Ben Hazlewood – Chemical Roulette

By starrymag | October 1, 2023

By: Sammi Turano

 

 

Q) How would you describe your sound?

 

A) Intimate yet anthemic, recently I have enjoyed molding organic vintage sounds with a more contemporary vibe in a lot of these upcoming singles production.

 

Q) Who are some of your musical influences?

 

A) Anything from David Bowie to Bon Iver. I am drawn to strong simplistic production with a solid melodic presence.

 

Q) “Chemical Roulette” has already been a huge hit. Did you expect to get such a huge response from it right away?

 

A) The response has been amazing! I had everything crossed that it would be well received. It’s a slightly new sound and I was pumped to see it doing so well!

 

Q) The song has such deep meaning behind it. In what ways do you hope people relate to it and do you think it can help those in similar situations?  

 

A) “Kerosene” is a reminder of the past – the times where I just wished I could burn it all around me, so I would never have to face the hurt of my reality.

It felt like a very simplistic idea. One that is not actually possible but almost a daydream, to walk away from it all and start fresh.

 

Q) What inspired the music video storyline? It’s also incredibly moving.

 

A) The video was made with the purpose to act as visual mood board to support the idea – a mood of the song. The angst and the longing to let go.

 

Q) What was the biggest challenge about writing the song and making the video?

 

A) Coming to terms with the depth of a lot of the lyrics. Sometimes when I’m in the middle of writing a song the lyrics don’t hit me completely until I am singing them back to my self during the video shoot.

 

Q) You also recently released song “Hallucinations.” What was the story behind that single and what inspired it?

 

A) “Hallucinations” is about living between actuality and hallucination; the hard line becomes more of a drifting fog when it comes to my core foundations of love and trust. Exploring the enticing visions of what could have been and what is lost.

 

Q) You mentioned you plan on releasing more music soon. Are there any collaborations in the works?

 

A) At this stage I am continuing to home in on my sound from a production standpoint and working with my longtime friends, producer/songwriters to continue to write and release more music.

 

Q) You were recently nominated for the LGBTI Music Award in Australia. How did it feel to get the nomination and what was going through your mind when you got the news? 

 

A) It was an amazing feeling. I definitely felt that not only my work, but I had been seen and recognized by my community.

 

Q) What would you like to say to your fans and supporters?

 

A) Thanks for all your love and support thus far! There is still a hell of a lot more to come.