Foto-© Malin Lautenschläger

Wir haben den kanadischen Künstlers EKKSTACY, dessen Musik sich in einer Sphäre von Indie, Post-Punk und Synth-Wave bewegt, in Berlin getroffen, um mit ihm über sein neues selbstbetiteltes Album EKKSTACY zu sprechen. Dabei verriet er uns, welcher kuriose Anruf zu dem The Kid Laroi Feature geführt hat und was er so garnicht am Musiker-Dasein leiden kann.

I want to speak with you a bit about you generally as an artist, but then also a bit about your new album EKKSTACY. The most obvious thing about when getting in touch with you as an artist is your name EKKSTACY. How did this come about? Is this about some sort of a high you’re feeling when creating your music?
You know Batman?

Yes.
So Batman didn’t like bats. So he named himself Batman because he hated bats. And I wasn’t very happy when I started making music. So I named myself EKKSTACY as it was like the opposite. I just love Batman.

That makes total sense. I heard that you’ve been a lot on the road lately, also when creating EKKSTACY. What is the difference for you between making music being in one place, whether it be Vancouver or LA now, or being on the road constantly?
Honestly, probably being on tour works better. Actually maybe not. Maybe being in one place. But it depends where it is, you know? I don’t really like working in certain places. I also hate working in studios. It has to be in a house. I like to make music in houses. I’ve been making music in Canada the most.

Do you then do that mostly with a lot of people in the house as well?
Just me.

You seem to switch up your appearance from time to time as well, I can mostly tell by different hair styles especially and new tattoos. Is that an overall state of you being experimental as a human being or is it just hair and tattoos?
I just get bored. And I’m just trying to go bald as fast as I possibly can, haha.

Just shave it all off eventually, haha. On the obvious side going through your releases throughout the years there has been this pattern of pessimism, heartbreak, loneliness and a sense of not belonging. While I think that these are such common themes especially growing up in this day & age and therefore extremely important to be transparent about and creating some sort of awareness, what is your main purpose in focusing on this side of things rather than the good side?
I don’t know. I haven’t had the other, the good side in a long time. So I find it easier to focus on the bad stuff. I just say whatever comes to my mind in the moment without having a specific message I wanna bring across.

Is there anything that you dislike or even hate about being a musician in general?
Yeah, dealing with people that think they know anything about me but actually have no clue. I mean, I definitely have a good fan base, but that’s what’s really annoying and I gotta deal with.

Do you think if there was life without judgement you’d be doing anything differently?
I hope to say no, but maybe.I feel like there’s got to be something I’d do differently.

Probably it’s subconsciously within our heads even though we like to think we act without fearing judgement.
I don’t know if I’d be worse or better, but probably better.

The world would be a better place generally without any judgment. I saw in a different interview that you were saying that your double release of bella/ i can’t find anyone was sort of opposites that you intentionally wanted to release together and you also mentioned that you did one in the studio and the other just in a room u had moved to. Does that concept of trying to balance out different moods and bringing opposites together continue throughout the whole newly released project EKKSTACY?
It seems to happen over and over again kind of. I think it’s just because I’m into so many different things, you know? And I can’t stay focused on one thing for too long. So I think that has something to do with it.

And maybe also again, you getting bored of things easily.
Exactly.

You’ve got a feature with The Kid Laroi and Trippie Redd on EKKSTACY, how did these come together?
Trippie Redd dm’d me and told me to go to Miami and then we made the song in Miami. The Kid Laroi was a bit weirder. I remember I got a phone call from someone, I can’t remember who it was, and he’s like “Yo, I’m with The Kid Laroi’s brother and he’s your biggest fan.” I didn’t know what was going on. I think The Kid Laroi dm’d me a few days after that and then I had a song that kind of sounded like it’d be good for him to be a feature on, so I sent it to him. And he sent it back pretty fast, it was all very simple.

So it was more of a you had a song and then he hopped on it rather than you creating something together?
Yeah.

Is there any other artist that you really would like to work with in the future?
Beach House or Joji.

It’s gonna happen, you just gotta speak it into existence. Is there any song that speaks best for the whole EKKSTACY project?
Definitely not. There’s way too much stuff happening.

And do you have a favourite?
Probably. I’ve had different favourites throughout the year of it being done. At one point it was “i don’t have one of those”, then it was “chicago” and another one was “goo lagoon”. I think at the point of me making each song, that song was my favourite. And then when I made the next one it switched to that.

By the time it’s out, you’ve went through all of them.
Yeah, maybe “goo lagoon” overall, but I’m not sure. Because there are songs on the album I haven’t heard in a while as I don’t always listen to it anymore now, and so I keep forgetting that they are even on it.

You’re going on tour again in Germany in spring. What is your opinion on German crowds?
They are the best in Europe for sure. Second best in the world.

Are you for real?
I’m for real, ask anyone I hang out with, I always say that.

I’ve just heard so many different things about German crowds, often times that they are hard to be motivated and you kind of need to get them to the point where they fully enjoy themselves.
No, but of course it depends what city. Mannheim isn’t the best for example. Cologne is the best and Hamburg is great, too. And I had a crazy show in Berlin, too. Germany’s good.

Is there anything you’d like to say concluding this conversation, whether it be about you as an artist or your album EKKSTACY?
Yes, the next album I’m gonna make is gonna be better than this one.

EKKSTACY Tour:
22.03.24 Frankfurt, Zoom (ausverkauft)
25.03.24 Berlin, Gretchen (hochverlegt)
26.03.24 Hamburg, Uebel & Gefährlich
27.03.24 Köln, Bürgerhaus Stollwerck (hochverlegt)