By: Faith Neo
Diego Koizumi
(Image Source: Diego Koizumi)
What’s your name, major, year, and school?
My name is Diego Koizumi. I go by THOMPSON, although I might change that. Like, Hunter S. Thompson. T H O M P S O N. I don't know. I feel like every artist changes their name like every other second when they're starting out, but I'm a fourth year. I'm in the literary journalism department. And I go to UCI.
THOMPSON Tag
(Image Source: Diego Koizumi)
Why THOMPSON? What's the meaning?
Yeah, um, I mean, it's not really that meaningful. When you come up with an alias, or some sort of stage name, or whatever, it's like, it sounds good or cool. I mean, I just really liked Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, the movie. Just in general, the character that is Hunter S. Thompson, I really am enamored with. Part of the reason I'm hesitant to give up the name THOMPSON is because one day, I was really bored, and I was like, I want to figure out something like a little tag or something. That'd be cool. So like, every time I buy a new notebook I draw on it right away. It's like a 3D glasses effect. So that's kind of why I'm stubborn about the name THOMPSON, like I’ll just keep it because it goes with the tag. I've toyed around with the idea of using THOMPSON for all of my album covers, as I guess as a through line.
Young Diego Koizumi
(Image Source: Diego Koizumi)
What was your first memory or experience with music?
At a pretty early age I was in music because of elementary school. There was a choir class. I don't remember the song but it goes like “feel the rain on your skin.” I remember that pretty vividly. And then I also remember performing that with my class on the Queen Mary on TV. I don't know when or why it happened. But yeah, I started to sing pretty early.
When did you start making music and what got you into it?
Okay, um, I technically started making music at the start of the pandemic, when we were starting to be cooped up inside and classes were going online. That's when the seed was first planted. Such a dumb cliched story, but I remember smoking- allegedly. It was freshman year, on the basketball courts, and we had this friend, Jairon, who knew everybody. He always used to bring a speaker and play a dumb little beat that he always played. And we're just like, joking around, freestyling and I just remember blacking out and then coming to, and my friends were like, bro, that was really fucking good! And I guess that planted the seed. But I don't remember what I said or what happened at all. So they could be lying for all I know. Then quarantine hit, and I was just like maybe I'll just try writing raps. I'm curious. I'm bored. I have enough time. I'm just cooped up in my room all day depressed, I'll try to do something. And then start from there. Shitty little raps, probably still shitty but getting better.
What or who are you influenced by?
Oh, um, I have a big problem. I have a hard time picking favorites. When it comes to anything really. And with music, I feel like the most obvious influence would probably be Earl Sweatshirt, especially his later stuff. That kind of abstract rap. Poetic, kind of a little artsy, a little pretentious, with flowery language. I'm a sucker for that kind of stuff.
I think there's just too many things that I listened to that have influenced me. There's no way that not everything that I've listened to hasn't touched me in some way or another. Beats in general, and hip-hop in general made me appreciate sampling. I love sampling, and the idea of just taking something that already exists and recontextualizing it. I was born with the internet, like that's just a very natural thing for me to do. The ability to take something that already exists and just make something completely new out of it and just walk around with it.
How would you describe your music and what genre would you call it?
I think in general, genres don't really capture music, because —I'm gonna rant about this— What does alternative even mean? That's such a trash name for a genre. It means it's an alternative to mainstream pop music or popular music. We don't really have a solid definition. And also, all music has a shared heritage. Rock came from the blues and blues came from country. If I had to, I’d call my music experimental hip hop, LoFi hip hop, or abstract hip hop. I think when you're not an established artist, you have the freedom to jump around more. My latest release was more hybrid pop-y.
THOMPSON
(Image Source: Diego Koizumi)
What is your process like and what instruments or equipment do you use?
I use FL studio. I bought it like a dumbass. I was like, it'll be motivation if I spend 200 bucks on it. But my process is grabbing a notebook and I’ll write something down to a beat. I’ll sit on it for a while and then decide, “oh, it's been like seven months since I've uploaded, I need to upload something.” I've been sending music to people and they're like, “No, this is good.” Or, “I like it.” I mean, it shouldn't matter if they like it or not. I think I should just send it out there because it's not for me to decide if it's good or not. It's not my job. That's the audience's job.
