Repaying the Joy with Madds Buckley

(Photo Credit: Mackenzie Ryan)

On A Simple Binary and a Complex Phrase, you develop some complex themes around the pitfalls of AI and the over-reliance on technology. Can you share some of what led you to this theme and message for the record?

“I guess its a two way split between me hating where generative AI has gone and unironically getting a ADHD diagnosis! A lot of the more tech centered songs had a lot to do with the downside of AI. I personally have a hard time eating, I have a hard time remembering to eat. There is a huge part of my brain that is like 'I wish this was automated'. Because we are so surrounded by technology we lose sight of the limits we have. We feel we don't need to eat or sleep. I saw this post of a woman who said she fumbled a dating interaction because she asked ChatGPT to help her flirt with a guy and accidentally posted the prompt she used in her text to him. It was just funny to me because I was like “you didn’t fumble anything! You never had him!”

Your sound is so varied and dynamic with tracks that have a bit of an electronic vibe (“From your Artificial Heart”), some with a folk bend (“Tomes and Tombstones”), and one that I felt could be home on a musical (“Overboard”). How do you go about creating melody and timing when you write?

“Usually I am writing lyrics and melody at the same time. I will either have an idea and follow it. Or something that has stuck with me since college is the best cadence is typically how you speak.”

You have some pretty cool interests that show up in your songwriting and social content such as anime and video games. How did you come to combine these interests into songs that are not only catchy to listen to, but also engaging to the listener?

"It’s honestly been a bit since I wrote something that was like 'I wrote this song for this thing'. I am someone that is incredibly nerdy and love fandom spaces. I feel like I owe fandom the joy it gave me. Now that I have branched out of it more, I can see this and decide what I want to apply to characters I make, as well as existing characters.”

You’re about to embark on a pretty extensive U.S. tour. What are you most looking forward to about this tour? And what are you most looking forward to about sharing these new tunes live?

“I'm a little bit nervous because I know the songs get a little bit weird. I'm still trying to figure out how “Coded Ways” will go live. I'm thinking about how this will go from a performative standpoint. I'm an extravert at heart and I feel it's cool to have my schedule decided for me and be on the road engaging with people. I'm excited to go to cities that I haven't been to before. B/c I got my start online it's going to be cool to see these spaces in person. I'm playing Toronto, Philly, and Houston for the first time. I’m excited because Toronto is my first international show as well!”

A Simple Binary and a Complex Phrase drops later this week. What are you most looking forward to about with regard to releasing the record in it’s entirety to the world?

“If I really had to think about it and removed my terror that comes with releases. This music video that's dropping Friday and I'm so excited for the visual aspect that I collaborated on with Nini @orbitalmoonrat. I built this album not to be analyzed per se, in that I'm not using game theory to beg for clicks. But there's just been so much that's gone into it that I’m looking forward to what people think!"