Step into the world of Buster and the Pigeons, a new musical solo project whose emotionally charged debut album, ‘Fictional Things to Worry About’, serves as an adventurous exploration of life’s complexities. With candour and introspection, Buster Meaney, the man behind it all, opens up about the album’s genesis, from the inspiration behind his evocative artist name to the deeply personal process of translating thoughts and feelings into music. As we journey through his creative landscape, we uncover not only the stories behind the songs but also the indie artist’s perspective on sharing life’s highs and lows online, his aspirations for the future, and his reflections on the evolving music industry.
How do you feel about the release of your debut album ‘fictional things to worry about’?
I’m incredibly grateful that I’ve completed something, but it’s the same with my photography, videography or anything creative that I do. By the time I’ve actually got around to finishing it, I’m already thinking about something else. I’m already thinking about my next project, whatever medium it is. So, I’m really excited that the album’s out, but by no means am I a “rest on your laurels” kind of person.
What’s the story of your artist name?
There’s a guy called Michael Filler. His artist name was Blaze Foley and he’s got a song called ‘Clay Pigeons’ which just melts me every time I listen to it. I’m convinced it’s the best song ever made, and it means a hell of a lot to me. I don’t particularly like pigeons. Everyone thinks they’re a bit rough and gritty and gross, but, ultimately, they’re capable of doing something that every single human being wishes they could do which is fly. They’ve got something that is really poetic and beautiful and for some reason relatable to me.
What was the creation of the album like and how did it feel to put all your thoughts and feelings into your music?
It felt extremely cathartic. I actually don’t listen to my music at all, but I listened to it the other day and I don’t want to be where I was back then. You know, even the love songs and the happy songs on the album, there’s still underlining tones of darkness in there. Like, that guy is sad. I think it’s always good to timestamp certain moments in your life. And the last year was extremely transitional for me. So, on the album, there’s bitterness and anger, there’s heartbreak, regret, guilt and basically all of the trivial feelings that a human being can feel, hence the name ‘fictional things to worry about’. That comes from everything on there being a very genuine minuscule problem from a world point of view but when you’re feeling it, fuck me, you’re feeling it, you know? The whole album is essentially asking yourself huge, big, scary questions and finding huge, scarier answers.
Does the album have one continuous story or is it multiple tales in one pack?
It’s basically an array of negative and positive feelings. Like, ‘under a full moon at makapu’u’ is about showing someone your spiritual home and falling in love in Hawaii, which is one of the most romantic places in the world. And then you’ve got ‘meaning of life’, which is a social commentary about everyone being a hypocrite. Then you’ve got ‘all my favourite musicians are dead’, which is a hypothetical conversation with the old man that I would have been if I didn’t have my transitional year last year and like how bitter and angry he is. And then ‘hey rain, it’s bow’ is about feeling the deep, dark depths of a breakup and literally feeling suicidal because of it, and ‘golden globe’ is about getting cheated on.
How do you feel about sharing your life online?
I don’t believe in the notion that everything on the internet should be the highlights. The world would be a better place if people cared a little bit less about people’s perception of themselves and cared a lot more about their perception of the world, do you know what I mean? I got to timestamp a significant time in my life and I get to look back on it in the future and be like glad I’m not there anymore. If one person listens to one lyric, one syllable, one something and they’re like I’ve felt that, great. But I don’t believe in paying physical money for digital ticks and making sure that the world only sees the good stuff. It’s not real, it’s not genuine, it’s posy, it’s bullshit, it’s pseudo – that’s essentially what the song ‘meaning of life’ is about like everyone’s more than happy to show off the best version of themselves while just sweeping under the rug the real version of themselves.
How do you deal with your emotions?
I do it in a much more raw, in-your-face, definitely harder-to-digest way. But some people need it like that. I’m not the sort of person that beats around the bush. If I’m feeling like I want to die today, I’m feeling like I want to fucking die today. I think there’s a real beauty in bluntness, being direct and not covering things up. When you’ve got some feeling as raw and intense as love, there is no right or wrong way to go around that. How you feel about it is how you feel about it. That’s your feeling, do whatever you want with it. If you want to go batshit crazy, go batshit crazy. And if you’re fucking angry at the world and you want to let the world know, let the world know. At the end of the day though, it’s all subjective and trivial in the grand scope of things. I get that when I look at the stars and remember everything isn’t actually such a big deal.
What are your plans for your music in the future?
Everything inside of me is telling me that I want to say the sad stuff, but I don’t want to be a starving artist anymore, I don’t want to be a martyr. I’ve had conversations with loads of creatives about this and they’re like, I like feeling bad because it inspires me. But I don’t know, I don’t really want to be fuelled by fear anymore. I don’t want to think that I have to put myself in some sort of box because it helps me artistically, I think that’s a bit of a cop-out if I’m being honest with myself. I don’t want to think like that anymore and if it means that I have to do work on myself in order to find inspiration from a place of love, joy and optimism, then I’m just going to have to do that because I like being happy.
What are your dreams for the future?
I’d love a cat. I think I’d want two cats and a dog in the future. But I’ve got to figure out where to live first. I think it’s hard here in London, I don’t really want to live here. I want to just live somewhere in the Mediterranean, grow my own food, go fishing, and look after two cats and a dog, apparently. Drink coffee, smoke cigarettes, and have wine on Fridays and Sundays.
Is there anything you would change about the music industry if you could?
I would change the gender issues, like the gender pay gaps and opportunities for female producers and musicians. And I would take it away that in order to get a deal now or get any sort of recognition, you have to make yourself go viral on TikTok. And it’s like, why the fuck am I having to go viral on TikTok for you to sign me? Surely you have people in your department to do that. There’s actually a lyric in the album that’s like “talent doesn’t matter”, and I honestly think that no matter what kind of creative industry you’re in now, talent is becoming drastically less important. It’s like currency, but talent and artistic expression shouldn’t be a currency. It should be as fluid and pure as it is. But yeah, the two things off the top of my head about the industry is this whole notion that like, you have to go viral, and definitely the gender issues in the industry. Like I know so many talented female musicians and producers and they’re just not given opportunities that they should simply because they don’t have a dick. That’s not correct.
What does music mean to you in your personal life?
It’s a release. And it’s a doorway. If you want to tap into a certain feeling, or if you want to go back to a certain time in your life, music can do that. I’ve got some of the best memories in my life, and I affiliate them with a certain song. It’s an incredibly beautiful thing and quite phenomenal that vibrations mixed together can make you feel any number of emotions. I try to be quite philosophical about the world and my place in it, but I was walking around the beach the other day and I saw a girl sitting there with headphones in, bopping along, and I was watching that happen and I thought, I’m never ever going to feel exactly what she’s feeling about that song that she’s listening to. So, in that way, music is like a doorway into yourself.
Written by Laura Weingrill // photography by Paul Tait
GEM Magazine 