If you haven’t already listened Hitch’s new album Dream Alive, stop what you’re doing and go listen to it now. The album is a nine-track collection of epic EDM that you’ll be unable to resist getting lost inside of.
So, fresh off the album’s release, we caught up with the artist himself to chat all about it, musical influences, and what the future holds.
Hot off the release of incredible new album Dream Alive, we caught up with Melbourne-based producer Hitch for a chat.
HAPPY: Hey Hitch, how’s it going? What are you up to?
HITCH: Hey Luke! Yea doing great mate, how about you?
HAPPY: Great mate! Dream Alive is pretty amazing! How’s it feel to put it out to the world?
HITCH: Thanks a lot! Yea it feels really good, especially because the album really reflects who I am as an artist and what my style is. Felt a little risky putting it out into the world due to the very different element a lot of the tracks have, but I guess I tend to practice a divergent sound from the norm to give genres of the EDM world a different outlook. That is probably what I was most proud of in this EP.
HAPPY: How did the album come about? Did you write it a while ago?
HITCH: Yeah so I began making this album around two years ago. I had a bunch of unfinished projects that I felt had a lot of potential and so I decided to work on them and create an album. It is definitely inspired by the music I enjoy listening to. The Dream Alive album has a variety of different soundscapes and styles, all of which are influenced by the stuff I like listening to, and so I wanted to portray that in this album.
HAPPY: Which is your favourite song on the record?
HITCH: That is a very difficult question, I couldn’t choose but I would have to say I had the most fun making Dream Alive and Pray with Krisha, because they were actually the first collaborations I ever had with a vocalist and seeing how well the vocals blended with the music was awesome. I think lyrically, they were really meaningful and deep too, because my main goal is to connect and tell a story to my audience.
HAPPY: Who influenced Dream Alive?
HITCH: Well like I said before, Dream Alive is very much influenced by the music I enjoy listening to, in which I would blend with my own element. But I guess my own style is heavily inspired by artists like Flume, Point Point etc. and I feel that these artists inspired me to pursue music, but to do it in my own unique way. More so, I think Dream Alive was a chance for me to expose my own sound and style of music.
HAPPY: Tell us about your relationship with Krisha Marisse?
HITCH: So me and Krisha actually went to the same school together and music is what made us good mates. She was that one singer gal at my school that everyone loved because of her amazing vocals and I myself really admired her vocals too. I was eager to work with her on this EP because Dream Alive and Pray needed her voice to be truly complete. We started having some sessions to record and write the songs and we became really good friends after that.
HAPPY: Where does the name ‘Hitch’ come from?
HITCH: Haha, well it’s kind of an inside joke I had with my mate; he would call me ‘Hitch’ because I would always help him out with his girl problems which relates to the movie Hitch with Will Smith, I really hope I don’t go down for copyright on that haha. But yeah, anyway the name stuck and he told me I should make that my artist name and the rest is history.
HAPPY: How does Dream Alive go live? It must be a killer!
HITCH: Well I haven’t performed the full album live yet but I did play Like Water at YourShot in Melbourne and the crowd went nuts on the drop, that was definitely the highlight for me on that set.
HAPPY: Who is your ideal collaboration partner in the studio?
HITCH: Well I have only worked with a handful of artists so far who are all very talented and absolute legends but working with Krisha was awesome. Her ability to hit every key perfectly made the recording process a lot more efficient. And I personally love her vocals, so working with her on the album was a lot of fun.
HAPPY: What does the future look like for Hitch?
HICTH: Hopefully a lot of growth from here Luke. I’m working on a few singles with some other artists including Krisha Marisse which I hope to release soon so do look out for those! To name another, YAAK and I are also hoping to collaborate so I’m very keen to see how the next couple months play out. I am still growing as an artist, I’m learning something new everyday and I really do hope — well the real dream for the future is to leave a footprint in the EDM world. I aspire to bring a different soundscape and bend the rules of the mainstream and to create something new out there, so yeah, I am very excited to see what the future holds Luke.
Dream Alive is available now. Listen above.
