In the late 1970s and early 80s, “primal therapy” was all the rage when it came to analyzing and diagnosing neurosis. The method created by Arthur Janov involves bringing back repressed memories from childhood and reliving them in a conscious state in order to relieve all the pain, anger, and frustration that were stowed away as a child. The trauma-based therapy became widely accepted after treating major celebrities like John Lennon, Roger Waters, and James Earl Jones. In Janov’s book The Primal Scream, he describes his method of trading “tears instead of fears,” and in doing so influenced the naming of one of the most iconic English pop bands from the 80s. Every single artist has an underlying reason for their stage name. Oftentimes, however, these names tend to be under-appreciated, and are either overlooked or overshadowed by the band’s/artist’s music. This article will take a look at the origins of some of those disregarded names for a couple of modern, up-and-coming artists.
Chicano Batman
Chicano Batman has made great strides within the competitive music industry while simultaneously working to uplift Latino communities in LA. Their synth induced funk with hints of psychedelia don’t fail to incorporate meaningful lyrics, poking at police brutality and immigration in their sophomore album Freedom is Free (2017). The group heavily identifies with their culture and heritage, and titled themselves Chicano Batman not only as a reference to the super hero, but also as an allusion to the symbol used by the United Farm Workers’ Movement in California during the 1960s.
Japanese Breakfast
Michelle Zauner is a Korean-American artist that goes by the stage name Japanese Breakfast. Zauner initially treated her work as a side project from her indie rock band Little Big League, but she eventually gained enough momentum to tour solo after the release of her debut album Psychopomp (2016). In an interview with Teen Vogue, Zauner explains that the origin of her artist name stems from her frustration with the ethnocentricity of Americans. Zauner wanted to combine something perceived as “exotic or foreign” in the United States with “something that sounded really American and well-known,” which she gracefully accomplished with the name Japanese Breakfast.
Infinite Bisous
Rory McCarthy is the hopeless romantic behind Infinite Bisous. When translated, Infinite Bisous means “infinite kisses” and is a hybrid between English and French, perfectly representing the English born musician who resides in Paris. In an interview with music magazine Rare Candy, McCarthy explains how during his first tour in France, he was astonished with the universal greeting of kissing on the cheeks. This social custom, along with a “strange period of relationships” at the time were ultimately what ushered McCarthy to dub himself with the tender stage name Infinite Bisous.
Homeshake
Peter Sagar has been actively building a platform for himself over the past couple of years. After parting ways with Mac DeMarco’s live band, the musician has been pursuing his own successful career and has consistently sold out shows across the globe. As for his stage name Homeshake, Sagar revealed that his moniker is derived from a handshake that he has with his friends back home in Montreal. Although his handle isn’t one of the most complex, the heartwarming and homely reference perfectly overlaps with the intimate lo-fi sound that Sagar has claimed as his trademark.
Superorganism
Superorganism is an experimental project consisting of eight band members from various parts of the world. Although seven of them now live together in London, the collaborative group started online and some members have only just met in person for the first time. What started out as a production with various satellites on different continents quickly blew up, even gaining the attention of Frank Ocean who featured their song “Something for Your M.I.N.D” on his radio show Beats 1 back in September. Band member Harry explains that their name is pretty much self explanatory as it describes a collection of individuals joining forces to produce music since “all of [them] together is better than any individual one.”
Written by Harmony Lee