Sneakyseabear is the hyperpop Bear artist you need to hear right now!
Self-producing hyperpop Bear artist Sneakyseabear is loud, proud, and here to stay!
On January 4th, barely a few hours after the end of his birthday, Sneakyseabear took to Instagram to announce the release of “SCREAM BACK”, marking his spot as an up-and-coming electronic hyperpop artist—and sealing it after its release on January 28th. With an intoxicated hook and endless synths that push the song to the finish line, “SCREAM BACK” will have you wondering if maybe, you need to scream back too!
Born in Lima, Peru, and raised in New Jersey, Sneakyseabear has described himself as “living under the Lincoln Tunnel”. He has a long history of songwriting and music production kept behind the scenes while trying to make his presence known both online and offline, entering the content creation world through Instagram and TikTok, and making a noticeable spot in queer and plus-size fashion online communities. It wasn’t until the pandemic, however, that his electronic thoughts became a reality.
SCREAM BACK is Sneakyseabear’s eclectic beginning to producing and releasing hyperpop, and the track itself will have you hooked in no time. The track immediately starts with the catchy hook and the bouncy instrumental, reeling us into the iconic track. The verses have clever lyrics and addicting vocal melodies, making this song so much fun to sing along with! By the time we get to the bridge, we are gifted with an instrumental breakdown that really drives this hyperpop song out of the park! Through and through, SCREAM BACK will definitely have you screaming the lyrics back at Sneakyseabear.
I had the privilege of interviewing him about his music career thus far and the new track, check it out below!
Bryce Quartz: When did you start making music?
Sneakyseabear: I used to make up little songs in my head as a child, until I learned to play piano. But I started writing, recording, and producing my own stuff at, like, 16 years old while I was still in high school. I was always a really, really, music-oriented kid, playing instruments, arranging my own vocal groups, performing—I ended up getting “Most Musical” for my high school senior superlatives. If my school counselor didn’t discourage me from doing it, I would’ve gone to college for it.
I kept my original music to myself until I turned 18 though, because it was mostly just to help me process my own feelings. A lot of it was very piano singer-songwriter, because I didn’t really have a lot of the tools I have now. I think some of it may still be on Bandcamp. After a few projects, I started really putting myself out there during quarantine, because I had time to hone into what I wanted to do.
BQ: How would you describe your music currently?
S: Tasty synth-based electronic pop music, with hyperpop flavor. I’ve always fully wanted to go the electronic route, plus I’m big on the kind of sonic patterns that the style of music lends itself to. I do occasionally go back to singer-songwriter stuff, with R&B influence, but my heart is in what I’m making now.
BQ: What was your process in creating “SCREAM BACK”?
S: I wasn’t at my best the latter half of 2021, because pandemic, seasonal, and regular depression all smushed together while still working a day job. I hadn’t released any music since “when i get back” earlier in the year… but that was very low-key, and I wrote that in March 2020.
That sound wasn’t the direction I was going towards anymore. So, I took that feeling of my brain being stuck, and said, “Okay. I’m tired of my brain telling me all these lies about myself—that everything I do is just a fad, that I don’t belong where I am, Impostor Syndrome—it’s like I’m dealing with a toxic clingy hookup again”. That opened the floodgates in my creative mind, and the melody and lyrics wrote themselves after that.
I got home from work and played it on my piano, and once I had the shape of it, I went onto Logic, powered up the synths, and set down tracks. Now you can stream it wherever you want!
BQ: What was your favorite part in creating this song?
S: That’s hard to answer. This is one of the songs that I first heard and thought, “yeah, everything sounds exactly as I imagined it”. The synth’s crunchy, the lead is a bit chiptuney. One of the snare sounds is a sample of someone hitting a can that I overprocessed.
But I think the bridge takes the cake. I ended up sampling my own lead melody and arranging the samples to make this intense, bombastic arpeggiated pattern. It wasn’t actually in the first draft, but when I played around with the idea on my piano, I decided to include it and I’m glad I did.
I also loved editing my vocals to have certain sounds repeat. It’s definitely part of the genre, but it feels a bit more personal for me. I have a congenital stutter and sometimes it blocks my speaking, but it disappears completely when I sing. I kinda wanted to synthetically add my stutter back in there and reframe it as a musical pattern choice. It’s a bit empowering and also just dope to listen to.
BQ: Are there any artists that you listen to that inspire what you create?
S: I’ve been following PC Music and the evolution of hyperpop since the beginning, because I got intent of the sound design and the production, but it also baffled me. I fucking love that. SOPHIE, A.G. Cook, Food House, 100gecs, Alice Longyu Gao, underscores, all on repeat right now. I’ve been listening to a lot of Caribou and Yaeji again, too. And Hikaru Utada’s latest album—my dream would be to work with them on something.
I grew up with church hymns, R&B, emo and punk bands, the classic 90s and 00s pop hits, the internet songs that you heard on YTMND. It never went away—it feels, like, the foundation of my musical brain.
BQ: Are there any new projects you have planned for release anytime soon?
S: Absolutely! Toño and I have been working on stuff together lately, and we vibe super well. They heard “SCREAM BACK” and asked to be on a remix for it, and I was kind of honored because I’ve always been a fan of their music. Obviously I said yes! They sent me over audio files—which was a very familiar way of doing things for me growing up—and Toño fucking delivered. I think they massively improve the song. They actually performed it live mid-March at Off-The-Wall at the Queenshead in Portland—I couldn’t make it out due to being stuck in the East Coast and all, but everyone loved it. “SCREAM BACK REMIX (feat. TOÑO)” is gonna be out April 22nd. We’ll definitely be showing it off everywhere.
“SCREAM BACK” opened my writer’s block. After I finished it, I started working on so many other tracks that I’m really pumped about. It feels like whenever I do a project, there’s a storyline in my brain that the tracks follow, and scream back is part of that storyline. I’m super excited to tell the whole story. It’s coming down the pipeline.
BQ: Thank you so much for taking the time to answer those questions for us, Sneakyseabear!
Be sure to stream “SCREAM BACK” on Spotify, Apple Music and all other platforms now!
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