INTERVIEW: CHARLIE HANRHAN IS GOING IN ‘CIRCLES’
At just 23 years old, Charlie Hanrhan from the Mornington Peninsula in Melbourne is making waves in the music industry with his unique sound and introspective lyrics. The self-produced multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter is gearing up for the release of his latest single, 'Circles,' set to debut on February 10.
We caught up with Melbourne based artist ‘Charlie Hanrhan’ about his new single ‘CIRCLES’, Blending Genres and Emotions
At just 23 years old, Charlie Hanrhan from the Mornington Peninsula in Melbourne is making waves in the music industry with his unique sound and introspective lyrics. The self-produced multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter is gearing up for the release of his latest single, 'Circles,' debuted on Feb 10. With influences ranging from Little Simz to David Bowie, Hanrhan's music combines modern trap electronic production with elements of hip-hop, soul, and rock n' roll, creating a captivating sonic experience for listeners.
Hanrhan's musical journey is deeply rooted in his love for various genres, including soul, funk, hip-hop, and rock n' roll. His upcoming album, slated for release in 2024, promises to showcase his versatility and creative vision. Despite drawing comparisons to established artists like Rahgd and Kendrick Lamar, Hanrhan maintains a distinctive style that sets him apart in the industry.
In a recent statement, Hanrhan expressed his passion for music, describing it as his escape and the love of his life. He spends countless hours in his home studio crafting intricate beats, meaningful lyrics, and immersive melodies that resonate with listeners on an emotional level. His dedication to his craft is evident in the depth and sincerity of his musical compositions.
One of Hanrhan's previous successes, 'I'm Good, I'm Rich,' garnered attention from various platforms, solidifying his presence in the music scene. He has been featured on radio shows like RppFM's Sunday Sessions and gained recognition from publications such as Happy Mag and Aus Music Scene. Hanrhan's upcoming album is highly anticipated, with fans eagerly awaiting his next musical chapter.
Despite his busy schedule as a full-time Support Worker, Hanrhan devotes over 30 hours a week to creating music, showcasing his relentless work ethic and commitment to his artistry. He describes his sound as challenging to categorize but believes that the right audience will connect with his expressive techniques over time.
'Circles,' Hanrhan's latest single, delves into themes of self-awareness, personal growth, and mental health. The track reflects on mundane yet profound moments in life, urging listeners to stay positive and true to themselves. Accompanied by meticulously crafted music videos, the single promises an immersive experience that captures the essence of Hanrhan's artistic evolution.
As Charlie Hanrhan continues to evolve and push boundaries in the music industry, 'Circles' serves as a testament to his talent and dedication. With a message that resonates with audiences worldwide, Hanrhan invites listeners to join him on a sonic exploration of life's highs and lows, promising an unforgettable musical journey.
For more information and to connect with Charlie Hanrhan, visit his social media links here.
For More Info, and social media links:
https://msha.ke/charliehanrahan
INTERVIEW
Can you tell our readers about your new single 'Circles', and a little bit about who you are?
Hello readers, my name is Charlie. Hop you’re doing well and cheers for reading this. You know what would be cool. If we broke the fourth wall right now ahah. Hit me up on insta or wherever tf and tell me how you are lol (@charliehanrahan__)…. Shameless promo x. I’m a 23 yo dude from the Mornington Peninsula, Vic. This song is basically about breaking free and reflection of being trapped in somewhat toxic lifestyles surrounding drugs, alcohol, and partying etc. I find myself easily manipulated into environments that I really don’t feel apart of.
Who did you work with for this single, and what does the name of the track mean?
So basically everything bar those angelic backing vocals you hear towards the end was produced by myself. The title of the track represents the patterns of them unhealthy lifestyle habits I speak about. You know, work for the weekend, party for days straight. Allll of that shit.
How do you put music together, or do you work with a Producer, if so who?
No producer. I’ve tried working with various producers in the past but I just have such a specific sound in mind when creating and I know that if it’s not exactly how I like it, it just won’t work out. So generally I work alone. I get that that might be seen as boxing myself in but it works for me, that’s how I like to do things. So it’s just hours and hours in my home studio. A. Song will come together over time though. Often I will completely finish a song and if it doesn’t quite hit, I’ll strip down that entire song and start from square one.
What are some of your go-to records to listen to, when you're either chilling or working on new music?
