amped off that; it’s like the best compliment that you can get. [Covers are] the most flattering show of support or interest in my music ‘cause it’s like someone took the time to dive into my composition [in] the deepest way. It’s fucking awesome.
If someone’s stoked on your work and they want to comment and stuff, it’s like dude…you’re my friend [laughs]. You like my work? Hell yeah. I can’t be too pretentious ‘cause I make super, super weird music.
I feel like the dream of anybody doing creative stuff is to have enough people fuck with the same stuff that you do so that you can just make a living off of it.
Yeah, I’ve been thinking about that a lot…especially in quarantine because I’ve been making a little dough from t-shirts and like not working at a job, not working for someone else’s dream, and just wondering when am I gonna jump off the precipice and work for my own dream and make that happen and what [will] I have to do for that to work?
Bobbing’s fast-paced and complex style has captivated my ADHD-riddled brain since the moment I found it. Mixtape reminds me of those little six-packs of cereal that Post and General Mills sell: it gives you a taste of all the different things they, in this case, Bobbing, has to offer. That said, Bobbing’s second release is a great introduction to his sound, showing off his varied talents and exceptional mastery of sound.
Make sure to listen to/ purchase Mixtape here. In the meantime, you can keep up with Bobbing via his socials, listed below!