In an Instagram live, Jonah Abraham said he “wanted to make a project that felt terrifying.” Enter HELP ME: eleven songs with manic and maximalist production, mainstage dubstep by way of the weird, released under the alias Toy Soldier. As a producer, he's cut tracks with Playboi Carti, Bladee, and his friend group of burgeoning stars often grouped as boylife, with young wizard 2hollis at the helm. The LA-based Abraham is adept at everything from rage beats to synthetic pop, making this immersive effort all the more impressive. We sent over some questions about the album, its influences, and the trip to Kenya that inspired it. Read the answers below.   

I heard you came up with the concept for this project while on a trip to Kenya. What about that environment inspired you?

The first night we got there we were feeling crazy from accidentally taking double the dose of antimalarial pills which made us feel like we were hallucinating and decided to wander through the open jungle in the middle of the night looking for a leopard that was spotted on our campsite earlier that day. It was one of the scariest things I've ever done and I wanted to make an album based on that experience.

How’d you land on the name Toy Soldier? What does it allow you to explore that your real name doesn’t?

My friend Ryan (Conceal) came up with that for me on the spot. I wanted to have an alias that gives me the freedom to make outlandish music and put it out while keeping my production discography separate.

Has it been difficult to transition between producer and artist? Do you have any desire to be more public-facing than you are now?

Being a producer is my main passion so I wouldn't consider it a transition, Toy Soldier is just a fun outlet. As a producer it’s rare that you get to make all the creative decisions for a project on your own, Toy Soldier allows me to do that. I definitely am also preparing to start playing shows and festivals this year which is something that I have always wanted to do.

You grew up in a musical household—when did you start tapping into your creativity? What do you remember listening to in your formative years?

The first song I remember hearing that stuck with me was my mom playing me “Lose Control” by Missy Elliot in the car. That was the first time I heard an 808. I was like 5 years old and that feeling of the low end hitting you in the chest is what stuck with me. When I was around 9 I went to sleep away camp and my dad gave me an iPod shuffle to listen to music and it had a wild array of songs like “Kyoto” by Skrillex, “Iron Man” by Black Sabbath, and “4 Minutes” by Madonna. That was when I started to develop my own taste for all three of those genres: electronic, metal, and pop.

Did you have any surprising influences for this project?

One of the main influences was the song “Roots Bloody Roots” by Sepultura. That song really influenced the horror feel mixed with the tribal aspect. I wanted to make the electronic version of that song that felt just as scary and twisted while also exploring unique drum grooves and polyrhythms.

After contributing to projects like Whole Lotta Red, or 2hollis’s latest album, do you care about achieving cultural significance in your own work? How heavily do you weigh the reception of your music?

I think of it as a complete creative experiment. I’m thankful to have the freedom to create my own work without the pressure of it being super popular or understood since I have my hand in so many other people’s creative careers. It’s a privilege that I am really grateful for.

Do you have any production advice for your clones who downloaded the DUNE presets because of you?

Haha I used to love that plug-in. What I have learned as a producer is that it is rarely about the sounds you use and more about how well you're able to interact with an artist and how you can provide importance to the music making process. Because especially now everyone is good at making beats, you have to have more to offer than just that.

We asked this same question to your collaborator, Finn Sigil—what do you love most about working with your friends?

It’s so much more rewarding to me because it allows the process to be way more collaborative and honest. If someone has an idea that I think could be better or if I start an idea that isn’t the direction they're trying to go for we keep it real with each other since we are so close. There’s no emotion or hurt feelings because we are all on the same mission trying to make the best music possible. It’s also helpful for inspiration since we are always trying to impress each other with songs and ideas and if all the homies love something we know it’s fire.