Melodic bass upstart helloworld first broke into the electronic world early last year with a mysterious persona and his debut single, “voices”. What followed was a slew of dreamy singles throughout 2021, culminating with “nowhere left to hide”, which further cemented his trademark sound in December. And if fans thought 2021 was a massive first year for helloworld, he’s here to prove that he has a few more tricks up his sleeve for the new year.
In January, helloworld kicked off the year with the stripped back version of “only way out”, not only showcasing his versatility as an artist, but also finally revealing his face and identity in the accompanying music video. And with such a massive start to the year, it comes as no surprise that helloworld has big plans for the rest of 2022.
With his latest single, “afterthought” featuring Luma out now, we caught up with Drew (helloworld) to talk about his plans for the rest of the year, the decision to reveal his identity, new music and more. Read the full interview now below.
Prelude Press: You’ve had a really exciting beginning to 2022 with the release of the stripped back version of “only way out” and now the release of “afterthought”. How has the reception of these songs been so far?
helloworld: The reception on these songs has been absolutely overwhelming in the best way. I am super excited for how much people liked the two releases. “afterthought” is actually one of the first songs I ended up making for the project, and for how much people like it I’m so impressed. I’m also so happy with how much people liked the stripped version of “only way out” – it was really important for me to show off a more intimate and vulnerable side of myself and people took it so well.
Coming off of a big year in 2021, did you have any major goals for the new year when you started planning things out?
For 2022, I definitely want to put out a lot of music that I’m excited about. Some of the stuff I’m working on right now is so aligned with the direction I see this project going and I’m so excited to see how it unfolds. I definitely want to start transitioning toward more project-based releases, and I also want to start working more with other artists and songwriters to get some amazing collabs out.
Are there any artists that you’d like to collaborate with this year? Anyone currently inspiring you?
There are so many. I would love to collab with some of the up-and-coming artists in the scene such as Moore Kismet, Laxcity, Rome in Silver, etc. I’d also love to collab with artists such as SLANDER, Slushii, Mura Masa, Shallou, and tons of other artists outside of EDM, because I really love the idea of bridging the gap.
On top of the new music, you also kicked off the year with the reveal of your identity! What made right now the right time?
It just felt right! I was putting music out anonymously for a while and the project did so well – I am so happy with how it went without me putting myself into it. But, I was always very excited to include pieces of myself in ‘helloworld’, so I felt like the release of the music video of this very different track (stripped “only way out”) was a great time. I am excited to share more about myself now that the cat is out of the bag.
When you first started making music as helloworld, what made you decide to keep your face hidden? Do you feel like not having the pressure of your identity attached to the music allowed you to have some more creative freedom?
Precisely! I wanted to keep it hidden because I just didn’t know exactly how I wanted to portray myself through the project yet. I also liked the idea of putting this music out and seeing just how it did without any specific person behind it. But, all in all, it was just fun to release music and not have the pressure of showing myself yet.
Can you tell us a little bit about your new single, “afterthought”? What inspired the track?
“afterthought” is actually a really old song! I wrote a demo for the instrumental before ‘helloworld’ was conceived. I ended up reaching out to Luma because I was looking for vocalists to work with on it (this is also before I was even singing!) – I got in contact with her and ended up getting the opportunity to write and record it with her in LA! We wrote the track around the idea of not wanting to be a second choice to someone – an afterthought. It’s about standing up for yourself and not wanting to be chosen by someone after it’s too late.
How did you get connected with Luma for this collaboration?
I ended up writing the instrumental for the track a few years ago before I started singing – I reached out to Luma because I heard some of her work with a few of my friends and other artists I loved. I reached out to her and eventually got the opportunity to write and record the song with her out in LA. Through that, we became such good friends and I even met my manager Shemar through her! (He also manages her!)
You’re already a couple new releases into the new year – when can fans expect to hear some more new music?
Great question – I’ll just drop ‘February’ out there and leave it at that!!!
Do you have any other big plans for 2022?
For 2022, I really wanna start performing and give my new fans an opportunity to see this new project live – I have such fun ideas for how I want to do that and I am so excited. On top of that, I’m really trying to hone in on the type of music I want to make and the direction I’m going in with ‘helloworld’, so I’m excited to see where that takes me. <3
Thank you for taking the time to talk with us! Is there anything else you’d like to add?
I’d love to add that I am super honored to be featured by you guys and I am super excited about the interview!
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