Fielded is obsessed with scammers and unhinged Japanese cyberpunk

Lindsay Powell, who releases records under the name Fielded, has spent most of her career subverting expectations and genre conventions. According to their Bandcamp page, Fielded started as an experimental noise project before growing into something closer to R&B. But from moment one, her take on the genre was restless, relentlessly playing with what R&B even means.

Her first album, Ninety-Thirty-Thirty, includes songs heavily indebted to ’80s synth-pop and features multiple saxophone solos. Boy Angel is a quirky electronic exploration with huge saw-wave synths, jittery percussion, and sky-high vocal stacks. While 2020’s Demisexual Lovelace is a slinkier affair, released on underground hip-hop imprint Backwoodz Studioz and features contributions from Billy Woods and Elucid (Armand Hammer).

Her latest record, Some Kind of Animal, pulls from all of these various versions of Fielded, placing organ-fueled slow jams like “That Bitch” next to a cover of Nine Inch Nails’ “Closer” that has strong 2000s neo-soul vibes, as well as the industrial funk of “Heaven,” which includes a guest verse from Pink Siifu.

We wanted to know what’s behind Fielded’s genre-defying madness.

What is your most indispensable tool?

My most indispensable tool in recording is my Universal Audio Apollo Twin audio interface. I love its ease of function and I love the Universal Audio digital studio plugins. I use them on all of my records during the recording process and beyond. I can mic up and get a professional sound in no time, plus my guitars and synths sound amazing and clear.

What sites do you have pinned to your tab bar?

Right now I have a pirated full-length version of the Japanese cyberpunk film 964 Pinocchio pinned to my tab bar for endless sonic and visual inspiration.

Which tech trend do you wish would go away?

I don’t know if it is a tech trend or a plague, but I deeply wish AI would disappear off of the face of the earth.

What creation are you most proud of?

I am most proud of my latest album Some Kind of Animal, specifically the single of the same title, and thank goddess for that; I’d be bummed if my favorite musical output was in the rearview.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

The best piece of advice I’ve ever received, throughout my whole life, is to be patient. Everything happens in perfect time; there is no reason to be jealous or envious because our journeys are completely our own and everything happens for a reason. What is meant for us will come for us, and what is not meant for us should be metabolized as a lesson that helps us grow and become exactly who we are meant to be.

What is your current obsession?

I am currently obsessed with stories about scammers. All stories about all scammers; big scams, small scams, scams that ended in minor jail time or a blow-out of incredible impact. I love scammers, and I am fascinated by their brains.

What’s the last piece of physical media you bought?

The last piece of physical media I bought was Alissa Bennett’s compilation of essays entitled Taxidermist’s Handbook, full of — you guessed it — stories about scammers (amongst other types of criminals).

What would the tagline for your biopic be?

Freak Today, Freak Tomorrow.

What’s the last GIF or meme you used?