It really does vary so much, I created this particular record so long ago I’d have no idea what I was listening to at that time. At the moment I’ve been enjoying Sampha’s new album a lot. I’ve also been going through a Yatchy phase and Scaring The Hoes is on repeat.
Anything exciting coming up over the next few months?
You know I’ve always got projects on the go behind the scenes without a plan on when to release them. So, I might have an album out next week or in 6 months time. I act irrationally with these things. People say that’s a bad way to do it but my audience will find it eventually lol. I’m sort of beyond the point of really giving a f*ck about what people say because at the end of the day I do this for myself. Also I’m moving to London to try make something out of myself. It doesn’t seem to be working for me in Aus. So imma hit the road. Right in the deep end you know.
What other artists and or creatives are from your community, and who should our readers get across?
A couple names come to mind straight away. I’ve been gracious enough to play along side Squid the Kid and his crew over the past few months. Squid had me play some bass with his band at some shows that was just so much fun ! I’ve also been gracious enough to play bass with Seaweed on Sticks. Som e more legends who’ve had me on board. Getting to know both of these artists and work along side them has been such a great joy. They’re both insanely talented crews and even better people.
What do you like to do, outside of writing, recording and playing music?
Ahahah not much lol. Music consumes me. I like to swim. Always get some laps in at my local pool. Shoutout to YAWA down in Rosebud. They’ve also got a dope ass sauna in there. I also love food and with that, a healthy lifestyle.
Do you have any shows coming up? Any last words?
No shows. I’m leaving for London as I said. Booking a show would just be too stressful for me at this point. Uhhhhhh I’ll sign off by saying thank you and I love you.
INTERVIEW SERIES: BOLER MANI & X PROMOTIONS
Melbourne’s boler mani’s Facebook page states, “a little boy with big sounds” and I have to agree. Boler is a part of X Promotions AND WE ARE LIVE which is will live streamed on Thursday 29th October. Boler and I recently had a chat about what he is all about.
Melbourne’s boler mani’s Facebook page states, “a little boy with big sounds” and I have to agree. Boler is a part of X Promotions AND WE ARE LIVE which is will live streamed on Thursday 29th October.
Boler and I recently had a chat about what he is all about.
You’re a solo artist, tell me a bit about yourself.
I produce all my own stuff. I rap and I do vocals, I also am practising singing currently, I am waiting until I am more confident before bringing that in.
You have a fair bit of content on your YouTube channel. How long have you been doing this for?
I kind of started dabbling in music production in year 3. I put my mind to trying to establish a career out of it around the start of 2018. Ever since I have just focused on constantly improving. I have an EP coming out around the start of next year that I am putting all my effort into. That’s going to be my big jump into the scene.
You’ve actually played some festivals already haven’t you?
Yes. I did Bigsound in Queensland and I have also done New Years Eve on The Hill.
How did you become involved in AND WE ARE LIVE?
Andrew who runs X Promotions hit me up and asked me if I would like to be involved. I was like yes let’s do it. I’ve been craving doing a performance for a while now, so I snagged that opportunity.
Do you normally play a lot of gigs in a “non-Covid world”?
Yeah, last year I would say I was getting gigs every now and again. It’s hard to reference what is often or not because I have only just started doing this. When I was trying to manage school it felt like it was often. Time would fly doing my school work and then I would get another text saying another show was coming up. I guess last year pre-covid it was pretty good. I’m excited to start performing new songs because I have been performing the same songs throughout the year. It’s going to be good once I get the new EP out.
So you’ve spent a lot of lockdown writing and creating?
Yeah. It’s kind of been a blessing in disguise. I think a lot of artists would relate. Like for sure w e miss out on the shows but we have all this time to make music. I’m blessed to have my production set up at home so pretty much everyday has just been working and trying to make the best of it.
You can work at your own pace when you produce yourself too.
Pretty much. It’s really great because I don’t have to travel anywhere (during lockdown) but the downside is when you go somewhere your environment shapes your mindset. It makes you more in the zone. Being in the bedroom, waking up and going to the desk you don’t really have the cues ready to let you know that it’s time to work. It’s just a matter of getting into it anyway. I love it anyway. It’s obviously a massive plus not having to go anywhere.
Ryan talked you up when I was speaking to him. He thought this was ging to be your year to break into the scene. But like you said you’re going to have a lot more content now.
For sure. There are lots of ups and downs to it. I always just try to see the best in it because there is no point in ruminating on what is not happening when there is so much that is.
