Right now, Slayyyter’s all about being the worst. We sat down with Missouri-born music artist Slayyyter, ahead of her upcoming album release, to find out what’s inspired her new era, who’s on her moodboard, and what it actually takes to be “the worst.”
Slayyyter came straight out of the Midwest and grabbed pop music by the throat, capturing the attention of global audiences with viral tracks like “Mine”, “Starfucker”, “Candy”, “BFF” and more. But her new era, marked by her upcoming album titled “WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA”, is like nothing she’s done before.
As Slayyyter told us, “I’d say [this is my final form]. This is the first project where it feels like I’ve really tapped into my strong suits as an artist.” Keep reading to find out what she told us when we linked up ahead of her pending album drop, with singles “BEAT UP CHANELS”, “CRANK”, “DANCE…”, and “CANNIBALISM” already out and blowing up.
What does it actually mean to be the “worst girl in America”?
“I had a lot of skater friends in Missouri who would all [call themselves], like “worst dude” or “most drunkest dude at the party” – that kind of terminology – so, while I feel like it’s a term of endearment [when they used it], it’s also a catch-all phrase for how I feel a lot of the time. In music or just in life, in social settings, in high school, I always felt like an odd one out. In music, you can have a lot of confidence in what you’re doing and feel really good about your output, and then the next day, you can feel really corny and you’re like, “wait, I feel like no one really likes me,” [whether that’s] peers or friends or people on the Internet or whatever. [“Worst girl in America” is] kind of like a funny phrase that I feel captures my essence [whether that’s] being the drunk, crazy girl or being the internet meme song girl, or just feeling like the worst.”
Would you say this is a title you personally identify with, or more of persona?
“I think it’s something that I identify with. That title, it’s like the thought that crosses your mind when you have really bad hangover anxiety and you’re just like, “oh, my God, like, I’m the worst. What did I say last night? What did I do? Like, where did I go? Like, how drunk was I?” I feel like I identify with it in a funny way. I play up to it a little bit too, because I think everyone’s in like this weird place and culture where we try so hard to be so cool and chic and sophisticated, and I feel like the complete opposite of that.”
Your new music’s been called “loud”, and I saw you said “CRANK” isn’t even the loudest track on the album. What’s drawn you to making anthems that fans can really scream at the top of their lungs?
“It comes very naturally in the studio. Over the past couple of years, I’ve used music as an outlet for anger. Sometimes I get a bad temper and [felt] frustration with myself, my life, other people all really coming out in the music. It’s very therapeutic, so I hope when people listen to it they sing-scream along. There’s [a quality to my music that’s] like a rage room where you like smash glass. It comes from a place of getting my angst out in music, which felt nice, like a release. I feel less angry after making some of these songs and screaming my head off or whatever.”
I’m so obsessed with the visual identity of this era. It feels like there must’ve been so many different pop culture references on your moodboard. Where did you get your inspiration from?
“The Midwest was a big inspiration. I feel like my take on everything [for this album] has been trying to capture a snapshot of the Midwest, which is where I grew up, and the nostalgia of hanging out with skater boys when I was in high school or just like my own kind of life story, working at a hair salon and putting everything through like a dream lens and making it kind of fantasy. There’s all these little things that are very specific to my life and my childhood, and where I grew up, that people might not even catch just because it might seem like it’s just an aesthetic choice, but there’s deeper meaning to the bunny man and everything. It all really echoes things in my life and my story and my upbringing and my musical beginnings.”
“I wanted this album to be more colourful and feel very dreamlike. I wasn’t trying to make ‘Tumblr visuals’ per se, but I was inspired by creating music videos that would’ve really caught my attention if I was in high school and like scrolling through Tumblr, and would have made me excited about an artist like me. The visuals have been so, so important for this music: I feel like the music wouldn’t hit the same for people without the visuals because they’re so intertwined.”
“It sounds so corny, but I really had my own life and childhood photos, past moments of my own career and other music videos I’ve done on the mood board. It’s almost like a hundred different things kind of tied together.”
Would you say that “WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA” is your final form?
“I’d say, yeah, [this is my final form]. In life, I don’t know if anyone ever reaches their final form until they die. I’m always going to be searching to do that. This feels like my final form now, but who knows? Maybe my next album, I’ll be making something totally different that feels like a more completed version of my skill set as an artist. But I think in this current time, this album, more so than anything I’ve done before, really feels like I’ve honed in on my artistry, my visual creative direction, and my sound. I feel like I really have perfected the formula or the recipe, if you will, for what I think my sound is and can be. I’ve played with all different versions of myself in the music, whether it’s more like rap and screaming and angsty, or singing and, you know, using the highest point of my vocal register to the very, very lowest. This is the first project where it feels like I’ve really tapped into my strong suits as an artist.”
You just dropped a vinyl for “WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA” which is filled with dirt. I’m obsessed but also need to ask why?
