INTERVIEW: Biond talks glitterpop, hook up culture and the joy of 1980s music

Melbourne singer-songwriter Biond (pronounced ‘beyond’, real name Rose Muller) started her music career in the jazz world after completing a degree in jazz music. In 2018 she was reborn as a glittering, 1980s drenched synthpop genius with debut single ‘Immortalised’ which was followed last year by triple j Unearthed favourite ‘Like He Never’ and the glorious dancefloor dream ‘TFW’ (short for ‘that feeling when’). Exploring the theme of “relationships in an era of instant gratification and infinite opportunity”, last month Muller released the video for ‘TFW’, created by Tropfest winners Greta Nash, Gillian Crosby and Gabrielle McLeod alongside Nathan Lay. Featuring Muller dancing in her lounge room intercut with faceless men in suits, it portrays "the highs and lows of hook up culture. The fantasy is about some new, exciting, sexy encounter, but the reality is that if you lack genuine connection, you can feel lonelier than you ever did before.” We recently spoke with Biond to find out more about her career and her music.

Hi Biond! Thanks for chatting to Women In Pop. How are you coping with this weird new world of isolation?!
Terrified and bored is a really strange combination!

It’s been devastating in so many ways, especially following the bushfires. I was so sad to postpone all my upcoming gigs. I was supporting some amazing local women like BEKDÖ and Ivoris, and it was so hard to hit ‘cancel’ on that show.

But I’m resolved that we’re doing the right thing as a community, and I’m safe and healthy which is all that matters!

Before we talk about your incredible new music video, can you tell us a little bit about how your music career as Biond started?
If I’m totally honest, I created Biond from a place of frustration. I’d just finished a music degree and the mentality there was that pop music wasn’t intellectual, that it wasn’t ‘cool’ and couldn’t be complex. I got sick of being told I couldn’t pursue a pop career, so I set out to prove them wrong.

Pop music, especially from artists like Robyn and Prince, has always spoken to me emotionally in a way that other genres can’t. I think that’s partly because the relationship between music and dance is very important to me. So I wanted to create a project that fused shamelessly happy synth-pop with confessional story telling, in a way that felt very ‘now’. I’ve been describing the sound as ‘glitter-pop’ or ‘fem-pop’.

You dropped the music video for ‘TFW’ a couple of weeks ago, and it is pretty amazing! You have said the song and video is ‘about the highs and lows of hook up culture.’ Can you talk us through the message you wanted to get across with the visuals?
I’m in a long-term relationship, and sometimes I look at my single friends and get jealous of all the romantic adventures they’re having. So this song was a way for me to delve into what it would be like to play that fantasy out, and realising it was filled with just as many lows as highs.

The video finds me hanging out in my house, maybe I’m on my way out, and I’m chatting to people on my phone. At that moment the night’s potential seems limitless - It becomes a Choose Your Own Adventure, where I assess each potential rendezvous as though the person is right in front of me. But there are moments of introspection in the song, which symbolise the ‘lows’. When you’re chasing all the ‘highs’ of the instant gratification of hook-ups, it becomes clear that the down side is the lack of emotional connection.  I compare a relationship, which is loving and secure, to the pure melodrama of a fleeting love affair and realise, I can’t have both. The visuals then flip between images of the fantasy of the perfect relationship and the fantasy of sexual freedom.

The director (Greta Nash) and I worked very closely on the concept. The ideas came about very organically when we listened to the words of the song. We knew we wanted to blur the lines between our digital lives and real life, which is where the concept of having the extras appear in the house grew from. Even the costume decisions grew organically, we had thought of so many options of what I would wear in the bedroom scene, cute pyjamas, sexy nightwear and it all just felt wrong. We just settled on a simple matching set and socks because that’s honestly what I would chill out in. The makeup was also super subdued, because I’m in my house! Like, would you put make up on to stay at home? I don’t think so.

I’d love to know more about the behind-the-scenes of the video – where did you shoot it, how long did it take to shoot…
Ok, this is a bit embarrassing…. but it was actually shot in a day at my Nana’s house in Melton, Victoria. We were trying to find a location that had personality in its furniture and fittings and it was proving impossible, but I just knew her house would look amazing. When I explained to her the meaning of the video and that it was celebrating female sexual empowerment, and asked if we could shoot it there she said, “Wow Rose, that sounds very clever”.

