Q&A: Exploring Capitalism, Chaos, and Humanity’s Dark Side Through Bennytheghost’s “ANIMAL”
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ By Nthatile Mavuso ☆
BENNYTHEGHOST'S NEW SINGLE, "ANIMAL," REPRESENTS A SIGNIFICANT ARTISTIC EVOLUTION, DIVING INTO A DARKER, EDGIER SONIC TERRITORY THAT ECHOES THEMES OF AN A24 HORROR MOVIE: intense, raw, and surreal. The track is both brooding and humorous, blending self-deprecation and absurdity into an exciting yet introspective look at the bleak side of society.
An emerging star in the indie scene, Benny has been a force to be reckoned with for a hot minute. He has garnered support through Elton John and Zane Lowe’s radio shows, and earning Spotify playlist placements across anti-pop, and indie-pop genres The musician has toured extensively, performing alongside well-known indie artists including his longtime partner KiNG MALA, Upsahl, Tiffany Day, and Remi Wolf. Benny has a uniquely remarkable blend of resonant storytelling and a distinct indie sound that has continued to draw attention, fans, and love.
“ANIMAL" embodies a gritty social commentary, capturing a world twisted by toxic relationships, isolation, capitalist greed, and the complexity of youth inheriting and enduring an unstable world. Through dark, animalistic lyricism and a vicious sound, Benny criticizes society’s moral decay, particularly capitalism’s relentless and inhumane greed.
LUNA had a brief but charged conversation with Bennytheghost about his thought-provoking single, “ANIMAL”, how A24 movies inspired the darkness of his sound and the intersection of societal decay and individual despair and loneliness.
LUNA: Your single, "ANIMAL," marks a shift towards a darker, edgier sound. What inspired this creative evolution, and how do you see it reflecting your personal growth as an artist?
BENNYTHEGHOST: It’s funny. The creation of “ANIMAL” was actually what inspired the shift for me! It was a song that came out of nowhere for me but was the first song that I’d made that I genuinely felt was new and invoked an image of a whole world for me. It was something that inspired me to explore deeper. As for personal growth, that vision of a world that ANIMAL had sort of given me, I realized was something that I had never really had with my music before. It has inspired me to create something bigger than just music; a universe with its own physics and properties and moods, and every song I have made since “ANIMAL” all live in that world now. I realize now that this is what being an artist really should be like.
LUNA: You've mentioned drawing inspiration from A24 horror movies and artists like JOJI and Gorillaz. Can you elaborate on how these influences shape your music, aesthetic, and artistic direction?
BENNYTHEGHOST: Those inspirations really influenced me a lot on tone and energy in many ways more than sonics. I think A24 has brought darker, edgier, and more creative ideas to the forefront of culture, especially for the horror genre, and has shown that darkness can contain such incredible nuance and depth that the world never really got to see in a mainstream way before. Horror can be funny and sad and exciting and frustrating and so many things, and I realized a lot of this through watching those movies. JOJI and the Gorillas also just have so much similar nuance in their music and their character. They showed me that it’s possible to be serious, ridiculous, cool and silly all at once.
LUNA: Your lyrics often touch on themes of heartbreak, loneliness, and social commentary. How do you balance vulnerability with wittiness, self-introspection, and self-criticism?
BENNYTHEGHOST: Yes they do. I have created that balance subconsciously, but very much the same way I strike that same balance in real life with a nihilist, self-deprecating brand of humor. I’m not really scared to talk about things that I really feel, but I definitely do ENJOY talking about it more if it’s steeped in hyperbole and sarcasm. I use it as a way to entertain myself while talking about such serious things. I don’t know, lighten up, death can’t be that bad right? Or can it? I guess we’ll all find out at some point.
LUNA: "ANIMAL" critiques societal pressures and capitalism. What message do you hope listeners take away from this song, and how do you see your music contributing to the larger cultural conversation?
BENNYTHEGHOST: I don’t think anyone really needs to take anything away from the song per se. If anything, just know that greed won’t really make you very happy and that we all share a distaste for douchebags. The song in summary does critique capitalism, but it’s more personal than that. The song is more character-based. It’s the frat bro, son of a millionaire, who thinks it’s ok to shout when you don’t get what you want, the type of person who has no control over their own emotions and takes it out on the world around them. This song is that.
LUNA: You've toured and collaborated with notable indie artists like KiNG MALA, Upsahl, and Remi Wolf. How have these experiences shaped your approach to music and performance?
BENNYTHEGHOST: The reason I made music in the first place was to get out and play shows and connect with people and the world outside through art and overall good times. Getting to play in such close proximity to such absolute rock stars and getting to experience their audiences and auras and even share the same stage just reminds me of the absolute adventure of this whole thing and ignites my spark, reminding me why I wanted to do this in the first place, which has sadly become easy to forget when you’re sitting at your desk editing TikToks all day. Touring with people who have out-of-this-world talent just makes me think, “I want to be like that so badly,” and I hold onto that idea forever. I like to imagine myself in those shoes on that stage as I cry myself to sleep.
LUNA: Your branding and image are shifting towards a darker, more absurd aesthetic. How do you envision this visual identity enhancing your music and connecting with your audience?
BENNYTHEGHOST: I think the visual just fills in a whole other part of the world that is created by the music. It all really goes hand-in-hand to build something bigger than something that is just 3 minutes and 30 seconds of cool sounds. It’s my hope that it serves to further a story and deepen the lore and energy that I’m building here.
LUNA: With "ANIMAL" being your first major single on Good Boy Records, what are your expectations for this new era of your career, and how do you see yourself making an impact in the indie music scene?
BENNYTHEGHOST: Well if we’re talking about expectations, I was sort of imaging “ANIMAL” and the subsequent EP to become so globally impactful that we’re shattering records globally up to the point where they do that thing where they hire me to cameo in movies and TV shows just playing myself because I’m that recognizable at that point. But, I’ll be so charming to the directors that I’ll end up skyrocketing myself through the film industry, with side appearances on SNL and multiple late-night shows, until they give in and ask me to be the first Asian-American Spiderman and, upon agreeing to my record-setting rate, we smash the global box office to pieces because people find that a handsome and hilarious Chinese-American Spiderman is what they didn’t know they’ve been waiting for. As for the indie music scene, I would love to play Red Rocks.
