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Interviews

notevenstevens on his new album ‘Chains’

notevenstevens band

notevenstevens is a fresh sound on the Aussie music scene whose genre-bending album Chains has blown us away.

We wanted to know a little bit more about notevenstevens, his bedroom studio and of course, how the heck he got that name.

Chains notevenstevens

HAPPY: First off, we have to ask, is your name a reference to the TV show Even Stevens?

NOTEVENSTEVENS: Haha it’s not, but I used to love that show when I was younger! It came about because my name is Ethan Stevens, and when I was back in school, people started to call me “Ethan noteven Stevens”, naturally that was shortened to just “notevenstevens”, and it has just been a thing ever since!

HAPPY: You’ve been described as one of the most unique upcoming Australian artists, what is it about your music that makes it so different?

NOTEVENSTEVENS: I love to make music exactly how I’d like, I find that if you create music in hopes of people enjoying it or sounding like another artist then you’ve already lost. That ‘artist’ you aspire to be like, they already pioneered that sound. I like to think I am carving out my own sound that people will gravitate towards because it is different. I find it hard to describe a consistent “sound” for the music I make. I find it drastically changes depending on what is currently inspiring me, and what is going on in my life. 

HAPPY: What does your home studio look like?

NOTEVENSTEVENS: It’s a bedroom studio! Thankfully I have a spacious room to fit it all, but I have a desk with studio monitors, a MIDI keyboard, a pair of Audio-Technica ATH-M50x and a Korg Monotron synth. It ain’t much, but it’s honest work.

HAPPY: You just released your debut record Chains, what was your creative vision behind the record?

NOTEVENSTEVENS: Undertaking an album experience by myself was a personal life goal and something I always dreamt of. The album process for Chains actually started a year ago as soon as my debut Cyberboy EP was released. There is a consistent industrial & experimental electronic feel to it however I really wanted each of the 13 tracks to sound very unique to each other, while still feeling a part of the same “universe”, almost like individual planets/worlds in a solar system. 

HAPPY: You also debuted your own vocals on the album, did it feel any different releasing music that you sang on?

NOTEVENSTEVENS: Oh definitely! As part of the creative process, I usually get a degree of nervousness when releasing music, but that feeling was ten-fold when it had my own vocals on it. However, I am so grateful for the positive response I have gotten! I am definitely excited to work more on my vocals and songwriting for future releases. You will find my vocals on tracks from the album such as Torn2pieces & Haunted.

HAPPY: You also have a few collaborations on the record, how did you choose which artists to work with?

NOTEVENSTEVENS: I am very open to collaborations! I love how it changes the dynamic when there are two artists working together, two creative brains are better than one! However, I don’t just collaborate with anyone, I only like to work with people that share the same passion & energy as me. All collaborators from the Chains album flowed so intuitively and I can’t wait to see where future collaborations take me. 

HAPPY: You’re also a visual/graphic designer, do you find similarities between writing music and designing visuals?

NOTEVENSTEVENS: Great question! I find that it is very similar in terms of the creative process such as breaking it down into smaller pieces to get the end result. However, I find that writing music for me is more personal, and a more intimate look ‘behind the curtains’ of myself as a person and also creative/artist. I also love that if I have a creative vision, I can pull it all together myself with the skills I have in both areas and create a very deep and interconnected experience between the music and the visuals/artworks.  

 

Chains is out now.

Photos supplied.