“What About You?” could be the title of a lost song from the new Bieber album. It’s the sort of vague question that you could vainly answer for the rest of your life through expensive therapy and existential drug journeys. Or you can just wear a mask and say fuck it. The secret to creating a song like this is to tap into that same uneasiness and ambiguity that the question automatically elicits. Maybe it’s not about you. Maybe it’s about them. Either way, at least the “U” doesn’t have an umlaut.
When I asked New Zealand producer, Kamandi what the song meant to him, he replied: it’s like having an argument with yourself and winning. This song says to me “no matter what happens it will be alright”, but if it makes you feel anything else then who am I to say shit about that.”
Fair enough. I like it because it’s a saga, not a song. In slightly over three minutes, it creates a kind of ricocheting sadness that reminds me of Burial and Four Tet. The drums are gritty and hard, not metallic thin techno warehouse clangers or histrionic “bangers.” The keys yield a 4. a.m. stressed out despair. The vocal samples are pitch-shifted into mutant shapes. The effect is bleak but Kamandi’s right — you’ll be alright — at least until you’re not.