The video was directed and produced by an all-girl team (Greta Nash, Gillian Crosby and Gabrielle Macleod) with cinematographer Nathan Lay. It was really important that we created a calm, safe space on the day so that everyone felt comfortable, especially in the club scene where we needed to be very close together and touching. There was a lot of, “Are you comfortable with that?”, “Would you be ok with…” because we really didn’t want anyone doing anything they weren’t comfortable with.

The club scene was honestly hilarious to film because when you film a slow motion scene you need to do it at double time (twice the tempo). The song sounded like a really fast Alvin and the Chipmunks tune, but we had to try and dance and lip-sync along like we were having a dance in a club. It wasn’t easy, but to their credit we made it through without laughing during the takes.

The song itself was released late last year and is such a brilliant track. There is a huge 80s vibe (brilliantly done!) to ‘TFW’ and much of your music. What is it about this decade that you love so much?
I inherited my love for 80’s music from my mum, it was the music of her hey-day and she played it throughout my childhood. Prince, Madonna, Kate Bush, these artists became my obsession, while other teenagers were listening to Rhianna I was getting ready to go out listening to ‘It’s My Night’ by Chaka Kahn.

I love the way 80’s pop hits have big choruses, with hookey synth lines, and always feature such great dance beats. Carly Rae Jepsen is a great example of an artist that writes that way. Plus, 80’s pop stars had such larger than life personas and I really wanted the opportunity to lean in to my confidence and stage presence to create a really high-energy live show.

And I guess my naturally curly hair probably helps…

Can we expect more new music from you soon?
Yes! Unfortunately this COVID crisis is going to slow it down a touch, but I’m always working on new stuff. A song about being ok with being alone, a song about flirting over Messenger, a song about feeling undeserving of love. I’m excited for the conversations I’ll have with people around each of these ideas, that’s my favourite part of what I do.

There is a strong feminist, or sisterhood, theme in you music, particularly in your second single ‘Like He Never’.  Over the past few years there has been a lot of talk about gender equality in the wake of #metoo. What are your thoughts on sexism and gender equality in the music industry?
So many women have to get back up again after bad experiences with relationships, so that’s where the idea of ‘Like He Never’ came from. At the time when I wrote the song, I had just been blindsided by a person who I trusted, who decided my ego needed to be taken down a peg, and boy did he take me down. Then I saw him go on to his next relationship, but nobody believed my experience when I told them. I wrote this song for the girl that came after me, because I knew she’d need a personal anthem for when things inevitably went the way they had with me. It takes a lot of courage to release songs that are so personal, but I’m passionate about women hearing their experiences echoed in music.

I’ve experienced times in the music industry where I haven’t felt heard as an artist, and almost every time that has been a guy who isn’t taking my vision seriously. Sometimes I need to bring my (male) partner into the room to echo my ideas and help get them across the line. I’ve been in sessions and found myself saying “sorry” before starting a sentence. But, this is systemic in all business, not just the music business.

My hope is that we can see more equal representation amongst decision makers - festival bookers, label heads, and so on - and that will create a trickle down effect. If we can have more women in these positions then hopefully we’ll see more opportunities created for female and gender diverse artists. We are definitely on the right track to addressing this! At this moment I feel very excited to be a female in the music industry.

Do you have any tips for getting through this strange, and often scary, world of quarantining and self-isolation?
Try and remember that what we’re doing is powerful. I know it feels like we’ve just been called to sit on our couch and do nothing, but each person who properly isolates plays a pivotal role.

Use this time to look after yourself the way you’ve always wanted to but never had time for. For me, that’s prioritising meditating daily to stop all the noise and worries rattling around in my head. And I hate saying this, but exercise regularly. Go for a walk in the park and soak up some sun. You’ll feel less caged and your mind will thank you. I’m about to move from Melbourne to Sydney, so I’m spending this time organising my life, going through all my junk and donating half of it. It’s making me feel like I’m using this time productively.

What else is coming up for Biond in 2020?
Honestly, it’s impossible to plan in this climate. Most artists have had their gigs cancelled for the rest of the year!

But when the lockdowns are lifted and we can all share a room again, I’ll be focusing on gigging and releasing as much music as I can. There will be a lot to dance about when this is all over!

‘TFW’ by Biond is out now. You can download on iTunes and stream on Apple Music and Spotify.

To keep up with all things Biond, you can follow her on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.