serpentwithfeet - Queer soul

From his early studio work with Clams Casino, Katie Gately and Paul Epworth to collaborations with Bjork and Brockhampton, right up to the duet with Ty Dolla $ign on “Damn Gloves”, the single featured on his recent “GRIP“. The career of Josiah Wise, aka serpentwithfeet, is dotted with milestones as significant as they are colorful, much like his three albums. The Baltimore musician is among the most talented figures in the new American r'n'b scene, thanks to songs that mostly evoke queer love through writing that never hides its own intimacy, delivering lyrics that are explicit, sincere, never empty or perfunctory. It's an electronic songwriting that moves effortlessly from art pop to soul. We met Josiah Wise at Sottencoppa, the sonic carnival held in Naples from February 10 to 13, right before his performance. Three days of musical celebration among the marble of the Chiesa di San Potito and the vaults of the Galleria Principe di Napoli, featuring, alongside serpentwithfeet, also Francesca Palamidessi, Mario Batkovic and Abdullah Miniawy.

“messy” is a prayer with hands clasped together, in which you pray with an open heart, almost as if you were in church. Do you remember how and when this song came about, and what it means to you?

In my mind, “messy” is a kind of joke. While writing it, I was thinking about certain things we sometimes witness in relationships, both romantic and platonic. I'm referring to bonds whose protagonists are wild people, loved and pushed away in equal measure precisely because of their wild nature. While writing “messy”, I was also thinking about what it means to have a quality that draws people in, and what it might mean to run from that very same quality.

You've collaborated with Katie Gately in the past: tell us about her.

Katie Gately is a brilliant woman, and I had a great time collaborating with her. She has so many progressive ideas about sound, about how to enhance it and how to transform it. So we spent a lot of time on her ability to constantly live and discover music, on how to build up sound and how to transform it. We explored a great deal, and working with her was also a lot of fun for me.

What do the gloves symbolize? Is there a deeper meaning in “Damn Gloves”?

“Damn Gloves” is a nice little play on words, because after all gloves embrace your fingers, especially when you wear them a certain way, that is, when they're very close to the skin. I wanted to write a joke about that for the song, turning it all into a metaphor for two people holding onto each other.

What connects the three albums you've released so far?

The common thread between my albums “soil”, “DEACON” and “GRIP” is that all three express desire, and the difference between them is mainly down to the type of production chosen for each one, and I'm also referring to the songwriting itself.

On “Safe World” you sing “A penny saved might be a penny earned, but if you save that freaky shit for later, you’ll never learn”. Where do these lines come from?

From the idea that with your partner you're safe and can be fully yourself - that was basically the concept behind the metaphor.

You grew up studying opera singing and classical music, but I know you're also passionate about gospel and blues. Could you tell us about five albums that shaped your musical education?

Yes, and I'm endlessly grateful to have been exposed to so much music since I was a child. Five albums that transformed and influenced my artistic path are without a doubt “When Disaster Strikes…” by Busta Rhymes, “Da Real World” by Missy Elliott, “Homogenic” by Bjork, “Survivor” by Destiny's Child and “Afrodisiac” by Brandy.

How do you picture your future?

I'm always writing and always creating, and I intend to keep dreaming and loving. I plan to keep discovering more about myself, my environment, and my craft, so I'll keep learning and creating. That's how I picture my future for now.

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