JHelix recently spoke with us, and gave us some much-needed life advice, while speaking about his latest single, ‘Upon The Earth’.
Growing up listening to bands like Alice in Chains and Type O Negative, what first drew you to heavier music?
I’ve always been a Type A personality, even as a child. Gentler, slower music just didn’t interest me as much, really. Something about the emotion and pace of heavier music just clicked with me. Admittedly, there were a couple of bangers from my mom’s John Denver collection I liked… and Enya. Enya fully gets the lifetime hall pass, but you get what I’m saying. I grew up during the transition from hair metal bands to the massive sweeping Grunge/Alternative movement, and it was pointless to resist. In early grade school, I was listening to GnR and Def Leppard…. And then BAM!… bands like Alice in Chains, Nirvana, Soundgarden, Stone Temple Pilots, and Pearl Jam came rolling in like an 18-wheeler. They fit my personality like a glove. What a glorious time in musical history!
Your new single “Upon The Earth” leans into alternative metal. What made you want to explore that sound more with this release?
Technically speaking, I’ve been drifting slowly in this direction since 2020, really. My album “The Corruption” still had a very Electro/Industrial feel to it, but you could hear that I was sneaking guitars and bass into some of the songs already, beginning a transition. Everything I’ve released since then has been slowly heading in a more traditional Alt Metal direction, with the single before this one (Breathe) having only a couple of synths in it, and Upon the Earth having only one. I’ve been composing new song ideas almost exclusively on my down-tuned custom guitar for a couple of years now, vs starting with my laptop and some synths like I used to. When I started to feel this change happening, I decided to just go with it!
You’ve spent a lot of time creating music in the studio. How did your approach change while making this project?
As I was touching on a bit in the last question, I’ve been approaching things quite differently lately when it comes to composition. Almost 100% of my new songs start during guitar/singing practice now. I’ll be noodling around with some different chords or riffs, and I’ll end up stringing something together on the spot. Most of the time, it’s either “That’s kinda cool, maybe I’ll make that a song one day”, or it’s “Oh shit, that’s sick. Where can I go with this… this needs to be a new song”. In the case of Upon the Earth I’m pretty sure I came up with the opening riff of the song first and built off of that.
The riffs in “Upon The Earth” really drive the song. Do you usually start with a guitar idea or build from the atmosphere first?
I’m a melody-man above all else. In previous years, I would have had a synth-based melody line cycling around in my head, and I’d get on Pro Tools, and everything would sorta come pouring out around that one riff. These days, the composition starts with the rhythm guitar parts most of the time, and goes out from there.
The lyrics talk about how disconnected people have become. What inspired that theme?
One of my favorite afternoon activities is going running on the local nature trails. There’s a big gravel belt line with a bunch of trails coming off of it, and a river there too. Depending on the day and time, you may see lots of people there. I can’t tell you how common it is to see people out for walks at this beautiful location, with earbuds in, staring down at their phones while walking! There are beautiful trees, birds, a flowing river, nice breezes, beautiful marsh areas, and on most days, warm sunlight on your face and body, and people would rather be engrossed in the cold digital world of their phones. This is just one example of how bad we’ve become afflicted with technology, and how it’s yanked us away from real life. I’m sure anyone who’s read the articles lately can see the paradigm change that’s coming when AI really takes hold. It’s already bad, and it’s going to get worse. That’s the inspiration…
There’s a lot of power in the mix of heavy guitars and big vocal moments. What kind of feeling were you hoping listeners would get from the track?
I like to really overwhelm the senses with musical emotion. That’s generally the feeling I go for in my music. I want people to be absorbed into the vibe of the song, rather than just casually listening to it. In this particular song, I wanted to capture the fast-paced punk-like feeling in the online scenes, contrast it with the broad and warm feeling of the forest scenes, and finish it off with the absolutely chaotic feel of humanity’s blind, directionless sprint into the future.
The music video shows a clash between nature and digital worlds. What message were you hoping to get across with those visuals?
Touch Grass. Go outside with a cup of coffee in the morning, and just watch the sun rise with your phone left on the counter inside. Go for a walk… breathe deeply… LIVE dammit…..LIVE!
You’re now bringing the project to the stage with a full band. How important is performing live for you at this stage?
I would say it’s first on my list of priorities going forward. Spoiler alert: I’ve got a full-length album already in the mastering phase, and it’s going to drop this year. The music on this album is full-on Alt Metal… there’s not a synth to be heard on the entire album! I think these days, especially with technology going the direction it is, live music might become one of the only truly organic ways to connect with an artist anymore. Even though I’m no total stranger to the stage, I certainly haven’t put the focus on it that I have on being a recording artist. I now have a bedrock of music to work from, and it needs to be taken to the people directly, whenever possible. I also know that this is no small thing. It’s incredibly difficult to assemble and maintain a talented and functional band… ask anyone popular who is in one… read about how many member changes some of them have. It’s a big deal, and I’ll need to treat it like a big deal moving forward…
With more music on the way, what can fans expect next?
Keep your eyes out for my full-length album! It’s 9 songs, nearly 50 minutes long, and in my opinion, my most advanced songwriting yet. Honestly, going into the project, I had no idea how I was going to pull it off. But guess what… I did and it’s awesome. Humble brag. I’ll definitely be very vocal about how the band thing is coming along… follow my socials and especially my YouTube channel @jhelix and I’ll be sure to give you lots of updates! Much love.
You can find out more about JHelix and his music online on his official website, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Watch the video for ‘Upon The Earth’ below – and then go out and touch some grass.
