You might remember To Hell With Tradition from a recent review we published. Talking about his surprisingly latest record ‘Blurred’, we described: “His artistry seems to go deeper than his peers, while gifting him a sombre yet fierce aura of confidence. From what we had the chance to observe, that’s what To Hell With Tradition is all about. It is music that doesn’t overwhelm the listeners, instead wrapping them in its picturesque storytelling, offering reflective cues often delivered through witty metaphors”.
That, compared with the artist’s unique personal backstory – son of an Army officer and travelling the world in his childhood years – makes sure that ‘Blurred’ contains experienced lyricism, rooted in reality and honesty. Pair that with a poignant, eclectic musical frame, and you have got a winner.
Intrigued by the project, we caught up with To Hell With Tradition to find out more about his artistry and his future goals… Interview below!
Hey THWT, how is it going? some of our readers might not be familiar with your project, how would you describe yourself, in a few words?
The “In a few words” challenge 🙂 To Hell With Tradition is in a sweet spot between indie and mainstream that many people might not even be aware of – too unconventional to be mainstream, but too catchy to be indie. It is the combination of captivating sounds and profound lyrics that makes up my style.
Your current work is the result of a long journey; What first drew you to making music?
I have always felt the urge to express myself in creative ways even in the earliest years of my childhood. For as long as I can remember, there has been this universal force about certain music coming, for example, from the speakers of my parents‘ yellow, old BMW whenever we took a ride and listened to random mixtapes. A force that – if only for a moment, for the duration of a couple of bars – made me feel a soothing oneness with the entire universe and yet a bittersweet ancient longing born out of the knowledge about the general volatileness of this sensation. Ever since then, I feel, I have been on a spiritual mission to create those precious moments with my own music.
If you had the opportunity to pick any artists in the world for a collaboration, who would be your first choice? (and second choice, perhaps?)
That would be Tom Waits. I have absolutely no clue what this might even sound like, but I’ve admired his unique, authentic style for ages. The thought of having this chance is quite exciting and it would be an honour.
Your latest release takes the shape of an album, ‘Blurred’; We appreciate the refined indie-pop style you are so gloriously manifesting. When was the album written, and is there any track you are particularly proud of?
I wrote the album directly after the release of my second album Stitches during the second half of 2021. Since Blurred as a whole was created as a cohesive concept album from the very beginning, it is tough for me to isolate a single song – I am just very proud of the complete thing. However, as far as the evolution of the individual songs is concerned, I’d have to say that Eggshells clearly stands out to me. This is the track that surprised me the most, as with every step of the way, everything seemed to be falling into place automatically, and even the dry, unedited recording immediately got me hooked.
If you were to pitch your track ‘Monument’ to an audience, how would you describe it?
Given the interwoven nature of Blurred, there is not a pitch that would apply to Monuments exclusively. However, it might just be one of the more “accessible” songs that give a peek into my vision and my journey, that you might just end up identifying with.
Do you feel more confident writing music alone, or within a team?
Having tried both approaches for a decent period of time, I can clearly state that I am a creative loner. Having the freedom and time to just tap into the flow, letting things unfold naturally, experimenting to gradually and genuinely translate my creative vision into the final production without any dependencies, discussions or compromises is just a blessing I am truly grateful for.
Artistically speaking, what challenges have the last two years presented you with?
My greatest challenge continues to be the ambition to do sufficiently cater to all my creative urges whilst being subjected to the same basic concept of time as all of us. Besides making music, I am into acting, writing, videography and photography. A day has 24 hours and they tend to be over in a blink of an eye without having done even a fraction of what’s in the pipeline.
What are the next steps for your project? Anything exciting on the horizon?
Somewhere on my future path, I really want to bring all this to the stage and finally play live shows again, but given my arrangement I need to headhunt a couple of fellow musicians first. For the time being, I am already working on album number 4 which I’ll most likely start recording this Winter.
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