Though “ROACHEZ AND MOSQUITOZ” is inspired by run-ins with irritating band boys and clout chasers, Dilick clarifies that it\u2019s not all metaphor. \u201cIt\u2019s also about how there\u2019s a fucking goddamn huge amount of roaches all the time. But they gave us the catalyst to write a song. It stemmed from Aby fucking around on a keyboard when we were recording the vocals for the last record, and I chopped it up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n haha Laughing at FME<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n haha Laughing\u2019s consistently updated catalogue of EPs is something to behold in the modern world of independent music, where so often artists are hindered by the devil\u2019s bargain of creative control that quickly spills into maladaptive perfectionism. We were curious to know how haha Laughing cracked the code with their unique integration of influences and instruments, including guitars, live drums, saxophone, and countless illegal samples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI make all the beats for the most part,\u201d says Dilick. \u201cThen we write all the lyrics, and then we go and record them at this studio that\u2019s right by my house.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Oviedo clarifies that the \u2018studio\u2019 is a shed in some old lady\u2019s yard, where Jay used to record with his old punk bands. But for the bulk of the production, Dilick prefers taking his work on the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI do a lot of it in my car on my break at work, or I go to this bar, Tweety\u2019s in Austin, all the time, and sit on the computer and make shit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHe\u2019s always making shit,\u201d says Oviedo. \u201cSometimes I have to be like, \u2018can you slow down on making shit?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n haha Laughing has come a long way from being Dilick\u2019s pandemic-era solo project. Now, writing is much more collaborative between the pair, with songs like “SLIVERZ OF SKIN” and “DEATH SPIRAL 3” stemming from jams and writing sessions. The duo also loves picking up inspiration from unlikely (and uncleared) sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI love “Wait (The Whisper Song)” by the Ying Yang Twins,\u201d says Dilick. \u201cAnd that turned into “NO SUDDEN DEATHS.” They don\u2019t sound anything alike, but that came from the tempo and the vibe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe love media. That\u2019s our biggest influence,\u201d says Oviedo. They take musical cues from video games, movies, music, and random snippets of dialogue on TV, including a crazy-sounding \u2018yeah\u2019 off Even Stevens<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI haven\u2019t cleared anything. Ever,\u201d says Dilick. \u201cI don\u2019t think it matters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNot yet,\u201d says Oviedo. \u201cOne day we\u2019ll get sued. Probably by Disney.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n On the live instrument side, we were curious to know how Oviedo ended up being the band\u2019s occasional brass player. \u201cI always loved the saxophone. I always thought it was so sexy and honestly, there was a long part of my life where I was like, \u2018whoever I fall in love with, I’m gonna make sure they’re a saxophone player.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou never told me that,\u201d pokes Dilick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd then one day I was like, \u2018wait, I<\/em> can be the saxophone player,\u2019\u201d continues Oviedo. \u201cSo I literally went on Craigslist and found this saxophone. I wasn\u2019t a band kid.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oviedo made their onstage sax debut playing a “Funkytown” cover with one of Dilick\u2019s bands at the time. \u201cI was like, \u2018yeah I can figure it out,\u2019\u201d they said. \u201cThat\u2019s how it\u2019s always been with music for me. I have no formal training. I just figure it out. That\u2019s how I started playing bass, and then I did the same thing with drums.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Craigslist saxophone would later be lost when Dilick\u2019s car was broken into, along with an old guitar and a computer with the only up-to-date mixes of haha Laughing\u2019s 2023 EP, POST_MANIC_MIGRAINE_MUSIC<\/em>. Looking back at it now, Dilick says being left with earlier drafts helped him let go of the project, set perfection aside, and finally put it out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n These days, Oviedo\u2019s saxophone is less funk-infused and more freakout free jazz, adding aggression and sharp edges to the amped up, breakneck setlist. But after a relentless deluge of sweaty bangers, “LADYBUG NECKLACE” was a standout in both of haha Laughing\u2019s sets. The sonic and emotional shift hits square in the chest, reminiscent of Yung Lean\u2019s uncanny ability to take one from raging like it\u2019s the end of the world to softly weeping.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe like ending with a chill instrumental thing after yelling on some shit,\u201d says Dilick. \u201cThe guitar on the beat is that Duster song “Gold Dust,” tuned down. The keyboard line is from a Little Uzi Vert-type beat YouTube video that I downloaded and chopped up. It felt like the universe was like, \u2018this shit will actually work,\u2019 because I did that shit in like 30 minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI wrote all those lyrics going on walks and feeling out of place. And there are all these dead cicada shells on the ground. I was trying to find that line of being emo, but not too corny about it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt is kind of corny,\u201d says Oviedo. \u201cBut I feel goosebumps when I listen to it or perform it. Something about that song makes me cry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dilick lets his guard down a little further. \u201cI was kind of shy to put that one out,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s raw emotion,\u201d says Oviedo. \u201cIt\u2019s about trying to keep your head up, despite everything. We\u2019re trying to tug at heartstrings, whether it\u2019s through us being silly, or screaming, or being vulnerable. That\u2019s the kind of art I want to make.