What is your music usually about?
My music is usually introspective. It's about memory. It's about that just typical teenage angst, about being mad at the world. So I'm gonna yell at a mic, or talk about it or write about it. I’ll write about love or sadness or the human connection. Kind of a lame answer, I guess, the human experience. But it's a lot about introspection and sharing about the things inside and the way we feel and the way we connect with people.
Who do you think your audience is?
Oh, I think I make music for people that like weird stuff. Mainly less mainstream kind of stuff. That's not saying the mainstream is bad. I've come around on mainstream stuff. But I like more experimental things or poetry, arts, more abstract kinds of things. Like that's the people I think I'm trying to capture for sure. I love that my audience is people that love to question things and talk through things and kind of break down things and analyze things. I think those are the people I get along with very well. And I love talking with them because that's how my brain works. My music is for anybody who has feelings and a pulse.
Art by THOMPSON
(Image Source: Diego Koizumi)
Do you mind telling me your favorite lyrics you’ve written and a bit about them?
That's hard because I'm in that stage where I'm not proud of anything I make. It's like I'm proud of it because I can listen to it and be like “yeah, I'm glad I made it. But I'm also like, I know next time I’ll be better.” Sometimes I feel like nothing will ever be good enough, you know. But I think I like this one. It's more of a poem but I kind of like it.
infant emotions at adult clothing
the baggage provokes him
sores often open, puppet string pull of the tides by the mochi bunny in the sky
craters created by personal space invaders
asteroids and trails of light
cabinets with plastics come alive
just a world for them to hide
flinches when it's close around the neck
or the contact of the marbles with the white pecks away at skin
extended exoskeleton, canines crimp the edges
hangnails and unable to ignore the little mess
tools compulsive neutered
organic super computers who still haven't adjusted to
the NASDAQ or the taxes or the lack of close combatants,
no more predators to attack but the monsters fucking grew
sitting in the cages, enjoying the outrageous modern day amounts of pavement
cotton paper enslavement
I'm an animal that "grew"
What advice do you have for someone who wants to get into making music?
I guess my advice is just like, you already are an artist. No matter how scary it is, just do it, put it out there. You'll be glad that you made it more than you were scared to make it. Being an artist is more about the process of making it more than the end product. So don't worry about the end part of being good. Just enjoy the process. And if you do that, you'll be really really successful.
THOMPSON Tag
(Image Source: Diego Koizumi)
Where can we find your music/ any new releases to look forward to?
Yeah, I’ll probably throw something up in a day or two, because I'm sitting on some stuff. I'm THOMPSON on SoundCloud, THOMPSON on YouTube. Click the link. Hopefully you like it. Let me know what you think. I look at the feedback. I always appreciate when someone comments because it takes a lot of extra effort. It's also scary. You know, if it's a blank comment section and you’re the only comment that stands out, it's a lot of pressure. So I always appreciate when people comment.
All time favorite artists?
Oh, real quick shoutout. Quinn, they're dope as hell. Check out Earl Sweatshirt. I love Lorde’s Pure Heroine. She does pop so well. I love her voice. She's from New Zealand. Duster you know, post punk, that melancholy shit. Teen Suicide — “no, the moon”— great song. Love it. Shout out to Chance the Rapper. I saw his Acid Rap 10 year concert recently at the Forum in Inglewood. He's such a fucking good performer. I wasn't the biggest fan but I came out of that yelling. Surprisingly my throat wasn't gone. Check out Fat John, check out Nujabes, check out Björk and check out Liana Flores. And the Minecraft soundtrack, C418. Mort Garson. Shoutouts to Da$h. Shouts to the synth for being the most human instrument. Even though it's like all synthetic I think the warm crackle tones make it so human. Yeah, so thank you for letting me ramble. I hope that was interesting.
THOMPSON Links:
THOMPSON Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/thompsonsxoxo
THOMPSON Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBc3fQjq7CtdbqbosE4Mpsg
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