There is some music in us still.
Jasmine Rodgers talks about the viral video that woke up boa of their lethargy, of the goldfish that almost didn't survive rehearsals and of the album that no one asked for but everyone needed.
There are bands that disappear and there are bands that wait. boa He did the second without even knowing it. Since “Duvet” became the opening of Serial Experiments Lain In 1998, the song lived a life parallel to that of the band: passing from generation to generation, from fandom in fandomcarrying a melancholy that time only deepened. When Jasmine Rodgers, Alex and Lee They got together in their living room to play it live for the anime's anniversary, they had no plan. Just nostalgia and a goldfish that paid dearly.
What followed was a comeback that did not follow any formula: no pressure from the label, no network campaigns, no algorithms involved. Just three people getting together to write every week until, nine months later, they had a complete album. The Woodplush (2024) arrived fresh, darker, marked by The Cure and Siouxsie and the Banshees more than the rock of the 90s, but with the same emotional texture that made boa something unrepeatable. He recently played in Mexico City. jasmine spoke with Indie Rocks! a few hours before.
Indie Rocks!: It's a pleasure talking to you. I'm very excited about tonight's concert. You released a couple of albums in the early 2000s, 90s, then you stopped, the duo blew up, and in 2024 you released The Woodplush. What was that process of coming back as a band like? What did they do in the intermission?
boa: Between the albums we all did other things. Everyone changed jobs, got married, had children, got divorced, whatever. I personally was doing solo music and also working in photography, as an image editor and researcher for wildlife photography and things like that. That's what we did.
GO!: And what was the moment when you said: let's go back, let's do a new album, a new tour?
b: It was a long time ago, thinking about it. It was the 21st anniversary of lainethe anime. And I thought: let's do something small for YouTube. I called Alex already Leeand we play “Duvet.”
I didn't think much about it, but we were in my living room, Lee playing the drums and the goldfish in the background. He was so, so strong. Poor fish. I think one died later. In the end.
The thing is, we started improvising and said: hey, there's still some music in us together. Excellent.
And then when it started going viral — this was post-pandemic, in '21? 22? —People couldn't stop sending us messages. And we: “how strange.”
Then our label wrote to us and asked: “Do you want to re-release old demos or do you prefer to make a new album?” And we said, “yeah, let's make a new album.”
It was very relaxed, very friendly, very fun. We got together every week and wrote songs. And I remember the A&R guy called us like nine months later and said, “Hey, have you had a chance to think about making an album?” And we: “ah, yes, of course, look, here it is.” And he: “My God.”
No pressure from the label, no pressure from anyone. Just let ourselves go.
GO!: I heard it when it came out in 2024 and thought: this sounds fresh. It has the same bôa sound but renewed, more energetic. What was the process of doing it like?
b: We basically came to the rehearsal studio with ideas. Alex He had a lot of guitar ideas that were incredible. And then we worked on them together, we improvised around them. It was very fun.
What I think was different this time is that there were fewer people, so there was more space. And the genres we shared had changed a bit.
Before it was Led Zeppelin, Gong, Ween, Jane's Addiction. A lot Jane's Addiction. And also The Cranberries, The Cardigansthe whole 90s thing.
This time we were more into The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, New Order, Duran Duran — more 80s stuff that we had always liked but that was now more at the forefront. I think that's why the sound is a little heavier, more naked. But also because there were only three of us.
IR!: It was one of my favorite albums of 2024. And when I talk to artists I'm always interested in their opinion on what's going on in the industry today. With TikTok, with Instagram, I feel like it's more difficult — you need a song to explode on those platforms. As a band that didn't intentionally seek it out but somehow it did happen, what was that experience like?
b: I think we are all pretty humble people. Sometimes I think we are like hobbits in the English countryside, wandering around quietly doing our thing.
We did nothing to make this happen. It was all just people connecting with the music. And I think that makes perfect sense, because that's what boa has always been.
We are who we are. And the older I get, the more confident I sound, although I'm actually no more confident than I was in my twenties.
Even yesterday arriving in Mexico I kept thinking: am I in Mexico? As? That? It's crazy. You're pinching yourself all the time, and that's interspersed with: I'm so tired. But also: this is crazy.
GO!: And it's the second time in Mexico, right? Last year they played at Crown Capital. I couldn't see them, but tonight I did. What was that experience like and what do you expect from tonight's show?
b: Crown Capital It was wonderful. Seriously, it was great. It was night, there was an audience that was shining in front of us and it was beautiful.
And now playing here with our own show means we can play a lot more songs. We can be more creative with it setlistwe have more songs to choose from, which has me a little like: “oooh”.
I'm so excited to have our own moment. It's going to be very nice.
GO!: Several friends told me that they are very excited for tonight. It's going to be an incredible show. I don't want to take up any more of your time because I know they have a show in like five hours. If you were a wrestler entering the ring, what song would you enter with?
b: God. I'm very tired and I can't concentrate. I'm trying to think of that song Led Zeppelin what's going on da-da-dunt, da-da-dunt, da-da-dunt.
GO!: “Kashmir”?
b: Yeah, “Kashmir”! Maybe that one, for that reason da-da-dunt.
Although, are you talking about my own songs or any songs?
GO!: You can choose whatever you want.
b: No, impossible. I can't choose my own songs.
Let me think… Sometimes when I went to work — I worked in a museum — I would get “Back in Black” because it was very fun for me to enter like that. Maybe that one.
GO!: I love them both. For someone going to your concert for the first time tonight, what state of mind would you recommend they arrive in?
b: Apprehensive, anxious, desperate. Angry.
GO!: I love it. For someone who hasn't heard bôa yet, what song would you recommend to start with?
b: Probably “Duvet”.
It's an easy answer, but I think it's a really good song to represent all of us, the different sounds and the general angst and anxiety that is boa — but with that slightly upbeat bass and drums that are also us.
GO!: Perfect. And last question: if you could describe bôa in just three words, what would they be?
b: Anxious, desperate, pessimistic. I don't know. How would you describe it? Sincere, gentle, I guess. And fierce, perhaps.
GO!: I love it. Thank you so much. It was a huge pleasure.
b: Thanks to you.
