Can you tell me a bit about your inspiration for your single ‘Cernunnos’

The inspiration for the song musically came a lot from the music scene I have been working in for the past couple years. Underground hip hop has so many different lanes with different aesthetics and sounds, which made me want to take inspiration from the music I was working with at the time and create something original with my own vision. I wanted to blend my beliefs, philosophy, and interests into a sound along with Pagan and VHS horror imagery.

What are your influences and how do they affect your songwriting?

I take a lot of inspiration from artists like David Bowie, SpaceGhostPurrp and Tool. Everything about these artists to me shows free thinking, not caring about judgment, and creating almost a universe of your own with your music. It’s something that separates them as artists from so many others and inspired me to step out of my shell and create something I’ve envisioned for a long time.

What’s the creative process like for you?

It really depends on the situation, I like to make sure I have a clear and alert mind before I got into production but when it comes to recording vocals and writing lyrics, I do it when I’m most emotional, I feel like you can’t get real feeling out of lyrics and vocals unless the emotion being portrayed is there. Sometimes I’ll start with a melody, or other times ill start with the drums. I do whatever I’m feeling and let it flow naturally.

If you could change something about the Australian music industry what would it be?

That’s a hard question to answer but I think what I would say is the way artists treat others. From a personal experience I have felt really isolated and ignored a lot. Everything has also felt incredibly competitive too which is something that's good, but not when it feels like nobody is stopping to appreciate each other's art..

What do you think life would be like for you if you didn’t have music as an outlet?

I think I’d find it hard. I use music to put what I’m feeling out of me so that I can move forward because expressing things I’m struggling with has always been almost impossible for me so without it, life would probably feel a lot harder to deal with

Is there anyone you would like to collaborate with? Why?

I would love to collaborate with so many artists. I think my top ones would be Iglooghost, Denzel Curry and SZA because I feel like they would force me to work out of my comfort zone and push myself. I don’t like getting comfortable in music because I feel like the moment things get too much to that point, you stop taking risks and experimenting

What’s your advice to young people who want to make a career for themselves in the industry?

Find your place in art. Don’t go into music trying to make something that sounds like a song you like, try to work with sounds you never would want to initially and don’t fear any judgment and criticism, it’ll hold you back from becoming who you want to be

Who’s the most interesting person you’ve worked with/met?

One of the most interesting musicians I’ve worked with is Brandon Howard, everything he does is so different and fascinating to me, his sound choice in production and ways he composes melodies is something I’ve never seen before and really taught me a lot about what it means to “follow rules” in music

Any plans for a tour on the cards?

Not now but that is something I am interested in. Maybe next year :)

A Quick Chat with Black Summer