HELL ZEN INTERVIEW

1. What can fans expect from your new EP? How does it differ, or expand on your current discography?
   
   The new EP is definitely a change from my older stuff, a lot more palatable than the super heavy shit. All the production on the tape was done in house with @tomurstupid[1] and @clearthecache_,[2] no more dirty YouTube beats on this one, I guess to sum it up I’d say this tape is me evolving into the me I’m meant to be.
   
   
   
2. What track are you most proud of or excited for your fans to hear?
   
   Probably ‘Overdosing Over u’ I hope it catches people off guard, no one’s really seen me do stuff like that before, let alone think I’m capable of something like that. My range is a lot wider than some might expect, people will see that as I keep releasing.
   
   
   
3. Are there any overarching themes explored in this project?
   
   When these songs were in their demo stage I had no concept of a theme or even a plan for an EP, I was actually pissed at myself for how much I kept bringing up the word ‘Mud’ when I was writing... but after a while the stars kinda aligned, I’ve noticed when I write it’s almost like life imitates art sometimes, as soon as I leaned into the ‘Mud’ concept it all made sense and these random tracks I had seemed to work together in sequence. But to cut a long story short this tape tells a story… not literally but thematically, from mourning to acceptance to growth... it’s about toughing that shit out, getting it out the Mud.
   
   
   
4. What does the creative process look like for you? Do you start with the beat, lyrics, and emotion or something else?
   
   It usually starts with a beat, I’ve been writing since I was 12 and that’s just how I taught myself, it also involves a lot of pacing, like a lot, sometimes I’ll go for a trek into the forest to get my mind working, there’s been a couple times hikers have walked past while I’m mumbling to myself on a dirt track at like 7 at night, but aye I’ll do what needs to be done... but yeah I’ve wrote songs from all kinds of angles whether it’s hearing a riff or some random phrase, there’s no one-way I go about it.
   
   
   
5. Your music is such high energy, how do you channel all that aggression and power into your vocals?
   
   To be real it’s kind of a subconscious experience with the heavy stuff, I write with emotion and I’ll definitely use emotion to keep me focused and locked in, but bro when recording stacks of vocals at that velocity I’m really not thinking about much I’m just doing, like I kinda black out and if I think somethings up I’ll feel it physically.. I’d say it’s muscle memory at this point. But the live shows are heavily driven by emotion, anything goes.
   
   
   
6. Your music reminds me of artists like City Morgue[3] and Ghostemane[4] but you have a unique style. How do you take inspiration from others whilst staying true to your own style?
   
   I was definitely inspired heavily by that underground heavy/hardcore rap scene whatever you wanna call it but i definitely feel it’s got its limitations stylistically, I think any good artist cherry picks the things they like and then blends them in a way that is unique to them. for me I wanted to lay out the raw unpolished shit first as a foundation and now I wanna build upon that and blend new elements in.
   
   
   
7. How do you hope your fans feel when they listen to your songs?
   
   Man when I first started putting stuff out I never really had other people in mind, it was a ‘me against the world’ kind of thing as corny as that sounds, and even though I’m still so small right now but I’ve had people reach out and message me and there’s this specific message I have saved.
   
   
   Message from a Fan (Screenshot, HELL ZEN)
   
   That guy is from the other side of the world and that message just reinforced what I’m doing actually means something to other people, that’s what I want my music to do for people that’s how I hope they can feel ... but also take it how you take it, everyone will experience it differently.
   
   
   
8. How would you describe your music to someone who is deaf?
   
   Probably like a cage fighter winning off his back, like an against all odds situation where you come out on top… where you were doomed from the start but still made it happen… that emotion, that’s the vibe… That probably sounds lame as hell but it's true.
   
   
   
9. What’s next on the agenda? Shows? More music?
   
   All of the above, I have so many things in the works sometimes it can get overwhelming, but people should definitely stay tuned in the new year... it will be a New Dawn.
   
   
   
10. What’s on your playlist right now?
    
    I listen to so many different things from alt rock & hardcore to southern rap to breakcore and even like 50’s old timey shit, I’ll try to compress it down to the top 4 this week... Fleshwater,[5] Scarlet House,[6] BigXthaplug[7] and Kenny mason.[8]
    
    
11. Dream collab, dead or alive?
    
    There’s a lot of artists I’d wanna work with but I think stylistically and geographically the collab that makes the most sense to me is Zheani[9] I think we’d make some wild shit.

[1] @tomurstupid, ‘Tomurstupid’ (Instagram) <https://www.instagram.com/tomurstupid/>.

[2] @clearthecache_, ‘ClearTheCaché’ (Instagram) <https://www.instagram.com/clearthecache_/>.

[3] City Morgue, ‘Artist’ (Spotify) <https://open.spotify.com/artist/1kMVs324xI4K0tQrKqA4c4>.

[4] Ghostemane, ‘Artist’ (Spotify) <https://open.spotify.com/artist/3uL4UpqShC4p2x1dJutoRW>.

[5] Fleshwater, ‘Artist’ (Spotify) <https://open.spotify.com/artist/6P5ccCJCe8A4s9tDSTNFzF>.

[6] Scarlet House, ‘Artist’ (Spotify) <https://open.spotify.com/artist/7jWdMH4K9omZ4z2UkGkz6N>.

[7] BigXthaPlug, ‘Artist’ (Spotify) <https://open.spotify.com/artist/6qxpnaukVayrQn6ViNvu9I>.

[8] Kenny Mason, ‘Artist’ (Spotify) <https://open.spotify.com/artist/4mwdnO2jZrMmMVrjcHsZBv>.

[9] Zheani, ‘Artist’ (Spotify) <https://open.spotify.com/artist/75xNYf2GU5wtQqBrd74SlY>.