Amsterdam-Based Musician Bby Eco (Joris Benjamins) drifts into electronic sounds as he uncovers a balance between love and wonder. Since releasing his debut album, ‘Grow!’, in 2021, he has steered away from the patterned struggle with forcing an idiosyncratic sound and grown to an internal process by which he can make organic music birthed by imagination. Akin to many forerunning Hyperpop artists of the internet generation like Bladee and A.G.Cook, Bby Eco is making art of the natural and romantic. When listening to his music, an amorous narrative becomes clear as natural elements, whether it’d be waves or clouds, gradually reveal deeper emotions; It’s a game of tension and release expressed through the union between melodic vocals and raw yet electronic instrumentals.

Bby Eco spoke to us about growing up alongside forestry, his first album being a “shift in perspective”, and the very notion of his ever-changing frame of mind that addresses a distinct sound.

How would you define the genre of your music?

As an ever-evolving search for bliss, cloaked in love, melancholy and fantasy. It’s been labelled as ‘’hyperpop’’, ‘’ambient-pop’’, ‘’psychedelic indie’’ ... - however I find it to be a culmination of sorts, encompassing a world of genres that fit within my own imaginative approach in making music. Eco-pop works!

Listening to your works, I noticed obscurely poetic lyrics prescribed to love and infatuation in songs like “Forever Till The End Of Time” and “Endless: The Transformation Of A Kind Spirit”. What do you want to say with your tracks?

Thank you for picking those. Both songs are close to my heart, and in a way I think they complement each other quite a lot. ’ Endless (...)’ is a very personal song to me and describes the way I reopened my eyes to my feelings for a loved one, and embracing positivity in my life overall. ’Forever Till The End Of Time’ continues on that realisation and unfolds in words that prospect an endless love for a person, myself and the world around me.

With those two songs in mind: I think life can be bend easily and although you may not be in control all the time - I feel accepting that guides you through the process, in which there’s so much to be seen and discovered.

There’s a lot of highly electronic elastic beats washed over with softly performed melodies. What themes are you playing with in the balance between your production and vocals?

Although much of my productions are rooted in electronic sounds, I’d say I treat them as just as alive -or- as real as for example an acoustic-recording. I think my vocals enhance their vibrancy as they are an organic touch to the instrumentals. For instance by singing about air to whichever of my beats I think sound like air. It’s been a joy to find harmony by playing with tension in electronic- and organic qualities within my production and vocal flows.

As of late my vocals have become more of a central point for recording songs and I let the production be inspired by what I’m writing about. This results in songs that lay closer to my words and carry emotive clarity.

A lot of your songs are figurative to the natural and elemental and make reference to the sky and ocean. What is your relationship to nature?

I grew up in a quiet forestry place and when often playing outside as a youngling, nature always felt as a place of discovery and wonder. As much of my inspirations later-on ran into romantic sources, like reading Herman Hesse’s work or listening to Hiroshi Yoshimura, this relation grew to be deeper, by seeing nature as a metaphor for one’s inner feelings and thoughts.

In mood of ease, I can feel like a vibrant leaf - absorbing the air and letting go when I need. When thinking all is blue, a whirlwind comes to mind - blowing the leaves, till one again feels kind.

Is there a turning point in where your perspective on the kind of music you want to make shifted?

Definitely I’d say, since I started working on the first songs for Grow! - up until now, my idea of what I thought I could make and do has expanded quite much. I used to worry about cohesiveness and thought that finding a certain ‘’sound’’ was essential to mark yourself as an artist.

However, since I started writing lyrics and letting narratives guide the songs, my previous conceptions more or less evaporated. I see Grow! as a document of that shift in perspective. It created a different starting place for my music, one bound to my deepest imagination, which is what brings my world together.

Are there any future ambitions you want to mention?

I hold many. As I often feel like I just started out on my path in music, I have so much yet to share. The coming year will be that of many dreams becoming reality ... including releasing new music (!) As I mentioned before, I’m focussing on my singing a lot lately and it’s bringing a change of pace in my songs that I’m really excited about. I believe it will change things for me.

In a further future, I hope that one day I can built a place - or sonic-lab if you will - for audio research and recording. A kind of creative retreat or music residency. Somewhere energizing and beautiful. It’d be a dream to invite my friends and built something to inspire one another. Making music for the future to come <3