“Honestly, at the very beginning of this era, before I even released “BEAT UP CHANELS” I was really inspired by this photo I’ve seen, like, a million times of Kate Moss with her muddy boots from Glastonbury [Festival]. Dirt feels very tied in a spiritual way to the album [and the idea of] being the “worst girl in America.” The dirt filled vinyl feels right [because] the music is very filthy and dirty – not in a sexual way, but in a sonic way, it sounds very tough and dirty and rugged. Also, I feel like I’m kind of rough around the edges as a person. It feels very in line with me as a human.”
One of the tracks listed on the album is titled “Brittany Murphy” – a legend. What made you want to name the song after her?
“Brittany Murphy is someone who has always really inspired me, [although] the song in general isn’t really about her. It’s more about me and my life and my depression and feelings that I have, but I wanted to name the song after [Brittany] because she inspires me so much. She really influences me with my music and my style choices and just the way that I try to carry myself, and so it feels kind of like a tribute.”
““Uptown Girls” was a big inspiration for me for this album, style-wise, and growing up it was one of my favourite movies. I feel like it’s rare that you have a movie that’s a childhood favourite, [that], when you watch it as an adult, takes on a different meaning. Watching it as a grown woman and feeling sometimes like I’m trapped in a grown person’s body, but I act very immature, I [relate to] the main character in that movie. Molly [and me] are kind of the same: free spirited and can’t really get it together.”
“I wanted to kind of have an homage to to [Brittany Murphy], especially since she stars in a movie that, to me, echos girlhood and growing up, [which] the song reflects, so it just made sense to me to name it after her and to have it be the final song, and that’s, like, the period. It’s like the final moment on the album.”
Who’s the artist you took the most inspiration from for this album?
“I kept calling it iPod music. I kept being like, “I want to make music that you listen to on your iPod.” People would be like, “well, what does that mean? Like, I feel like that could be any kind of music.” But I feel like when you go track to track on the album, it all kind of comes together and feels like a snapshot of that 2009 to 2012 indie-electronic [music] that you would listen to on your iPod.”
“It feels nostalgic, but it also feels like something very forward, which I was really happy with. I didn’t want to just do throwback 2009 music, I wanted to really push it forward without being too avant-garde or experimental, because I’m really over overly experimental music. I wanted to keep it in the pop space, but tap into a different era.”
“I feel like M.I.A. is like a huge one. I was listening to so much of the “Maya” album while working on this project. There’s a lot of Soulwax influence, and Justice influence. I love crazy electronics and that shaped the production choices, [although] I was listening to a lot of different things, like punk bands and stuff. I feel like that kind of comes through with the live instrumentation.”
You’re performing at Coachella this year, which is so huge. What’s your favourite thing about performing live?
“Honestly, the energy from the crowd! I always make my music with [performing it] live [as the] intention, in a way. In the studio, I’ll be like, “whoa, this drop is gonna crack off live.” So when people are really responding and moshing and going crazy, I love it. I love performing. I love touring. I truly think that my music feels best onstage and in a live setting.”
I know you’re big into your fashion. Can you tell us about what inspired the styling for this era, and any brands you’re loving right now?
“I’ve been really into vintage, like, everything. I love vintage Chloé. I love early 2000s Dsquared2 pieces, like the sexy hot in-your-face Dsquared2. I’ve worn a couple for different videos, like my Elmer Fudd look and the “CRANK” video was vintage Dsquared2. Fashion-wise, the Olsen twins actually inspired me a lot for this project. Brittany Murphy, too, of course. With every outfit, there’s something boyish, something very feminine, and then something whimsical or fantastical. [I’ll be] wearing a little pageant girl tiara and then really ripped up jeans and muddy boots and a t-shirt. It’s like different sides of my personality.”
Your music appeared on the silver screen in two iconic movies: “Bodies Bodies Bodies” and “Anora.” What was that like?
“Oh, my gosh, so, so amazing. “Bodies Bodies Bodies” was the first one, and that one really was crazy because I didn’t realise, I guess like whenever I get sync requests I’m just like, “yeah, yeah, yeah, sure.” But I remember, when I went to see “Bodies Bodies Bodies”, you never really know how your song is used, and it was in the whole intro! Hearing your song pumping through movie theatre speakers is honestly so cool.”
“I’m a huge Sean Baker fan, specifically. “The Florida Project” also influenced me a bit on this album and this visual universe, so [my music being used in “Anora”] was really, really, really crazy. [Sean Baker’s] a legend, so [I was] very honoured to have my music be a part of any of [his] movies.”
If a track from your new album were to be used in a movie, what would you imagine that scene to look like?
“When I was making the song “UNKNOWN LOVERZ” I was like, this could really be in some kind of indie flick, like a montage of a couple being in love and fighting or whatever. Maybe “CANNIBALISM” would be good for the Selma Hayek dancing scene in “From Dusk Till Dawn”. My dance sequence in the music video was very inspired by that scene.”
Who’s someone in the music industry you want to collaborate with that you haven’t yet?
“It would probably be someone who’s more of a producer, [than an] artist. I would love to work with Soulwax in some capacity. I feel like having a Soulwax remix of one of my songs would be, like, a huge dream.”
Featured image shot by Kait Muro©
