Ever since the beginning of punk rock, the musical style has been a very effective vehicle for people to pick up an instrument and express rage, disappointment and basically any other of the range of the so-called negative emotions. Going back further, psychedelic rock allows musicians to explore other states of mind as well as literary genres like fantasy and horror.
Combining both the punk and psychedelia genres is a band called Hexed, out of Pomona and comprised of three members who met while in high school. I had the opportunity to chat with drummer/vocalist Mike Hopkins and bassist/vocalist Ian Contreras via email. (Also on the band’s most recent release are Mel Macias and Cristian Acevedo on guitars, who contribute vocals as well, with Macias having recently left the lineup.)
I started off by asking Mike and Ian how their aggressively dark and brooding sound develops, and what the creative process is like.
Ian: “I feel as though the say in our sound is done more through physical expression rather than actual decision. Each of our presences in the band bends the sound in such a way to where it just comes out the way it does, raw influence from each person is what makes Hexed what it is.”
Mike: “For the most part I will come up with the main melodies and the lyrics and then form a structure from there. At that point I’ll bring the skeleton of the song to the rest of the band and we all fill it in with our own styles. There are a few songs however that were written by other members (‘Captive’ was written by Ian, and ‘Red and Bumpy’ was written by Cristian).”
Mike explained that in addition to punk music, Hexed draws influences from old school psychedelic bands and later ones as well.
He says: “We are all big fans of psychedelic music and this plays a huge role in the timbre and structure of many of our songs. To name a few of our older influences I would say ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ and ‘Dark Side of the Moon’. More so than these I would say a bigger influence on us is modern psychedelia: bands such as Tame Impala, King Krule, and Unknown Mortal Orchestra, each of whom draw large inspiration from bands such as Pink Floyd or The Beatles. Given modern technology and decades worth of mastering the craft, these modern groups are definitely among those we look to for inspiration.”
Listening to their most recent release, “A Heart With No Home,” I hear a variety of textures, ranging from distortion filled laments (“Red and Bumpy”), to an upbeat tune that’s paradoxically about the grief that comes at the end of a romantic relationship (“Nightmare Nightmare”), to a whimsical tribute to the transitive nature of experience (“Everything Is Temporary.”) Holding the band’s sound together amidst the shimmering and distorted guitars and the rhythm of the bass and drums, along with the variety of vocals, is skillful songwriting characterized by careful instrumentation and thoughtful lyrical detail. The styles and sounds range from 60s-era pop to modern psychedelia and of course, aggressive punk.
Mike: “One of the things that fascinates me most in music is the ability to play on multiple moods or feels, which is something that definitely manifests itself in my writing for Hexed. There is room for both aggression and somberness, and often times one song will feature one or multiple mood changes as it progresses. The inherent “darkness” that arises as the shifts unfold I would say is also a reflection of the mental state I was in while writing, which for the most part is during times of stress or grief.”
Ian: “Our thematics sort of manifest themselves. As I explained earlier, everything is just raw expression bending what is written. I feel like there’s no strategy to pouring yourself out on a stage. We used to be a lot more ‘light’ sounding but our tone changed as the band itself changed and the music began translating differently through us.”
In the past couple years, Hexed has broken out from playing gigs in the Inland Empire to playing at clubs in Los Angeles and Los Vegas. I asked Mike what his ambitions for the band are:
He told me: “It is hard to label a specific goal for the success of Hexed, rather we just wish to see it grow as much as possible. The support we have already seen has greatly surpassed anything we initially expected, and there is nowhere to go but forward and up. We all feel that what we have is unique and we just look forward to what the future has in store.”
Hexed On Facebook
Hexed on Bandcamp
Hexed On Amazon.com
booking: hexedca@yahoo.com
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