BLADEE: The America tour was the first time we experienced how big our music is right now. This fame thing, it’s absurd to me. BLADEE: Everyone has their own ideas and sees [things] from their own perspective. As long as it’s not harmful, you can see it as a form of flattery that they care enough to make up theories. When we were smaller, there were even more distorted views. In a way, it feels easier to handle when [Drain Gang is] bigger. ECCO2K: Yes. Definitely. It happens all the time. That kind of stuff has nothing to do with us. It’s the result of everyone else’s experience. It’s more about them than it is about us.

I’ve really only heard a few projects–a few artists, who are at this visibility level, who are so beyond the help that Auto-Tune can provide .... I guess this album does have a certain awkward-European-who-sits-around-all-day-getting-high-with-his-friends-and-consuming-American-media-through-the-internet appeal to it .... I will commend Bladee on one thing with this record, though: this album, and his sound in general, would be nearly impossible to parody .... There’s no way to tease a funny moment out of it by making a worse-sounding version. BLADEE: I can’t do anything when I have to. I can’t work in any other way. So, in that way, it’s effortless. If I feel pressured to do something, then I won’t do it! CG: Now that you are visible and influential figures in youth culture, do you ever feel like you got more than you bargained for?ECCO2K: In the more recent work, the lyricism is less about me and more about everything else, but still understood through my own experience. Is the goal to get beyond the self? Benjamin Reichwald (born 9 April 1994), known professionally as Bladee (pronounced blade or blade-ee), is a Swedish rapper, record producer, designer and member of the artistic collective Drain Gang. His music is characterised by heavily Auto-Tuned vocals, ethereal textures, and experimental qualities. ECCO2K: People were climbing over gates. When we left the venue, there was a crowd of people running after our car. It stopped at a red light, and they caught up with us and surrounded the car, then laid [themselves] on it and took pictures through the windows. BLADEE: Although we’ve managed to keep things within our inner circle, we have to accept that we can’t control outside narratives. With a discography as dizzying as Drain Gang’s, with their solo and collaborative projects to account for that amasses to hundreds upon hundreds of songs, it was a wonder what the setlist would hold. The group are acutely aware of how to electrify their audience, deploying the most iconic tunes in their arsenal: era-defining “Obedient”, and Trash Island classic “Victim”, to prove that their command was no effort. But in a classic Drain Gang tradition, there are more curveballs than you’d imagine for a world tour, leaving you second-guessing their logic.

But each member, distinct in style and aesthetic, has earned their own devout following independent of the group. Ecco2k, who notably supported Yves Tumor on the US dates of his tour, is an androgynous, pixie-like creature whose instinct for image has been behind the creative direction for both Drain Gang and Yung Lean’s visuals. When he’s not at the helm of design at Eytys, modelling for Alyx Studios and pioneering his own brand, g’LOSS, Ecco2k is making gleaming experimental pop that feverishly interrogates self-image, perfection and the weight of being seen. The final of the triad of vocalists is Thaiboy Digital: ‘Chief Commander’. He is by far the most elusive member, partly because he was removed from Sweden by immigration and now resides in his native Bangkok with his wife and baby daughter. The closest aligned with rap in its traditional sense, Thaiboy Digital is still undeniably melodic, and with their music guided by producer Whitearmor, the effect of their sound is otherworldly.

ECCO2K: I don’t think any of us has a single philosophy when it comes to how to make things. Every time it’s different. Sometimes you don’t have to think about what you’re doing. Sometimes it just happens. But sometimes you have to make an effort. We think it’s important, of course, that it always feels sincere. CG: The music is extremely intimate, but you have succeeded in preventing people from believing that they know the real you. Has your decision to maintain distance left too much room for projection and misunderstanding? BLADEE: We always arrive at something interesting through the music that we didn’t expect. We never set out to play huge shows or to have a cult fanbase, but there’s always something fun and unexpected happening. Our mission is to provide quality Drain Gang Merchandise that is stylish, comfortable and affordable. We believe in the power of fashion to empower and inspire. We want to make sure that our products are accessible for all people. That's why we offer a variety of sizes, styles, and price points - so that you can find what you're looking for. You’ll know you’re going the right way when you pass a huddle of e-girls smoking on the curb, donning ushankas and platform moon boots, with eyeliner sharp enough to pass as a weapon. They’ve been waiting here hours before doors – not for any gain, as such, but for the pilgrimage.

BLADEE: You get tired of hearing yourself. Even if I’m not talking from my own perspective, or am talking about something that never happened, those feelings are still real. The lyrics are like painting a picture. You want to make it look nice—you want to decorate it. There’s always a core idea that’s based in truth, but it’s more about the feeling that it gives. I think you can always hear when something is true, like in its essence. BLADEE: For me, playing a show is completely different from the music. I don’t necessarily associate it with anything else we do.ECCO2K: It’s funny, because I don’t agree with Whitearmor at all. I think if we wanted to make normal-sounding music, [that] wouldn’t even be possible. Maybe it’s true that it’s conventional music delivered in a funny way, but it still feels very magical to me. But [our] having different perspectives is what makes it fun. He knows that it’s crazy music, but he also has a drier sense of humor towards the work.