Did you have much lined up for this year?
At the start of the year I was tossing up whether or not I wanted to continue doing music, so plans weren’t really in place. As the year went along I started getting my foot in, coming out of school I felt a little bit lost. But I was like no I definitely want to do this. Every time I just resort back to opening up Abelton and working on music, so I knew this was what I wanted to do. I’ve just stuck to my vision; we have big plans. This year has just been a big setup for next year. I’ve released one song this year back in February. Releasing any more this year wasn’t on the cards, we were planning on dropping something later this year, but I think taking our time and just working on new music for the rest of this year is the goal.
Who have you shared the stage with?
I supported Jai Waetford and Camouflage Rose last year which was really cool. And 3K was at the Camouflage Rose gig if you know them. They were two pretty significant shows. And then Godlands, she’s like a hard dubstep/trap DJ producer. They were the highlight gigs of last year for me.
Anything else you want to let people know?
I have my EP coming out at the start of next year. The single off that EP is going to be performed live at the AND WE ARE LIVE gig. So whoever tunes into that will get a little bit of something! I think what X Promotions is doing for us is amazing. I feel like the acts represent the split in the Melbourne taste in music. So you have indie, rap and soul which I feel is pretty representative of what people are into. I’ve been practising and I’m ready to go. I’m pretty excited about it. It’s going to be good.
FOILLOW BOLER MANI
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INTERVIEW SERIES: AND WE ARE LIVE!
We all know that Covid has well and truly messed with the music scene this year. X Promotions have taken matters into their own hands to promote some of the best local indie pop/rock, soul and hip-hop acts from the Frankston/Peninsula area.
We all know that Covid has well and truly messed with the music scene this year. X Promotions have taken matters into their own hands to promote some of the best local indie pop/rock, soul and hip-hop acts from the Frankston/Peninsula area. This 60 minute event will be live streamed into your lounge room from the Frankston Arts Centre via their Facebook and YouTube pages:
FACEBOOK
Tickets are priced at whatever you can afford and 100% of ticket sales will go to the artists and guest hosts on the night. Support the artists via the ‘Donate Now’ button HERE
Check out the Facebook event page HERE
Ryan McGeary and Andrew Gorman from X Promotions sat down and had a chat with me about what they are doing and why.
Well to start with I guess you better tell me about X Productions and what you guys are about.
Ryan: It’s a pretty new venture into the live-streaming stuff. Andrew and I stumbled upon one another with an interest in putting on live shows. Back in the day it was me with my band. We were looking to get some shows. Andrew had an interest in fostering some live shows. We met while doing separate shows and then came together to do some. This is just our next step in the Covid friendly world.
There isn’t anything friendly about Covid!!
Andrew: Ultimately, as much as we love to see the crowds and bands having a great time, we can only do half of that at the moment. With this event, we saw the Frankston Art Centre putting on live-stream events for the traditional theatre type crowds. We though hey there is no reason why some of the younger music acts couldn’t get in on that as well. Thankfully the theatre have jumped on board and the council has backed it as well. There are a few more big announcements to make in the coming weeks, there are a lot of things going our way. Thankfully everyone is loving it.
That’s a really good thing to hear. Good for the bands and for the fans. So there are just the four bands on this bill
Ryan: Yes we are seeing some really talented bands. We are trying to keep it local, there are some really awesome acts down this way that we thought needed the spotlight shone on them a little bit more. Especially during this lockdown. So we have subcult. Velvet Bloom who are.. how would you describe them Andrew?
Andrew: They are a very grass roots soul act. It’s a really cool sound. It’s not a sound that you expect. Maddy the singer has the smoothest voice.
Ryan: Maddy has that voice that as soon as she starts to sing you just lean in a little more than what you were.
And then we have Teenage Dads who have an indie pop sound. They are just an awesome bundle of joy on a stage. And then we have Boler Mani who is in the hip hop/rap game. Again he is high energy, really good stuff that is well produced. As soon as I saw him I was like cool. It’s tough when there is one person on stage, tough to get that energy across and he’s got it
Teenage Dads
Boler Mani
Andrew: He was also lined up 3 or 4 festivals this year, so this was going to be his break through year. Teenage Dads have some festival experience. Velvet Bloom has been around on the peninsula for a while. She has broken into Melbourne in a big way, she has a big fan base. subcult have a new single out and are releasing their second single on the night of this show. They have all had stuff put on hold.
