There’s a musical movement bubbling in the Capital’s underground scene that’s hard to categorise into a neat little box. Experimental, filled with emotion and usually pretty hard-hitting in one way or another, this gritty post-genre sound is producing some of the most exciting artists to come out of London in recent years.
PEZZHEAD is one of these artists, fusing elements of metal, trap, hip-hop, electronica and more to create an awe-inspiring Frankenstein sound that’s frenzied and fuelled by raw emotion. We caught up with him for a lockdown interview just after the release of his latest album ‘Freebourne Grove’.
First off tell us who you are and where you come from?
“Freebourne Grove. New Hive.”
How would you describe your sound?
“My sound is usually angry sad. More sad than angry at the moment, if I wanna make more angry music I gotta REALLY be angry, like I struggle to fake emotions so it has to be real. I predominantly use stock synth / sounds on cubase and a couple drum sample packs ripped from YouTube. I try to channel my emotions into sound and either create something stupidly heavy and industrial, or really dreamy and melodic. I try to keep things dirty, I hate really polished sounds – they make me wanna vomit.”
What inspires you to make music?
“I’m pretty overly emotional, so that inspires me the most. It’s usually bad vibes and negative emotions as well. I feel like I can channel them in a way that people can get people gassed though. I was big into movie scores growing up too so that fuelled my love for dramatic music. The more dramatic the better usually. I love Hans Zimmer. Also left over teenage angst, the spirit of punk and hardcore, the aggression of metal and the more alternative side of hip-hop.”
How did you first get into making music?
“I got into making music when I was like 6 years old, I used to just make up songs in my head and combine different genres I thought would be cool together. I also picked up guitar when I was 7 and played non stop for like 10 years. Flash forward to when I was about 16, I was torn between making rock music and hiphop. So instead of being mature and deciding on one path. I couldn’t chose so I mashed them both together with brute force pretty much. I’ve come a long way since that tormented me, I feel like I have a more coherent sound now, to an extent.”
Tell us about your latest release
“My latest releases are: ‘Freebourne Grove (LP)’ – an album about me and my life growing up in Freebourne, dealing with my self and how I cope with the torture I put myself through, also the bleak reality of the times we’re living in. It’s pretty much my proggy concept album. I’ve always been into progressive/conceptual artists. It’s progressive hip hop with post hardcore / metal influence. It’s 13 tracks and 45 mins so it’s a bit of a beast but have a skim through and see what you think. Out now on all platforms.
The Look On Her Teeth (EP) – I literally made this on a whim. It’s about jealousy so it’s green. Each song took a day / two days at most to complete. It’s an expression of heartbreak and frustrating anger. A lack of closure which leads to disgusting thoughts. Also excruciating emotional pain. Jealousy is a curse I’ve put up with with all my life and it sorta culminated into this EP. It’s a gross feeling, I hate it but I think I’m finally over it. I dropped this originally on Soundcloud only, but now it’s out on all platforms. It’s brutally honest and to the point.”
How have you been dealing with this pandemic?
“The pandemic has been grim. I was very unstable at the start. Over time though I used it to my advantage and got loads of stuff done, I feel like over all it’s gonna have a positive effect on me and help me grow into a more independent person. I feel for all the family’s that have lost loved ones though. Heart wrenching as fuck.”
I try to keep things dirty, I hate really polished sounds – they make me wanna vomit.
PEZZHEAD
Are you releasing any more music in the near future?
“I’m never gonna stop releasing music until I’m dead now I think. I’m stuck in the depths of it. Even if I stop making music, I don’t think I’m gonna stop making art. I’m an artist down to my bones. So yeah, I got some more stuff coming this year with too much variety.”
Finally, why should people listen to your music?
“No one should listen to my unless you wanna get really sad, get really fucking angry. Or get stuck in between those two negatives and continuously jump back and forth getting more and more worked up, until you finally find balance in-between and realise it’s okay to have a chaotic mind because I have that too and we in this together.
It’s more than just the extremes when it comes to emotions. When you go up and down as much as me, you realise you have to, and CAN, find comfort in the extremes, AND when you’re between them. I find comfort in the extremes by creating music. If you fuck with that, you’ll probably fuck with me.”
Johno Ramsay
RIDE MUSIC 