Blush, the new music project by Alex Tepper, has been slowly world-building behind closed studio doors over the last few years, and its debut has finally arrived. Last week saw the arrival of the first single, ‘Jackal,’ along with its music video, and tomorrow night, May 27, at Williamsburg’s favorite DJ club, Gabriela, will be the first-ever Blush live performance.
Tepper, who is also the Executive Producer of Feels Good To Do Things and No One Thing Records, has played in numerous bands and projects, including his current contributions to indie electronic darling Shallowhalo. But Blush is the first entirely created, performed, and produced by himself. Along with mixing and mastering help from Ashwin (Charlie Baker) and Ryan Schwabe (The Dare), and Tepper’s time spent documenting the early 2020s local NYC music scene with kids like Fcukers and The Dare, the Blush project is a tried-and-true love letter and contribution to the NYC electronic era.
Tomorrow night’s show is one not to miss – it’s part of Gabriela’s Wednesday night residency Cherry Pop, with sets by resident DJs Nadine and Rider, and including a support set by Le Keep. It’s rare that the club, owned by NYC DJ legend Eli Escobar, hosts such performances, as its known for its electric dance parties. But with its bona fide club sound system and atmosphere, inspired by the 90s DJ era we all know and love, the music of Blush will feel right at home.
The show is free; doors open at 8 p.m., and live music starts at 9 p.m., but come early to get the full Cherry Pop experience and to not be late for the flowing night of musical performances. It’s hosted by 1800gf, j’aime, and fish fiorucci.
Check out the ‘Jackal’ video and read my conversation with Alex about all things Blush below.
Marisa Whitaker: What is Blush?
Alex Tepper: It’s my end form. I’ve had so many musical lives, and none of them were as cohesive as I wanted them to be. A friend of mine would point to his forehead to illustrate the pinpoint, concise idea you’re trying to communicate. This is a project where I know exactly how I think about certain things happening in the world, in music, and in our city. This is the laser vector out of my fucking head. I’m so excited because the music element is the most natural, rawest form of that idea. People put out music, and I don’t know if it means anything. I don’t know if music always has to mean something. But there’s so much noise. There are other musical eras of mine. Maybe if I had done things differently, it would have worked out. I definitely wasn’t doing everything correctly. I’ve learned so much now. I’ve watched people around us go from the bottom and really reach actual humans, touch their souls, touch their hearts, touch their minds. I’m not insecure about any aspects of this project because it just feels like the encapsulation of everything I wanted to say and everything I love. I can stand behind it, success or not. It’s a boat that I have a really fucking great time being on. I love it. I’m having my own party.
MW: What’s a jackal? I don’t know that word.
AT: A jackal is an animal. It’s like a hyena or coyote. It’s also a deviant. Let’s look it up exactly.
A person who performs dishonest or base deeds as the follower or accomplice of another.
A person who performs menial or degrading tasks for another.
MW: Who are you an accomplice for?
AT: Certainly not me. [Laughs] I spent a lot of time post-COVID going out. I put my musical projects on pause, and I was a little directionless and not super confident in the intention behind everything I was doing. I’m a pretty open-minded person, and I’m pretty slow to commit to judgment. But after a while, you have enough data, it’s like, okay, not flippant: But certain people fucking suck. They’re almost dangerous people. We see how the culture in the world, and in our country, has shifted over time. With certain situations, whether you would be out with someone for multiple nights, someone you may know well, someone you may have just met for the first time, friends of friends, you hop to a party, and you’ll think you just had this beautiful time. Maybe you did. But then they’ll say something absolutely fucked, or do something absolutely fucked. Something that actually feels dangerous to themselves and others. Amidst the culture of edgelordism, and whatever people are doing to cross a line, to get some kind of reaction, I decided that those people fucking suck. And there aren’t enough people who are standing up and being like, Excise these people out of our fucking culture. The loudest voices on all sides are sometimes just … it feels like it’s all leading us to this horrible dystopian disconnect of a place. So this song was me really sounding off. Going to the party, Jackals lead the way. The sounds also reference many of the sounds I was hearing while I was out at the time. I think also, the truth was, even amidst some of these legitimately frightening people, I was having the time of my life going out and really being part of a music scene for the first time; part of an art movement for the first time. It was really exciting watching a lot of people blow the fuck up, and for all the right reasons.