Subcult
Velvet Bloom
It’s a good time to be interacting with fans on social media and getting your music out there. Building that fan base so that when gigs return you already have a following.
Ryan: It’s a really good time to ‘gather your supplies’ is what I have been telling people. Strengthen your foundations and get all your processes in place so that when you do get released into the world it goes gangbusters. The really good thing about the acts that we have got at the moment is they were all on the verge of something really great this year. They still are, don’t get me wrong, but using subcult as an example they did shows with Ruby Fields and names like that and it was looking to be a huge year for them. This has delayed them a little bit, but it gives them an opportunity to get more songs under their belt.
Andrew: Support local doesn’t have to be just for your shops. Support your local bands. We aren’t going to see any international acts in Melbourne for at least the next 6-12 months. So we all need to get behind not only Aussie music but the local bands that are in your back yard. All the big bands started out small so let’s help these smaller bands get there quicker.
That’s why I started writing for myself. I want to help promote the smaller grassroot bands that we have in Australia. There is so much talent here. And I’ve been lucky and had so much support from the scene.
Andrew: It’s huge. When Ryan and I were sitting working out how to spread this as far as we can, you don’t discount anyone who has even 50 followers. Speak to whoever you can because it’s not only about getting to 5 big 10,000 follower groups, but also about getting to as many small pages and groups as well. The love comes back and forth amongst these people.
Tell me about And We Are LIVE
Ryan: We have four acts that we have mentioned, so Boler Mani, subcult, Velvet Bloom and Teenage Dads. It will be hosted by the awesome Ali Barter and Oscar Dawson (Holy, Holy) we were stoked when we got the call from them saying they wanted to be involved. It’s hosted at the Frankston Art Centre, for us it’s one of those venues in Frankston that everyone has an experience with. Whether its as a kid in your school play, or as an adult in a lot of theatre based things. They haven’t really dabbled in this scene as much so in our conversations with them they were really excited to be expanding their horizons to a new audience.
Once Covid blows over you have yourselves another venue.
Ryan: I’m going to be there as often as possible. There are some awesome spaces within that venue. There’s something like 3-4 performance spaces, each with their own little quirks. Fortunately we get to cover off a few of them in this live stream, so we are doing it in different ‘studio’ spaces which helps with the changeovers and all that. It also showcases what they have to offer as well.
Andrew: The main theatre is 800 seats, so it’s a huge theatre. The Cube theatrette is 200 seats.
Ryan: The Cube 37 is an amazing space. Its an art gallery mixed with a performance space. When it is set up for a live show it is such an awesome spot.
Andrew: It’s not your traditional pub venue. It’s a world class venue that these acts don’t have access too. This event is not for profit, we are doing this for love as well.
It would be a perfect place for AA shows!
Ryan: I was going to mention that. The world is hanging out for AA shows. If you ask people what their favourite show was there is a 90% chance that the answer is we had this all ages show at this hall. It was an awesome atmosphere. It’s almost like you take the alcohol away and everyone is more invested in the music. It’s something that I hope we can foster.
We then moved on to genres!!
Andrew: Don’t read a book by its cover!! Ryan gets as dark as any.
Ryan: (laughs) This is my formal attire.
I listen to anything from Country to Black Metal!
Ryan: Good. That’s the way to be though. It’s a thing I have always found with people who are so genre bound with their tastes. When you’re not feeling angry and angsty or if you’re not feeling lovey dovey what are you listening too?? You have to embrace it all and each genre has their own advantage. And bringing it back to the event I think we capitalize on the moment by having four acts that arguably you wouldn’t see on a bill together unless it was a festival setting.
There’s been a lot of talk about bringing back the mixed bill line-ups.
Ryan: I think the only prerequisite should be that they are good.
100% correct
Ryan: I used to be in bands that sort of did the heavier thing and now I’m dabbling in weird electronic stuff. I would love to be able to still play with those bands, I’d love for their to be a scene that ‘Is it good? Yes. Cool let’s do something together’
Andrew: You have to look at the broad brush. If you have a fine artistic brush and you are just appealing to that one corner you might get your 50-100 people along. Where if you have that bill where you can get the boyfriend bringing the girlfriend and her mate because they all love something different that is on the bill it makes for a great night. And you fill the room. And as Ryan said if it’s good you will.
