Boy Harsher will be making their Detroit debut at the upcoming show at Coleman A. Young Municipal Airport with dual-headliners ADULT. and Universal Eyes. Their inclusion on this diverse bill is a testament to the show’s aspirations. Having created a set to suit the occasion, tapered with the unpredictable nature of any live performance, the duo is excited to be a part of an event that embodies much of what they respect about the city and look forward to a visit that is long overdue. The show itself is a whole made up of seemingly disparate performers and highlights, but upon closer observation consistencies emerge and curatorial decisions reveal deeper meaning.

Read on for the exclusive interview with Jae Matthews and Augustus Muller of Boy Harsher about their early inspirations, what the show means to them, and what we can expect from the show:

Brocolli: To start, what’s the first album that you ever purchased?

Jae Matthews: I really don’t remember, it’s not like I had many. I didn’t have any money to buy CDs. I would tape the alt. rock station and listen to those recordings. It was nice ‘cause I could listen to The Deftones, Tool, or Nirvana, music that I wasn’t able to access otherwise (my dad was not into the nihilism).

My mom gave me The Cure’s Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me when I was like fourteen ‘cause she didn’t like it, and I remember being scared by Robert Smith’s voice. The cook at a diner I worked at when I was sixteen gave me burned CDs of Cat Power and The Microphones. The Glow pt. 2  is still as important to me now as it was back then. I’m not sure if ever bought any music back then.

Augustus Muller: Yeah it’s hard to tell. I would like to think it was Nirvana’s Nevermind, but it very well could’ve been an Eiffel 65 cassette. I got into CDs and tapes pretty early; my dad had one of the first cd burners, and would rip almost anything I could find.

B: If someone had never heard your work before, what’s the first thing that you’d show them?

JM: When I’m selling merch, people always wanna know what I recommend, what album I prefer or whatever. We only have three releases out there (one being an EP) – so I say – go for all of it. Every song we’ve made is strange and special in its own right, and I can’t really say what sucks or what I believe to be “good.” But if that answer doesn’t satisfy, then I’ll just advise Yr Body is Nothing, because it’s dynamic and maybe a little more serious and vulnerable. But if you just wanna have “pain” on vinyl then go for Lesser Man.

AM: I really like people to discover the music on their own terms. I can’t stand listening to our recordings in public or even around close friends. But yeah, I always recommend the most recent thing we’ve got, and currently that is “Country Girl (extended version).” I think we’re always growing and I’m proud of that.

B: What’s been going on with recently? How did you end up joining the show?

JM: We’ve been traveling a lot, we’re en route back from Tucson at the moment. ADULT. asked us to play and we’ve been looking for an opportunity to join them on a bill for a while. And whatta’ special show. 

Augustus: We had a really cool summer, just a lot of quick trips and fly-ins, nothing longer than a week. We’re big fans of ADULT., and when they invited us to join we obviously said yes. We were onboard even before it morphed into this amazingly insane airport hanger super show.

B: What is the significance of the event to you? What are you most excited about for this show?

JM: I just feel happy that we can support ADULT. and their new record This Behavior. The airplane hanger thing is cool, kinda intimidating really, but we’re prepared to have fun either way. Looking forward to seeing ADULT. play, also FlucT is amazing and I can’t wait to see what they’re cooking.

AM: We don’t come to Detroit that often, but I’ve always admired it from afar. So much amazing musical history, and this show is a perfect example of that – Wolf Eyes and ADULT. on the same bill in their hometown… it’s definitely cool to be a part of it.

B: If you were an audience member at one of your shows, what do you hope that experience would be like?

JM: I want anyone watching our show to be able to disappear – that’s the fundamental vibe. When you dissipate you can really feel the music and experience that visceral emotion. That’s important. I get that our music ain’t for everyone, but once the non-believers start grooving I know that the show’s working.

AM: Our current set is really tailored to be one single piece, as opposed to just stacking together a bunch of our songs. We’ve left out a lot of our popular tracks for the sake of building something more cohesive.

B: If you had to give attendees any words of advice or what to expect for the show, what would it be?

JM : Don’t be afraid to lose yourself a little bit, shake the fear and ego and just groove. I wouldn’t expect any slow songs, and usually I’m a bit more aggressive.

AM: Our live set is definitely different from our albums. We inject a lot more energy into it and we want people to respond to that.

B: Anything else you’d like the readers to know?

AM: Actually, I think my first CD might’ve been Puff Daddy’s No Way Out.

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