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is the compelling duality that looms so large in haha Laughing\u2019s performance style. They are precise in their chaotic execution, their absurd, vulgar words perfectly audible and spoken with great intention. They don\u2019t miss a beat moving between instruments. With the presence of a classically trained Shakespearean actor, Aby steps into their alter ego to scream soliloquies. Simultaneously, chaos flows through and around them. It\u2019s complicit\u00e9. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Having been together for over five years, the two naturally have a strong foundation of trust, and it\u2019s clear to see onstage. It\u2019s also what\u2019s gotten them through tough tours, rough gigs, and the pre-show jitters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe don\u2019t always practice before sets,\u201d admits Dilick. \u201cYesterday, we went over the lyrics in the green room before. We\u2019re hiding in the chaos a bit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBut I think the lack of presentation makes it more raw,\u201d says Oviedo. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t seem so manicured.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Oviedo, the magnetic, fearsome theatricality we saw has never come naturally. \u201cI used to have really bad stage fright,\u201d they say. \u201cI literally couldn\u2019t play a show without wearing sunglasses. The thing that got me through was creating an alter ego for myself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBB BASCO is what I tap into when we\u2019re recording, when I\u2019m writing stuff, when I\u2019m performing. Because I\u2019m very social as Aby, but I\u2019m also very shy. BB BASCO is me with the confidence turned up, and the rage actually out. I’m gonna look at you in your eyes. And, yeah, I’m fucking mad and, yeah, I’m fucking crazy. I\u2019m actually letting that out and being okay with that. It\u2019s felt really good to tap into that part of myself. I feel like it\u2019s done a lot for my confidence outside of the band.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n As Oviedo continues to develop the BB BASCO persona, they credit those who came before. \u201cI just wanted to be like all the badass women and femmes that I saw on stages when I was younger in Austin. Their confidence is where a lot of my inspiration comes from.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sat perched on a concrete road divider on the edge of Rouyn-Noranda, 2,000 miles from their hometown of Austin, Texas, there’s a deep sense of ease between the two. One that is only forged through facing the mundane difficulties of real life and the extraordinary challenges of life on the road. Dilick can feel how much they\u2019ve both grown, shaping one another, making each other better, both inside the project and in the rest of their lives together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn a relationship, obviously you have to communicate,\u201d says Oviedo. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s like a mirror. So much of the stuff with communication mirrors the band.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen you\u2019re working in a creative environment, that\u2019s a different type of communication,\u201d says Oviedo. \u201cIt\u2019s a lot more sensitive. We\u2019ve learned to be more sensitive of each other.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes, Dilick says, the best thing for the couple is to forget the band altogether for a day or two. \u201cWe live together, we\u2019re in a band together, we\u2019ve been dating for five years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019re best friends,\u201d adds Oviedo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI can\u2019t always be like Ari Gold on the Blackberry. I\u2019m trying to chill out and watch Entourage<\/em> with my baby.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, watching the pair onstage, you wouldn\u2019t know they have downtime at all. Between the raucous beats, in-your-face delivery, and hyped up lyricism across the whole thing, you\u2019d assume they would be devil-may-care, nonstop party animals. But talk to them for just a few minutes, and you can see the care, patience, and thought that both Dilick and Oviedo pay to each other, and how inextricable their bond is from haha Laughing\u2019s momentum. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Their crazy, avant-garde concoction of screamo, hyperpop, and noisy party rap isn\u2019t (solely) built upon years of hardcore raging down south. It\u2019s a matter of trust, connection, and love, even when the going gets tough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe conflicts and challenges you have creating stuff in a band are different,\u201d says Oviedo. \u201cGetting through those conflicts together makes us stronger in our relationship, and as bandmates. I feel like that\u2019s why we work together so well. No matter what happens, we know how to talk through it, sort it out, and see what we\u2019re gonna do better next time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n haha Laughing will be returning to Quebec on September 24th for POP Montr\u00e9al at Casa del Popolo. Until then, we\u2019ll be bumping their latest release, BIG WHATEVER.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" After two electric sets at FME 2026 and a chance meeting at Bar Pazzo, haha Laughing had us charmed. The charismatic pair wielded chaos on stage and exuded friendly Texan vibes when off. Aby Oviedo and Jay Dilick are each rockstar multi-instrumentalists, warping genre and theatricality into a performance style totally their own. Romantic partners […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1496,"featured_media":164725,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":true},"categories":[4628],"tags":[8720],"genre":[9010,3191],"class_list":["post-164724","interviews","type-interviews","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interviews-en","tag-fme","genre-experimental-experimental-2","genre-hip-hop-2"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/panm360.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/FME2026-Day4-hahalaughing-4.jpg\")
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