Bambie Thug: “I don’t like fighting with people but I will hit them with my lyrical fist, no problem”

You may have heard the old adage that lightning doesn’t strike in the same place twice. The music of Bambie Thug is a lot like that: no two songs hit the same place of heart, but each one is crackling with a high-voltage static.

“I’m not very good at anger,” they tell Kerrang! from their home of Cork, Ireland. They emanate an inner serenity, which is a far cry from the persona seen onstage or in their music videos. “I’m great at anger in songs. I don’t like fighting with people but I will hit them with my lyrical fist, no problem.”

Bambie Thug makes “ouija-pop” (a term they coined themself) that forms a gripping hybrid of hyperpop, rock and metal. But they didn’t truly settle into the artist they wanted to be until they came out as non-binary.

Wanting to be front and centre of their own journey, Bambie left a background in musical theatre, the melodrama of which has seeped into Bambie’s art. But there was no back-up plan.

“My mum said, ‘Do you want a plan B?’” they recall. “And I said, ‘No, if I have a plan B then plan A isn’t gonna work.’”

Some of Bambie’s most avant-garde looks include an interpretation of The Powerpuff Girls’ HIM in the Egregore video, and a mermaid-like persona for Careless.

“Shapeshifting into a different character per music video allows me to shift genre-wise,” they explain. “I’ve heard people say videos are dead. For me, they’re not. I think they really help build the realm around you.”

Bambie’s new EP Cathexis lands on October 13 – yes, that being Friday the 13th – with a Halloween night show in London to follow. The title itself is a term they say changed their entire outlook on their past relationships.

“‘Cathexis’ as a word means emotional investment in another, being deeply drawn to someone for how they make you feel,” Bambie explains succinctly. “Usually if someone’s cathecting, it’s like a whirlwind where they can just wash their hands of you. That’s not love. Love is actually the will to nurture.”

It’s been a rocky ride to get to this point for Bambie. But even at this relatively early stage, they already have so many songs “in the vault” ready to release. And as a spiritual artist, each track is a baring of the soul.

“It’s like you go into a vortex, and you pull out this thing that has changed your view on something or healed a part of you,” they explain. “Who is that writing? My spirit self?”

They ponder for a moment.

“Music is definitely magic.”

Cathexis is released on October 13. Bambie Thug plays London Oslo on October 31. This article originally appeared in the autumn 2023 issue of the magazine.

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