Hela is the alternative indie rock band you’ve been waiting for your entire life. All the way from Sydney, Australia, their sound is florid, sophisticated and visceral. Their unique sound draws from their vast scope of various different musical tastes, with notable inspiration from the likes of INXs, Tame Impala, Bon Iver, Frank Ocean, and many more. With their roots ingrained in hard alternative rock, the group seeks to impress with their own individual sound. Hela has been showcasing their talents through Sydney’s music scene. Hela demonstrates a powerful live sound with an exciting and passionate experience.
Hela cultivates the mood just right with their well-orchestrated hit single “Black Leather”. “Black Leather” had a highly ethereal vibe that weaved the lines between haziness and pellucid. What was super absorbing for me as a listener was Hela’s alluring and breathtaking resonance from the vocalist. The vocals were enchanting and helped convey the passionate delivery a lot more significant. “Black Leather” was highly ambitious, poetic, and poised with substance. As a listener, you become lost within the augmented production and hauntingly gorgeous transportation Hela gives you.
You’re leaping through constant valleys, peaks and dimensions in “Black Leather”. Each corner of the record there’s something new to explore about the song. Hela is a band who knows how to feed off their music, to create the ultimate experience for the listener to endure. “Black Leather” was a nicely melodic arrangement, giving us just enough to feel satisfied.
Listen to "Black Leather" here and keep scrolling for our interview with the Hela!
Welcome to BuzzMusic! So tell us, how did Hela form as a band?
It was around the summer of 2015. Jordan and I had a mutual friend that owned a beautiful house nearby a nature reserve-lots of trees, fresh air, good vibes. He invited us over, and I had always known Jordan from high school but we never really spoke. On that day we jammed together and bonded over a mutual and obsessive appreciation for John Frusciante. There was an undeniable energy present between us that really stemmed from our deep love for music, and so shortly after, Hela was born.
What are some challenges you’ve faced so far as a collective and how have you overcome these obstacles?
We've pretty much run into every problem in the book. Lineup changes, stolen equipment, having nowhere to rehearse, having no money, having nowhere to play. But that's just being in a band, it's the life we chose and we love every minute of it. We understand that it's a privilege to be able to share music with the world. No matter what happens we never question our existence as a band, ever. We know what we were put on this planet to do and so when you come into contact with the hardships, you take it face on and embrace it for what it is.
Tell us about your record “Black Leather” and the meaning behind it?
‘Black Leather’ is an attempt to paint a picture about the inherent confusion that human beings have between love and sex. We've been on this planet for so long and yet it remains to be a core reason for a lot of problems in relationships. I've come to believe it just stems from us constantly trying to chase this perfect balance between hedonism and connecting with what we believe to be good and best for ourselves, and it's just not easy. I think the track talks about how you can understand these two concepts, make up your own mind about what they are and how they interrelate, but at the end of the day, you can't help how you feel.
In what ways could you relate to “Black Leather”?
I think the mood felt in "Black Leather" is something we can all relate to and something that we all go through. It’s something I saw in myself as well as in the others around me. The song was written during a time where I was partying a bit more and meeting a lot of people going through the same thing. In saying that, when we write it never comes directly from a personal experience or event that happened. We try to tap into something more universal when writing songs, capture something people can understand and have felt themselves. It’s more of a general thing, our own way of connection. ‘Black Leather’ had a really lovely reception back home though, so I think we got what we were going for.
What’s next for you Hela? Any exciting upcoming summer performances?
You will without a doubt see us touring major festivals in the near future. We have our second single releasing next month and so there will be a release party for that, and we're always playing shows around Sydney. As the year goes on, there will be more tracks, more shows, and of course the release of our debut album.
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