As part of our 9th anniversary celebrations, Hellove discusses 9 topics with us, including travelling, listening to other genres, collaborating and more.
T.H.E – Experiencing life
Hellove – Life inspires. Sounds obvious but this simple truth never disappoints. Sometimes I feel the writer’s block when I try to force inspiration or force myself into writing something every day. As it is possible to write music each day, for me, these forced songs lack meaning, however, at least they have helped me craft my skills. The best songs I’ve written have always come after a significant life event or after experiencing something new. So when you’re out of ideas … go out there and live a little, inspiration will make its way to you.
T.H.E – Travelling or making music outside of your town
Hellove – This! Every time I travel, I just get so inspired. The world changes around me and so does my inner world. I usually get stuck in ruts when life gets too routine. This does not mean you need to go on some grand adventure, it can be enough to go out of your hometown and wake the compositional creativity.
T.H.E – Humming random stuff during the day
Hellove – I’ve produced countless ideas by just humming or singing to a random tune I get in the moment. I remember the other day I was about to get to bed, but I got this cool idea for a drum beat. Instead of going to sleep, I decided to open my laptop and see where my feelings would take me. Long story short, I ended up going to bed at 5 in the morning in a good mood and with an absolute bop! Really glad that inspiration sometimes hits out of nowhere and gets the energy going.
T.H.E – Collaborating
Hellove – One of the best ways to hear new perspectives on your ideas, and also a wonderful way to expand your musical horizons, is to collaborate with other songwriters/musicians. Different musical styles challenge you to step outside of your creative comfort zone and grow. Besides, even if you and the other musician don’t end up writing the next hit, you’ve still likely had a great time hanging out with the person instead of spending all the time working by yourself.
T.H.E – Listening to other genres
Hellove – I always tend to grow and create new unique sounds that define me as an artist when I listen to something new from different genres. The sound of an artist is always determined by the art he is inspired by. It’s later that you’ll realize that maybe the melody might have been inspired by Billie Eilish, the drum pattern was inspired from a Latin-American tune, and the energy sparked from an EDM song. It’s always good to keep your music taste diverse — it helps the artist grow.
T.H.E – Writing a song to someone
Hellove – This really helps me when I have a lot of different songs in the works. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by the fact that the final product has to be fully tweaked to perfection, mixed, and mastered before I can release it, but I always try to imagine that I am writing a song to one person only. It helps me dive into it on a more personal and intimate level and tone down the internal perfectionist that creates stress when it comes to wrapping up a song. Some of my deepest songs have come to life by this method.
T.H.E – Writing about somewhere you want to be or somewhere you’ve been
Hellove – Few months ago I imagined my future self, full of happiness, freedom, and abundance. I went through some tough times and wished to transform myself to a lighter place. But I couldn’t just get there on the spot, so I decided to write a song. This way I could hear it back and I would be one step closer to my dreams. Since that day the dream has become more and more vivid. The same goes for my past events. I write about the things that have happened in my life and this way I get to hear them back. I often end up getting a fresh perspective on it and am able to capture the feeling to which I can always return to it to relive it.
T.H.E – Experience music differently
Hellove – Hearing music live has always inspired me. Experiencing thrilling stage shows really enlightens you to the wonderful ways music can connect with the listeners. But there are also other ways to experience music during the pandemic. For example, I’ve been meditating for a couple of years and one thing I love about it is the music. It’s written for your mind to take a journey, experience new perspectives, and heal your wounds. For me it’s inspiring to hear 10 or 20-minute musical pieces that guide your mind toward inner healing – something that I wish to create one day as well!
T.H.E – Finding new ways to write music
Hellove – It’s always good to mix up the writing process. You can simply start from a melody, a beat, or from an ambient feeling. Just put an element in place and start building it up from there. Discovering new techniques or trying out new instruments gets your brain thinking in new wonderful ways. The simple fact that I am forcing myself to play something I have no clue of how to play makes me think outside the box.