The diversity was key in this line-up. Funnily enough all four acts were the first four acts that we approached. We thought that we could do it with three acts not expecting them all to jump on board. Being a live stream we didn’t want to have them playing 30-40 minute sets so they each have 15 minute sets so if you’re not loving this genre wait 10 minutes and the next act will be on.
After having a listen to these bands make sure you jump on and purchase a ticket because you are in for an hour of great music by some up and coming talented young Australian bands.
Leading up to event day (THURSDAY OCTOBER 29) we have a series of interview with the artists involved so watch out for those over the coming days!
Hit the links below and give them a follow on their Facebook pages and check out their YouTube channels:
XPROMOTIONS
FACEBOOK
VELVET BLOOM
FACEBOOK
'DM ME' ISO LIVE JAM
TEENAGE DADS
FACEBOOK
'JEANE-CLAUDE VAN JAMME' MUSIC VIDEO
SUBCULT
FACEBOOK
’POISON’ LIVE AT WRANGLER
BOLER MANI
FACEBOOK
'DOOZY’ MUSIC VIDEO
INTERVIEW: CHRISTOS ON ISOLATION, INFLUENCES, CATALOGUE-BUILDING, AND WORKING WITH HIGH-PROFILE PRODUCER JAMES ANGUS
New BackBeat team member Milli had a chat with up-and-comer Christos (Chris Kallis) about his latest release, his writing process, and building his creative catalogue.
New BackBeat team member Milli had a chat with up-and-comer Christos (Chris Kallis) about his latest release, his writing process, and building his creative catalogue.
How does it feel to be releasing music through this weird time- were any of your methods changed or different?
It definitely is a weird time at the moment but I personally think its a good time to be releasing music. A lot of people are still stuck at home with not much to do so us artists have to use that to our advantage! I've just tried to be more interactive online as that's where a lot of the attention is during this time.
I know you come up with songs based on your life experiences, what do you think is the best topic to write or sing about?
For me writing about relationships that I've been in is the best topic. Whether its being in love or being hurt, it's something a lot of people can relate to and I like to express these emotions and feelings through my music in hopes of connecting to my listeners.
I noticed that Movin’ leans a bit more towards the ‘cloud rap’ type genre than the other songs you’ve put out and Calling is different still, would you say that your style differs depending on the song?
For sure, I like all of my songs to sound different in their own way. At this early stage of my career I'm trying to build my catalogue to show my versatility as an artist. I love experimenting and I'm always trying new things with my music and style.
How would you describe your sound?
It's hard to limit my music to just a single genre, I would describe it as a mixture of a few genres. My sound is mainly Hip hop, R&B and even Pop while my style is melodic rap.
Who are your influences or musical idols?
A lot of the new gen artists like Juice, Trippie and X. I love how those guys have underlying messages that are usually quite sad, coming from their own struggles and experiences, similar to my music. Each of those artists still produce their stuff in an upbeat and vibey way. When I am creating music across genres, other influences would be Travis Scott and Don Toliver. Funny, because I grew up listening to a lot of bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Violent Femmes and Red Hot Chilli Peppers. A lot of Michael Jackson, Andre 3000 and Chris brown too. It was just always something that was playing at home or on the radio.
What were you thinking about when writing “Calling?”
I remember pulling the beat up, vibing to it for a bit and I instantly had a melody in my head that I wanted to use. From here I wanted to take my listeners on a personal journey of an up and down relationship. Each verse kinda builds on this, making it something people are able to relate to with their own experiences. You know when someone is trying to reach out to you but you know you shouldn't go back down that road with them? That was the motive for this track.
How was it to work with James Angus?
Basically I was looking through his BeatStars and stumbled across this really cool beat but it was super short! Only like a minute long I think. I hit him up and sent him the demo I made and he liked it so he extended the beat for me, sent it over and I made it into a full song! It was really cool to work with him being the high profile producer he is.
What do you do in your spare time, when you’re not creating?
When I'm not making music I'm working some part time jobs and spending time with my girl, friends and family but managing my own career as an artist definitely is the most time consuming!
What are you working on right now?
I actually just finished filming a music video which I plan to drop a few weeks down the line so stay tuned for the 'Calling' visual! At the moment I have a bunch of unreleased music that I'm planning to release over the rest of the year.
Last question- Ice cream or cake?
That's a tough one because I enjoy eating them both together.... But it's gotta be ice cream.
Actual last question: top 3 current Aussie artists and why?
