Sebastian Hex releases new single "House of Cards"
What can you tell us about your latest single “House of Cards”? Where did you get your inspiration? What’s the story behind it?
“House of Cards” is probably my most interesting song yet, production-wise. I was in Germany when I got the idea for it, and I laid out the initial beats at my parents’ house in New Jersey. Then when I was on the bus to DC, I came up with the lyrics that you hear during the pre-chorus:
“Cause you build me upAnd tear me downPlay with my heartA house of cards
Walls caving inGone with the windJust like a house of cards.”
I just fell in love with the idea of using that metaphor not to describe a relationship per se, but yourself. Instead of saying that “What we have is like a house of cards, because it’s so fragile,” the song is saying “I’m like a house of cards, because you keep playing me.”
What do you want to achieve with this record? What do you want people to feel when listening to it?
Number one for me is to show my growth as a music producer. It’s only my third song since Dark Side of the Moon, but I think House of Cards has a much better production value in terms of arrangement, mixing, and mastering, all of which I do myself. I think House of Cards shows a lot of technical improvement for me as a producer.
I want people to feel vulnerable when listening to this song, just as I felt writing it. Especially in electronic music, there is a huge focus on throwing your hands up and partying, which I have absolutely no problem with, but I also want them to enjoy the mellow side of the genre. Whenever big DJs like Kygo, Marshmello, and The Chainsmokers release emotional songs, I get really excited!
What are your goals for the rest of the year?
I have just launched my website and blog at www.sebastianhex.com, and I am looking forward to using that blog as a way to share more elaborate thoughts to my audience outside of the typical 200+ characters on social media. Very recently, I shared a blog post explaining how the whole Sebastian Hex project started, which delves into my childhood and my experience working in corporate America. If you haven’t read it, I would love if you checked it out.
Also, now that I have gained enough knowledge in music production and sound engineering, I have been dipping my toes in DJing and playing live. Thankfully I have made some friends like DJ HAYDNversusALIEN who are willing to share their knowledge with amateurs like me; I think mentorship is really important. Besides that, I really, really want to make an upbeat dance record before the year is over. It’s like every time I write, it ends up being emotional and serious!
What message do you want to give to the readers of this blog?
A huge thanks are in order to people who support the smaller artists like myself, whether it’s through listening to our music or just reading interviews like this. I think at the end of the day, no matter how secure we are as individuals, we still crave some kind of validation as human beings. So whenever I get a positive message from someone living halfway across the world, or when websites like this take time out of their day to interview me, it really does mean a lot. Being an independent artist is tough but these small accomplishments really make the ride a little smoother. Thank you so much.
“House of Cards” is now available.
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