It's time for Black Summer
Photo credit Tim Madden
Australian EDM artist, Black Summer, has unveiled his latest track, ‘Cernunnos’, which marks the launch of the young Artist’s most exciting career chapter to date, and also serves as the world’s first taste of Black Summer’s first album Channel Horror. Black Summer has not had an easy path to walk on his journey to this point, originally “unearthed” at age 11, Black Summer, unfortunately, experienced the dark and hateful side of fame well before he was at an age to process it but fast forward through two re-brandings and time, Black Summer has used the nasty jealousy as fuel to inspire, create and deliver us Channel Horror. We had the pleasure of talking to Black Summer before the album’s release where we asked him about the path he’s walked, how he was able to get through it all and the steps he’s making to expand his musical abilities
For those that haven’t heard your music before, how do you describe the Black Summer sound?
My music has changed a lot over the years as I’ve been experimenting and finding my sound. I would say with this new album and new direction I’m going in sounds like a mix between Adult Swim commercials, dark experimental hip-hop, electronic music and psychedelic sounds.
You have just released your latest track ‘CERNUNNOS’ Tell us about it. What was the inspiration for writing the new song?
I didn’t go into making this song with any sort of inspiration in mind. I started with a sample which is the string you hear and built around that with production. As I was making it, I started to hear it come together in my head and recorded vocals to it. The whole song came together in one session and was probably one of the quickest songs I’ve made. When it came to the imagery and overall vibes, I wanted to include some of the Pagan imagery and ideologies I had been learning about. I named it Cernunnos after the ancient Celtic Deity because it represented to me the rebirth of my own mental state and the death of the old me, which is why in the music video I’m seen killing another version of myself.
“Now I’m at the point where I’ve decided to combine the names I’ve gone under into one artist and completely change myself as an artist. ”
For those who don’t know, you came to the world’s attention when you were “unearthed” by Triple J aged 11 with your track ‘Young Like Me’. While this brought you lots of praise it also brought you lots of hate, which is tough to deal with for anyone at any age, how did you process this in a way that didn’t destroy you or your passion for music?
I guess at the time when it was happening, I didn’t really understand it because I wasn’t on the internet much, so it wasn’t too bad until I got to around 12 - 14 where I started to read those comments and realize how much hate there really was. It got really hard to deal with when I would drop new music because it would just get flooded with hate and people saying I didn’t make my own music which led to me uploading “how I made” videos but even that wouldn’t stop the hate. It got to a point where I just wanted to stop uploading music altogether because I felt like no matter what I did, people would just say the same things. This is what led to me changing my sound and making another artist name anonymously and creating music on that for a while. I called this new name “Kyotoclan” and would make music under that for a couple of years. Over time it built a strong following and it was getting love I’d never seen before. Now I’m at the point where I’ve decided to combine the names I’ve gone under into one artist and completely change myself as an artist.
Obviously, you didn’t just start producing music at 11, so when did you realise you had a gift for making music, how did your music journey begin?
I think it was when I was around the age of 9 and was playing drums and making my own songs in my head as a kid, my parents noticed it and wanted to try to support it and encourage it to see it grow into what it is now.
“Kyotoclan was probably one of the most important steps in my whole career because it let me experiment free of judgment and really find my sound”
You went on to make music under the pseudonym ‘Kyotoclan’, which gave you anonymity and a clean slate, was this an important step for you to take not only personally but professionally as well?
Yeah, most definitely. Kyotoclan was probably one of the most important steps in my whole career because it let me experiment free of judgment and really find my sound. It helped me mentally too getting that support and encouragement that I felt I wasn’t getting on my main. If it wasn’t for Kyotoclan I probably would have stepped away from music a long time ago.
Now you have morphed ‘Kyotoclan’ into Black Summer, did this happen organically or was it a conscious decision?
A bit of both. I felt like it was time to bring them together not just because I felt I was ready to show people this new version of me I had been working on for so long behind the scenes, but also because Kyotoclan was taking up so much of my time and I was starting to enjoy making music under that name more than my main. It felt like it was time to combine them, and it was something I wanted to do for a while.
“I felt it was time to just stop caring so much about what people think and just be myself and do what I wanted to do so this album is more me than I’ve ever been.”
Back to ‘CERNUNNOS’, this is the first song from your forthcoming EP, ‘Channel Horror’, this album is inspired by “full-blown 80s VHS Horror”. How or why did this become your muse for your first EP under the new name of Black Summer?
