Photography Jake Wangner
Bishop Ivy introduced himself as an alternative-pop songwriter known for his innovative music which mixed organic instruments with digital sounds, field recordings, electronica influences, and samples. Continuing to sharpen that sound, he now embellishes it with pop hooks, sonically adventurous production and autobiographical lyrics.
“The “Bishop Ivy” project started sometime in late 2018 – she tells Mundane – but I’ve been playing music for most of my life. I started as a cover artist, and began writing and producing in middle school. I was a street performer around age 14. In high school, I decided to adopt my middle name “Bishop” as a stage name, paired with “Ivy” in reference to the song from Frank Ocean’s Blonde.
Since then I’ve released two EPs and am gearing up for a third. I wasn’t surrounded by many musicians growing up, so I’ve always done things solo, writing all of the songs and playing most of the instruments. For “tunnel vision” I was the sole writer and producer.”
Ivy’s focus on imaginative sound and sharp songcraft began in Boston, where he kicked off his career as a 14-year-old street busker on the neighbourhood sidewalks of Back Bay. Now based in Pittsburgh, where he studies music, electrical engineering and computer science, and with a number of releases under his belt, Ivy hopes to further his ability to manipulate music.
His latest release is called “Tunnel Vision” and “was written and recorded mostly in fall 2019. This is my first release under Bishop Ivy that I did all of the production for. It was written and recorded in between classes in my college dorm, using whatever instruments I had available to me. Some of the drums were simple recordings of random noises like hitting tools together. The song is written about a breakup that was recent at the time.”
With an underlying melancholy tone and almost lullaby atmosphere, “tunnel vision” is a soothing and emotional release. The intro emits a dream-like feeling of being somewhere between wakefulness and sleep. Through haunting backing vocals cut out by an echoing, jingly beat, Ivy’s voice is clear, soothing and completely hypnotizing. There is also a grittier subtlety in the song that encapsulates the sadness in the track, embodying a range of soundscapes and inspiration resulting in a complex, diverse world of emotion and production.
Inspired by boundary breakers like Bon Iver, Frank Ocean, James Blake, and Imogen Heap, Ivy has built his career upon attention to detail. He’s responsible for virtually every sound he creates, with his willingness to juxtapose synthesized sounds with raw, organic music being the driving force behind what he does.
Ivy shares, “This song featured some of my new experiments in production, like recording myself banging around with some tools and turning that into the song’s percussion, and taking a train sample to use sort of as an ominous string section. That ‘beep’ throughout the entire song was from a check-out line at Target, as is revealed in the final few seconds in the song. Camera clicks also make an appearance in the chorus.”
What is the favorite song you wrote and why?
Right now it’s between “In Spring,” “Clockwork,” or “tunnel vision.” I’m biased toward whatever is newer. All of those songs have among the best production on anything I’ve put out, and also have the most direct lyrics. Those songs don’t have any rough edges; I’m proud of every aspect of them from the writing to the singing to the production.
What are some things to do to keep your inspiration alive?
I should probably do more, to be honest. One thing is that I make sure to take care of myself. I don’t subscribe to the tortured artist fantasy. I make a lot of my best work when I’m actually happy. Another thing is to be constantly listening to music. I don’t listen to a wide variety of music, but try to get deep down into a few records at a time to fully internalize them.
Who are you binge listening to these days?
I’m listening to Ashe’s debut album a lot recently. I absolutely love the songwriting, and the production as well is so Beatles-esque, while still being totally contemporary. Speaking of the Beatles, I’ve been listening to Revolver a lot.
Favorite movie or TV show?
I think Boyhood might be my favorite movie. It’s hard to pick – I don’t watch a lot of TV or film. I really directly relate to Boyhood’s story, which is a very normal one of someone growing up in the suburbs in Texas (where I’m from).
Do you have any peculiar pre or post show rituals?
My only thing is after the show I try to get to bed as soon as possible, HA. I’m always so drained after concerts that I have to recharge as soon as it’s over. I’m a one-man-band, and I don’t have any help putting the show on, so on concert days, I’m on the spot for the entire day until it’s over.
What is the achievement or moment in your career you are the most proud of and why?
It was really exciting to be signed to my label Handwritten Records. I’ve been doing everything independent up to this point, and now having a solid team to help push the new music is amazing. I try not to get too attached to career milestones though. I try to focus on the actual music itself. This new record that I’ve put together is my favorite yet.
