When I was 11 years old, I discovered the band called ‘Nirvana’ and subsequently, I got interested in grunge music. But digging into it, I realized it was more than a subgenre of rock, it was a cultural movement. I fell in love with the heavy sound textures, their distinct chord progressions, their lyrics’ emancipatory message, and the experimental visuals of the music videos. Watching interviews from the ‘90s, I found that artists of that era were inspired by social movements, classic literature or urban folk tales (like ‘Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle’ by Nirvana). This made me realize how social struggles translate onto pop culture, but also how art spread from the working-class suburbs to the mainstream. By the time I was 12 years old, I convinced my parents to buy me the cheapest classical guitar found in a music store.
Growing up, I also started to incorporate certain elements from different genres. As a guitarist, I try to incorporate the “wall of sound” from shoegaze and the catchy rhythmic aspect of stoner rock. As a singer… well, do the Smashing Pumpkins count as grunge? Oh, I almost forgot about nu-metal (lyrics not included!). Elliott Smith’s way of adding multiple vocal layers has also inspired me when I was making one of my tracks – “additive”. But when talking about my influences in production, maybe Nine Inch Nails is a great example of someone building a bridge between alt-rock and electronic music. GothBoiClique’s emo-trap production is also something I’m trying to learn from, even though I am still learning my ways with DAWs.
My biggest wish as an artist, is to make a living as a musician, going on tour and having creative freedom. But because we don’t live in a perfect world tailored to our hopes and dreams, having a plan B, and maybe C, could be a great idea. Since I am a huge film nerd, I would love to do sound for film with a focus on spatial audio and have people tripping on my work. Other career options include becoming a guitar technician, or pursuing an MA in Film. Or as an ex-dropout I might play the “uno reverse” card and join academia.
“Come As You Are” said Kurt (Cobain), so here I am.