MW: You were telling me that your debut Blush album has been in the works for years. And knowing you as a person, I know you’re highly observant. You do so much art and so much work for it. Is this record about your experience with art over the last few years?
AT: Very much so. I have another song coming out called “No Face.” No Face is a character from Spirited Away.
MW: Oh, the guy with the white mask on?
AT: Yeah. Get a load of this amazing quote by director Hayao Miyazaki about the idea behind that character.
There are many people like No Face in our midst … it’s the type of person who wants to latch on to others but doesn’t have a sense of themselves. They are everywhere.
It’s a lot about the masses walking around, not fully understanding the consequences, whether it’s thoughts, actions, or whatever. Pretty much none of us are blameless in getting this society to where it is now. This album is confrontational. The first half feels party party, but then there’s a big refrain that’s like, What are you worried about? All is well and good. Even the profile image I’m using right now is this big smile. The music mimics a lot of fun party music, but everything is just a little off. Everything is just a little off in this way that … our world is fucking off. And it’s often, I think, in ways people don’t realize it. That’s why I say everyone has blame. The number of people shouting about capitalism and then going over to Starbucks. When I say everyone has blame, there’s no individual; you can’t single out individuals. We’re all part of this system, so what are we gonna do about it together? We need to stop indicting people, but at the same time, I don’t think we can do that until we figure out these loudest fucking voices – the jackals – around. We have to take them out of the equation, bring all the reasonable people in the room together, and really talk and listen to each other. That’s what the first half of this record is really like. I don’t know if it’s attempting to excise these people, but it’s certainly making the argument for it, in an abstract, nonlinear way.
MW: How long is the album?
AT: It’s nine songs. The word “confrontational” is one I’ve really latched onto. It’s very poking. Again, the first half feels like Trojan horse party music. Maybe certain people would be partying and dancing to something that was …
MW: About them.
AT: Yeah, a little bit. It serves dual purposes. To some degree, these last three years of me out in music have been the greatest experiences of my life, truly. I met some amazing people. So I think it’s holding all the contradictions in its hand. It’s all the good, all the bad, all the interesting. Each track is confrontational in its own way. In the middle is “Race Car 2,” which is much more aggressive. It goes from like Jockstrap or maybe even Daft Punk to Bass Victim. Then the second half of the album is a lot more earnest, I would say.
MW: Was that intentional? To do the flip?
AT: Yeah. I really like the idea of grouping. I clearly had two modes. One was a bit more of the singer, the point of view of the person making the music. It was definitely a character. There are other artists who are characters 100% of the time, and at some point, it feels a little, What are we doing here? If I were doing this interview in a character, it wouldn’t be as fun. Like, how obnoxious, annoying for other humans, you know? Ultimately, if you can’t just be a normal person and communicate your ideas and feelings, that character will have diminishing returns each time. The music definitely goes together, but I think I’m dropping this character. I’m more talking about the psychedelic journey of being on this earth and in this consciousness, whatever the fuck that means.
MW: How did you know what you wanted to do with the visual world?
AT: Working with Nasa, it was everything. I have the ability to functionally do a lot of things on my own, but during the video shoot we did, I would do a little something, and immediately, Nasa would suggest something else. I knew I wanted to use this 360 camera that I have, which you can color in really interesting ways. And through her quick synapses in her brain, her suggestions opened up everything for me. The final product would be nothing without those suggestions. She helped me facilitate these shoots, along with our friend Sarah. I had the general idea going into it, but her crazy ideas in the moment, and directing us all, it was so quick. It was Sarah’s idea for the album art, it being below the table. It’s this whole scene of genderless people. One is kind of creeping on the other; one is a little bit dominant, one is a little, I don’t know if submissive, but certainly vulnerable. And then the foot is of some creature of some kind, the jackal. It was me doing what I do, while Sarah and Nasa were just firing off these unbelievable ideas. Once we had that first shoot down, it sparked a million other ideas about how I could run with it. I got balaclavas, smiley face balloons, and all these little details that extend the metaphor. They’re all symbolic in new ways. And now, with this one shoot, I can just mine it for so many different clips and videos. They feel like these never-ending liner notes. I’m approaching Instagram in this very different way than I ever have before. It doesn’t feel like posting for posting’s sake. Everything feels like it furthers an idea. It helps you engage with the music. I’ve feel like I’ve unlocked my future.
