We’re back with another musician interview! We had a pleasure of chatting with Hayden McHugh about the beauty in creating music, how other people can inspire you and so much more!
You can listen to Hayden’s music here, and follow him on twitter.
And hey, a new single by Dustin Nelson, on which Hayden features, just dropped yesterday. Check out You Never Loved Me!
Okay first of all, I just watched your cover of Stupid Deep and it was amazing! Congrats on that!
Thank you so much!! It was a fun first step into making something a little more profound. It feels like a complete piece of work, which is nice 🙂
So how did you first get into making music in general?
I first started when I was a kid actually!! My mom got me a little tape recorder and I just fucked around with that as like, a literal toddler.
Oh, that’s so cool!
And then as I got older, I started using freeware like audacity to record myself singing and record various instruments, and I also started taking songwriting more seriously as well. Now I use Ableton to produce and record, and am just learning about the video editing softwares.
So it’s a lifelong passion, that’s amazing.
Hahaha I’ve never wanted to do anything else really.
Well when I was a kid my dream was to work in a grocery store…
Habahahhaha. That’s a good dream too.
I think it was because my aunt owned a grocery store, to be honest. Anyway! What are your favourite genres to listen to?
My favorite genres… hmm it’s a little wide but. Lately I’ve been super into anything groovy, and I love to dance. Galantis is a big one for me, and Sigala. And Jacob Collier is a big one for me. I think what I like is when people smash things together – like I love hearing the gospel mixed with dance music, or the guitar overlayed the r&b beat.
Yeah, like when you can tell that they’re just out there having fun with sounds, right?
Uh huh! Exactly.
And is there anything you don’t enjoy listening to?
Um, no not really! I prefer stuff with a melody and a good beat, but one of my fav all time bands is WET, who are much more soft and soulful, so.. it really depends on my mood.
That’s really the thing about music, you can always find something that will fit your mood perfectly.
Absolutely!
How do you get inspiration for your music?
I think it comes from all over. Lately I’m finding more and more inspiration and working with other people, I find that I create the best content when I am trying to incorporate not only my own ideas but also a variety of other people’s ideas as well. Usually I try to take from my own lived situations but usually you just take a little slice of life and try to expand on it.
The concept of getting inspired by working with other people is incredibly lovely, not gonna lie.
It’s great! Honestly you learn so much from working with other people, especially when it comes to songwriting. There so many ways to go about it. I think it’s really important to make sure that you’re constantly expanding and growing, which to me means trying to take things that other people do and apply it to your own methods.
Literally all we can do is grow and learn.
Uh huh!!
So what is your creative process like? What comes first, melodies or words?
Honestly they both usually come at the same time. Every song writes differently, I think sometimes they sort of just fall out of you and you know exactly what you want to say and what it should sound like. But other times you have to kind of go back and rework it a bunch of times and just try adding new things in. It’s kinda like a puzzle without seeing the front of the box, you just keep trying to fit things in until something sticks. Production is more tedious, that’s where I like to work with other people who are better than me because I just am alright
Honestly, making music seems a little bit like magic to me.
It is a bit!! But it’s also very technical – the English language, and others, are really incredible and can be used in particular ways to evoke emotions. But there does need to be that bit of… Humanity I suppose. Whatever that means.
Yeah, I get what you mean. Are you able to choose which you like better, though, creating melodies or writing the lyrics?
Honestly no because they work together in sync or not at all. I think that sometimes I can write poetry which isn’t necessarily really common for me but the the power of words I think is really important. But at the same time I also feel like the melody is almost like a symbol that we don’t really always recognized but truly give so much depth to the song itself and to the words themselves.
I mean, what else are lyrics if not poetry.
And changing the way that you sing a notes or the note that you use or the chords that you use completely changes the meaning of a word entirely.
Yeah, like two people would create totally different songs from the same lyrics just by evoking different emotions with their melodies.
Exactly! Everyone has their own unique story to tell.
That’s actually one of the things I wanted to talk about. It’s safe to say that there are more openly LGBT artists nowadays than ever before. What does seeing so much representation mean to you?
It means a lot that people are being much more open. I think that the world needs to know that people aren’t black and white. And that things are much more complex. Like I said earlier, humanity is a complex organism – its important that we explore all facets of whatever the word means.
Definitely! It’s nice to live in a time when we’re actually starting to do that openly.
I agree.
So then, can you rec us some of your favourite LGBT artists?
Hmm… some of my faves would have to be Emily Burns, and I’m loving this song Drippin’ by Marcus Connolly. I’m also just a big fan of Tom Aspaul and 100 GECS!!!
Oh, I love Tom Aspaul!
Very funky.
Yeah. And which three artists would you say have influenced your music the most?
Hilary Duff because who else. I love love love Jon Bellion. His lyrics are production are just *chefs kiss* always. And. Natalia Kills because she was so wildly herself. She has rebranded now as cruel youth.
Oh man, I miss Natalia Kills. I used to be such a big fan.
Right??? She’s still got stuff going which makes me happy.
Okay. Give us a five word description of your latest release. Which you be today’s. (Or an upcoming one, if you’d rather.)
I’ll go with stuff that’s upcoming! It’s gonna be emotional, danceable, soulful, intricate, and relatable!!
That actually sounds amazing! When will be able to listen, though!
I don’t have a set date yet, but it will be sooner than you think!!
Nice!! If (when!) your music was to be used in movies, what sort of movies would you like to see it in? Any directors in particular?
Hmmm I can’t think of any directors but I always imagined my songs at the ends of movies. Like a good closer or the beginning where the person is just starting their adventure.
Like, when everything is resolved and everyone is happy?
Yeah exactly haha.
Honestly, the first song always sets the tone and the last one is what people usually remember, so those are solid choices!
Hahahahahahha thank you!! I just feel like I do a really good happy feel-good bop.
You do! And this feels like that’s a good time to ask, what’s one piece of advice you would like to give your younger self?
To just keep making! I always sit on one project like it’s a golden egg when I should be making 100’s of songs and then picking the ones I like the best. So to just make. Don’t sit and kill your babies.
And the more you make, the better you get at it, right?
Exactly!!
Last question! If you could have dinner with one member of the LGBT community, dead or alive, who would it be?
Hmmmmmmm probably Sasha Velour because her brain is so creative and smart. That rose moment will live in my brain, even when I’m old and can’t remember anything else.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Hayden McHugh is a producer, songwriter, vocalist and performer from Calgary, Canada.
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