I’ve always loved horror and dark imagery and wanted to bring it to my music in some way. I built Kyotoclan as a character of its own and I guess it just morphed into the imagery and vibes I always wanted to do something with but was too worried about judgment. I felt it was time to just stop caring so much about what people think and just be myself and do what I wanted to do so this album is more me than I’ve ever been.
‘CERNUNNOS’ is our first opportunity to hear your vocal prowess, was it hard to take that next step to become the vocalist as well as the musician and producer?
It was a big move, and I was pretty nervous to do it. It took a long time of recording music until I got to a point where I felt confident enough to show people it and you can hear this in Kyotoclan’s music with every song slowly getting more prominent vocals and becoming less of an instrumental and more of a full song. It was definitely one of the hardest things I’ve had to do, and I definitely stepped pretty far out of my comfort zone to do it but I’m glad I did because now I can do more creatively than I’ve ever been able to.
Was singing an important progression for you to make?
Singing is something I’m still learning. I wanna get it to a point where I don’t need to limit my songs melodically for my vocals to handle but it’ll definitely take time, maybe my next album! it’s already been huge though and has opened so many doors so I definitely will continue to work on it
“Doing vocals is a lot less time-consuming and more fun but I’d have to say I’m still more of a producer”
Which hat do you prefer to wear, that of a singer, musician or producer? Is there one role you prefer more that the others?
Doing vocals is a lot less time-consuming and more fun but I’d have to say I’m still more of a producer. Producing is something I’ve mastered a lot more than vocals and I love making beats. mixing has been something I’ve been working hard on and is at a point now that I never thought I’d get to so quickly.
Has releasing ‘Channel Horror’ been a cathartic experience? Has it allowed you to off-load that unwanted and unneeded hate and negativity from the early years?
Channel Horror has been a great outlet for everything I’ve been dealing with in my life up until this point. Bullying, abusive relationships, depression, and all these negative emotions can be heard in my lyrics alone and was a good way to get it all out of my system. I don’t really open up about stuff I’m struggling with so using music and this album, especially as a way to just speak everything off my chest and put all those emotions somewhere else has helped me a lot.
Do you have a favourite track off the Channel Horror EP or one that is particularly special to you? If so why does it stand out for you?
It's hard to pick one but I think I’d say Creep Show is my favourite song. I love the way that song flows, and I’ve had it on repeat since I’ve made it lol. Revolting and Cernunnos are up there too though. I guess those three are my favourites, but Creep Show is special to me, I love how that one came out.
“Working with other artists is always a fun challenge because you’re not just trying to find a vision for the track, but also see someone else’s.”
You have recently co-produced tracks for Australia’s Illy (Like You) and Pakistani singer-songwriter Asim Azhar (Habibi) do you enjoy working with other artists to create their tracks? Are there challenges you don’t face making your own music?
I love it! Working with other artists is always a fun challenge because you’re not just trying to find a vision for the track, but also see someone else’s. It’s been one of the most creatively important things I’ve done, and I plan to work with many more in the future and create music I would never normally make. Stepping out of your comfort zone is one of the best things you can do in life.
Will you be hitting the road and touring with Channel Horror?
I would love to! Hopefully many live performances will come next year, and I can play all these new songs live, just gotta wait and see and hopefully, there isn’t another pandemic haha.
Who do you credit as your musical influences? Do they differ for each of the personas?
I think with this stage of my music, JPEGMAFIA, Spaceghostpurpp, and Iglooghost have been the most important inspirations for this project. I’ve been listening to so much underground music, and I couldn’t even list all the artists I’ve listened to but these three have definitely inspired me the most to make what I’m making now.
“I think with this stage of my music, JPEGMAFIA, Spaceghostpurpp, and Iglooghost have been the most important inspirations for this project”
Who would be Black Summer’s ultimate Collab Partner be?
That’s a really hard question. I’d say either one of the three of my top inspirations or Denzel Curry. That would be my ultimate goal
Who in your crew or team deserves a shout-out but never gets one? And what is they do that keeps your world turning?
I always shout Tek out but I’m gonna do it again lol. He’s been here since the start and has not just been an amazing manager, but also an amazing mentor and friend. Without him, I would not be the artist I am today. I would have to say my parents too who have kept me grounded and been my number 1 supporters. I’m a very lucky person to have parents who are this supportive with something creative.
What's next for you? What ‘s in the works for Black Summer in 2023?
Another album, plenty of performances and collaborations, and just more evolution with myself and my music. This is just the beginning of this new era of my music!
Cernunnos & Channel Horror are both out now.