There are loads of talented Aussie artists breaking through at the moment but some of my favourites would have to be Oliver Amun, Vic August and Youngn Lipz. I feel like they are all making dope music and their melodic rap style is what I'm also doing with my own music.
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Chats with; Jess and Jay - Don't Fret Club
In our most recent episode, we chatted to Jess Hope and Jay Wennington about, well, everything. Here’s a funky snippet where we talked about one of their primary projects (amongst many others, including Bad Seed Agency), Don’t Fret Club, a podcast about mental health in the music industry - what it is, how it came to be, and where it’s going next!
In our most recent episode, we chatted to Jess Hope and Jay Wennington about, well, everything. Here’s a funky snippet where we talked about one of their primary projects (amongst many others, including Bad Seed Agency), Don’t Fret Club, a podcast about mental health in the music industry - what it is, how it came to be, and where it’s going next! Check out the full episode here.
When and why was Don’t Fret Club started?
JESS: It started about 4 years ago just before we moved out here. It basically started because I completely burnt out in the music industry, no other way to really describe it. But it was also kind of everywhere; it was in a lot of the interviews that I did, like mental health would always come up and at the time – it doesn’t really happen so much now but at the time it was always either edited out or glamourised, or I remember it becoming art of the taglines or headlines when it wasn’t really a major part of the story. I think back even 4 years ago people didn’t really know how to talk about it. I hadn’t really thought about doing a podcast, even podcasts weren’t big then, so I didn’t really even know how to do it, but it was the only way that it couldn’t be edited, we could kind of give people a platform.
The idea was to talk to musicians about topics related to mental health and it was kind of broad enough that people didn’t feel forced to say a certain thing or touch on a certain topic. And luckily, I obviously have relationships in the industry with managers and artists and people who knew the right people to be on it. So, we actually started the podcast with Jenna from Tonight Alive and obviously she was the perfect person to start with, she steered the convo as much as I did and was very open to that, but definitely when we started no one was talking about mental health in music honestly.
We’re still not completely, in terms of the wider music industry, but it was just to get the conversation out there and not have it changed or misguided or anything like that, it was exactly what people wanted to say. That being said, being a podcast format can be a bit tricky in the sense that a lot for the artists will come to us when they’re on their promo cycle or when they’re in the mind of being very positive, not really always ready to talk, so every interview is very different and 4 years on every conversation is new and kind of challenging because we have to put a lot of ourselves into it as well. In order for people to feel comfortable, we have to create that safe space and be quite honest and open, so there have been dips in it when I’ve personally been not feeling like I was in the place to do it or vice versa.
It’s definitely been well received here in Australia, and we’ve had artists from all over the world do it and luckily we can jump on the phone with them, but I always [preffered] the face to face time versus a 10-minute phoner - it’s kind of like, I’m not really willing to put someone in that position of having to go over delicate topics on the phone with someone they’ve not met, so a lot of the episodes are with people I know or have worked with a lot, or interviewed before, it was helpful that I had already done those things that so I had those relationships already there. It was basically something that I needed to hear, and nobody had made it yet.
There’s a hashtag ‘#ShreddingTheStigma’ that pops up a lot on your social media and the website, where did that come from?
JESS: We’ve done a lot of content and admittedly a lot of it isn’t even out there, we’re very protective of it and almost to our detriment a lot. We have a lot of videos and interviews and an almost finished documentary that’s just not out because we want it to be right and perfect, and we don’t want people to think that we’re trying to glamourize the topic, which since we launched has happened a lot. People launch clothing brands with ‘I Am Sad’ and they’re almost proud of that, and we’re very wary of the reception we were getting. Some people thought they kind of had to say that they were depressed so that they could be part of the club, which is not the case at all. So [Shredding The Stigma], it’s essentially what the future documentary will be called I think, tying it back to music and widening the conversation. A lot of it is around stigma and that people aren’t ready to talk about it or deal with it or kind of put in mechanisms for people to cope with it and that's at every level. Like its artists, managers, labels, its people at the venue, everyone, and there are different kinds of stigma at every level. So, I guess the hashtag is an overall kind of thing, to kind of battle that in a way.
A lot of people kind of think that we're at the point where we can talk about it and that the stigma is not there, but I think that’s just not the case. Obviously, it is in certain cases, but so often we talk about it and there's no kind of repercussion or act after that - there's no aftercare if you like. So, we still think talking is what's needed to kind of lead to the next step.
