Q&A: JUJU B. GOODE
A virtuoso since youth, the 25-year-old Korean singer and producer Juju B. Goode embarks on a stunning exploration of sound through the release of his first EP titled Future Boy. The five-track project is a brief but compelling mixture of electronic, hip-hop, and pop, featuring the singles “Time Machine” and “Milky Way Love.” Entirely written, recorded, and produced by himself in his bedroom, Juju B. Goode allows his Korean roots to shine through in a debut of self-discovery and nostalgia. Now based in New York City and having garnered prominent editorial playlisting including TrenChill K-R&B and In The K-Indie, he is emerging onto the scene as a promising new artist.
Mind introducing yourself?
Yeah! Hi, I’m Juju B. Goode. I’m a singer, songwriter, and producer from Korea now living in New York City. Thanks for having me!
When and how did you get involved in creating music?
Music has always been a big part of me. I think I always knew it was going to be something I’d be doing when I grew up, but after I graduated from college, I was working full-time doing marketing. I thought music would just kind of happen to me after I graduated, but after working at the office for a year, I realized that unless I make it happen, it’ll never really happen… so I quit my job and moved to New York City, and here I am now. It’s been about a year since I’ve moved here.
I started music singing and playing guitar – that’s how I first fell in love with music. I was in a band in middle school. I played jazz in high school and college, and I was also a part of an acapella group in college. I also studied music as part of my double major—I studied music theory and arrangement a lot in college.
But In the last year, I’ve been focusing on a lot of production. I got Logic Pro and have been listening to a lot of hip-hop and electronic music, which are both genres I listened to growing up. I wasn’t really a beatmaker in college, but I knew I wanted to give that a try. I love sampling, so combining that with my guitar and my singer-songwriter style–I guess that’s kind of how I make music.
So when did the name Juju B. Goode come about then?
“Juju B. Goode” is like an homage to a record called “Johnny B. Goode.” It’s one of my favorite songs, and one of the songs I first sang in a band in middle school. A fun fact about the song is it was a song sent to space back in the 70s on the Voyager mission. So combining that with my nickname “Juju” … it’s “Juju B. Goode.”
What’s your specific approach when it comes to working on music?
I don’t think I have a specific one every time. There’s a lot of improvisation that happens. Sometimes it’ll start from my guitar by playing something, sometimes I’ll make a beat and that will inspire me to think about a story or write a melody.
Congrats on the release of Future Boy! How did the concept first come about?
I’m a huge sci-fi geek and over quarantine, I watched so many sci-fi and fantasy movies and was reading a lot of books. I love that in sci-fi, they use extreme metaphors or scenarios to kind of criticize human behavior and reality. I was watching Twilight Zone and thought maybe I could use this sci-fi figure of speech in my music to express my feelings. That’s how I was inspired by that and a collection of those songs I wrote came about.
Can you tell us about the themes you wanted to explore with this project?
The main theme for this was time. I was inspired by the scenario of my future self visiting me in the present. That ultimately led to this Future Boy concept of letting go of my past and living the life I dream of. This EP explores how I’ve moved on and have grown.
Which song was the most difficult to come into fruition with?
“Time Machine” took forever to finish! It was the first single I released. It’s a song about going back to a place you used to play around at, or seeing your best friend that you haven’t seen in years. Like when all the memories kind of hit you at once and it feels like you’re traveling through time. I wanted to have that feeling of nostalgia. I had this whole story of reuniting with your ex-lover and wanted to create a whole movie scene in the song. I never felt like it was enough, so I re-recorded the vocals a thousand times and changed the production so many times. Then at one point I was like, “Okay, I have to move on.” But I’m really glad people like it and I’m happy with how it is!
And on the other end, what came the most natural?
I guess “Rainbow Freestyle” because it was freestyled. I just sang the whole first verse and chorus and thought, “Oh… maybe that wasn’t so bad.” After weeks, I thought maybe it was good and that I’d keep it. The song was just called just “Rainbow” initially and I wanted to sing about how the world is in all different colors but we only see it in black and white. Then I wrote the second verse and recorded it and called it “Rainbow Freestyle”.
Your music incorporates both English and Korean - what is that songwriting process like? What does that mean to you and your artistry?
It’s always a mix. For the longest time, I tried to write songs in English...I have written songs in English, but the language of Korean and the sound and flow felt so natural to me. I kind of just let myself go for it and now I want to embrace that Korean identity without limiting myself.
I believe that music is a universal language. Music as a whole transcends language barriers so even though some people might not understand every single thing I’m trying to say, I think they can take it however they want. That’s part of the art.
Who would you cite as some of your influences at the moment?
I love Tarantino films—it’s quite cliché at this point, but I love how he has so many movies but you watch it and know it’s Tarantino. A lot of filmmakers have that—you know, Tarantino, Nolan, or Wes Anderson and whoever else. I wanted to learn how to apply that skill to music.
One of my favorite filmmakers is Chan-woon Park—I’m really inspired by his films. I recently watched The Handmaiden, which was really good. Music-wise, I’ve been listening to Omar Apollo’s recent album on repeat lately. I love that he sings in Spanish even though I have no idea what he’s talking about. There’s a producer named Andrew Applepie that I discovered a few years ago. I love his production! I think it really inspires mine because it’s really genre-bending. I think he has a rock songwriting background but does all kinds of crazy sampling and drum loops. His music is really raw but comes together really maturely.
What are you looking forward to in the new year?
Future Boy has been out for a little bit over a week now. It’s overwhelming because I’ve learned so much through finishing this album and I am trying to make sense of everything and what I’ve learned and how I can apply it to my next project. I’ve been reading more books lately because I didn’t have time to do that when I was finishing the music. Just relaxing through the holidays… it’s December, so just going to rest for a bit and get back to work for 2021!