thayerperiod is a 24 year old musician from Vermont who got their start in 2015 making dubstep. Over the course of the near decade that he’s been producing they’ve slowly evolved into a more experimental pop, hyperpop adjacent sound. Along the course of releasing 3 albums thayerperiod has gained a substantial following on social media by being able to recreate popular beats in the underground. I sat down with him shortly after the release of their album ‘All Dogs Go To Heaven’ to talk about surviving natural disasters, ideal gardens, and talking to movie characters.
If you lived in the ‘Cars’ universe what type of car would you be and what job do you think you’d have?
I know in ‘Cars 2’ there's a scene that takes place in Tokyo. In that scene they’re playing music by Perfume, a very popular J-Pop group, and I fucking love Perfume. I would love to be a car DJ in Tokyo just so I could listen to perfume all day. I want to be like the Skrillex of the ‘Cars’ universe. What was that thing people were doing on social media awhile back where they would astral project into places. I’m gonna do that but just so I can be the Skrillex equivalent in the ‘Cars’ universe. Just sipping diesel, playing tunes. Also I’d really like to be some kind of vintage truck, but realistically I’d probably be like a Subaru Outback.
What's a Guinness world record you'd want to get given infinite time and resources?
I’m trying to think of something that would be fun and not just make me sick. Like most caffeine consumed would probably kill me. A fun one would be most time spent living underwater. I don’t think I’d mind that. Just build up a little house that's under the water. If I had infinite money I could make a pretty sweet house. I might end up going a little stir crazy. Part of me also wants to do something music related though, like most songs made. I’m gonna combine the two and say most albums recorded underwater. Just go crazy, with infinite time and money I could make an insane studio and just make the best album of all time.
What’s the coolest thing thats happened to you in the past year?
Even though I know it might not be the most impactful thing, this is the one that had the coolest personal significance to me. You know how Bladee just dropped Cold Visions? I got a message a week after the album dropped from this producer Lukrative. He’s shown me some love before and it’s always cool when bigger producers reach out and tell me they like what I’m doing. But he reached out and was just like “Hey I just wanted to let you know that I used one of your serum presets on the song ‘OTHERSIDE’ on the new Bladee album.’ And just knowing that I had even a tiny percentage of being on a Bladee album is crazy. Like if I had told myself 3 years ago that that had happened I think I would’ve pissed my pants or something.
Which natural disaster do you think you have the best chance of surviving?
I feel like there's multiple answers to this question. I kind of want to say tsunami because I live in a landlocked state, but if I was physically involved in one then I don’t know. I feel like so many of them are just dice rolls. Honestly I’m gonna go with an earthquake. If I’m just in a big open space I don’t really have anything to worry about. The main danger with them is being in cities and having buildings fall over on you. If I was in an open space that didn’t have anything around me then you’re pretty okay.
I’m gonna give you a couple of historical figures I’m interested to see what musicians they’d be interested in if they were around today
Isaac Newton - He would fuck with Bladee. He literally has a song called ‘Apple.’ Plus there's a good amount of existentialism and pondering and bigger picture stuff I think he’d like
Cleopatra - Charli xcx. Empowering female centric music. You know some smash the patriarchy type shit. I feel like she would really vibe with that message. I feel like she was historically the blueprint for that sort of thing.
Thomas Edison - I think he would like slayworld. Like listen to summrs or kankan. Pretty sure historically he wasn’t a good guy. Like he didn’t care about morals or ethics. I think that would translate well to this music.
Christopher Columbus - Merzbow. Just any noise music. I could see him putting on pure white noise and being like “Yes, this is good.” Just psychopath tendencies.
What is your ideal garden?
I would want to make a terrarium but on a giant scale. I would love to have a fully self-sufficient garden where each plant has a purpose in the ecosystem. Like one plant could repel bugs, one could shade others. I would just want something where every plant is working in sync to create a beautiful ecosystem. And then just lots of vegetables and fruits. Fresh produce is my favorite. I would be happy if I never had to go to the grocery store again. That would be my ideal situation.
What are your favorite fruits and vegetables?
Right now my favorite vegetable is corn. I could probably eat like three ears of corn in one sitting. I get some old bay, grill it a little bit, and it's perfect. It’s like nature's candy. Then fruit, if I could have the perfect version of them every time, strawberries or blueberries. Really good blueberries are one of my favorite things of all time. When they’re just a little bit sour but still sweet. That's perfect. Actually is a potato a vegetable? Japanese sweet potatoes are my favorite thing ever. If you bake them, you can almost candy them, it's so good. If you take away anything from this interview it's that you should try Japanese sweet potatoes.
What are your trend predictions for 2025?
Well the future is uncertain so I don’t really know. I guess I’m gonna say Zyns are gonna continue to skyrocket in popularity. A year ago one of my friends from Sweden brought some before they were big in the US and told me that I should invest in a similar company and now they’re huge here. I also think that Ice Spice is gonna have a crossover with PC Music at some point. Like for her album cover she commissioned a guy who has worked with Yung Lean and Bladee, so I know that she's tapped in with that side so I could totally see her going in a direction like that.
What are all the dogs doing in heaven?
Probably just whatever triggers the most dopamine in dogs honestly. There’s probably a bunch of different sections of doggy heaven. Some of the dogs are sleeping, some of the dogs in a park playing with each other, some dogs are just eating steaks and stuff. Whatever makes them happiest is probably what they’d be doing.
What movie character do you want to have a conversation with?
The mom from Everything Everywhere All at Once but specifically at the end of the movie. Not in the beginning when she’s stressed out and trying to figure out how to be a mom, but once she’s already gone through everything. I would ask her for advice on how to have a good and fulfilling life. How to be happy with the things that are around you and things like that. And how to more fully interact and appreciate the things around you.
What artists do you think people reading this should check out?
The first one that I’m gonna say is French singer and producer Oklou. She in my opinion is doing some of the coolest things in pop music / hyperpop adjacent stuff. Her music is so incredibly good. Her last album has been so sonically influential to me. The second person is this guy named LUCY. I checked him out because people said my stuff reminded them of him. He’s a Massachusetts vocalist/rapper who’s mixing like midwest emo vocals on trap beats and it’s super cool. He just dropped a tape with Surf Gang that’s super cool. Lastly is this person who is currently going by Velinor. They make some of the most insanely creative and interesting electronic music I have heard in the last 10 years. I can’t really compare it to anything but I want to work with them so badly.