Do people from the general public come to you, either in person or online, asking for advice or telling you their stories?
JESS: Kind of. The ‘zine fairs that we've done, I think was kind of us there and offering that space for people to come up, but a lot of the time if I've ever brought it up people don't really realize, that either it’s us or that we've done it, or we haven't put a lot of ourselves. It's weird because even though there's obviously a lot of me on the podcast whereas on our socials there’s not. You wouldn’t know the people behind it, and even that was a transition from in the UK when we started, my profile as a writer was bigger there, so when I moved here nobody knew me, nobody kind of connected me to the podcast, which is a good and bad thing. It’s obviously important to have that so that people feel comfortable [knowing who they’re talking to] but it’s also good not to have a single face because if someone doesn’t necessarily feel they can identify with me, I don’t want that to stop them finding something in the brand.
And that branding change that we’ve seen on the socials and the website, what boosted that to be changed?
JESS: I think selfishly we just needed something fresh because we've obviously been working with the same ‘creative’ if you like for four years. And also, I think it's been kind of done and other people have done it and we just wanted to broaden out and I think we almost want it to become, well I think it's naturally become a wellness general space. It's not necessarily a heavy music thing even. And I want to, because we've done other content like video and some written posts and obviously we did a ‘zine and that was super popular - I want to make sure that it's maybe not even just a podcast or it doesn't just rely on that content and that other people can start kind of putting their voice into it without me even needing to kind of interview or do a podcast or anything like that. And we've kind of built the community but I think it needs other voices, not just mine and the person I'm talking to at that time.
So you’ve been primarily covering the heavier music but you talk about interests elsewhere, where else would you like to see it go?
JESS: Yeah that's kind of happened just again because that's where my relationships with artists are and I want to make sure that they feel comfortable. But we've actually done one with Kwame which is only out it’s like a 30-second video. He's maybe the first hip hop artist we've done and we've had we've been given the option recently of a few more, we definitely want to do more within that kind of scene, but it’s just it’s making sure we really know the artists and that they’re comfortable and not just doing it in a 15-minute phoner when they’re allotted that time, because we’ve done that and it’s just not ideal for either party, you’re not given the time to really delve deep or explain who you are.
JAY: Yeah it is tricky because like Jess says, with the whole you kind not necessarily ‘stick to what you know’ but like, all of our friends and the connections we have are in a heavier world and I think it's hard sometimes for merit to translate into other genres. For example, just under a year ago we were lucky enough to have Corey Taylor on the podcast, and if we mentioned that to kind of anyone in the alternative scene obviously he's like royalty and we're very proud of that because it carries a certain level of merit to his name, but to someone in the hip-hop scene or like an urban scene or even a pop scene to an extent it perhaps doesn't quite carry the same thing as it does here. I do think that we both feel that we've kind of hit a bit of a glass ceiling with the genre, I mean we've done the frontman of one of the biggest bands in the world. I think Jess and I both agree that there's only one person that we would like to do more and that is Ozzy Osborne. I think once we had those two, we could die happy, we’d be done.
JESS: I've not actually thought about it until this moment, about what he'd say, but I think the best ones we've had are where people have no inhibitions and say how it is and have a lot of stories to tell.
GABBY: I feel like he'd be an open book.
JAY: Definitely, though I'm not sure what language that book would be written in.
But yeah, I don't know. It's a good question. I don't know where it's going to go next and I think that's why we feel like internally we feel like we've perhaps plateaued slightly because we're a bit confused in ourselves where it's even going to go next.
JESS: We are very protective. We want to make sure it's done for the right reasons. We've had lot of offers from bands which obviously is amazing that people want to be involved but I always kind of want to make sure it's in their interests as much as ours and if someone's mentioned anxiety in one song on one album, it doesn't mean they're going to want to sit there and talk to Don't Fret which is absolutely fine. We’re kind of we're getting ready to record what I'm calling a second season. We've had a bit of a rebrand we'll finally bring the documentary out and then I think we'll just see where the conversation’s at and what people want Don't Fret to be and go from there let people kind of take it for what they want it to be.
We’d like to say a huge thanks to Jess and Jay, and all of our other guests, for dropping by and lending their time to chat with us .
Listen to this and more in the entire interview with Jess and Jay, in the full episode here, give them a follow below, check out our past episodes and stay tuned for our next one (and last one for 2019!) with Laura Imbruglia!
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