Hailing from the sunshine state, rising artist HADEE. brings heat with his sophomore single, “KEROSENE”. Released on February 3, 2023, the 80s synthpop-inspired track explores the reckless themes of romance and its evanescent nature. It expands on this theme through its chosen soundscape, each detail adding to the overall cinematic atmosphere. Straight from the start, we’re met with an almost haunting instrumentation that paints the visual of desert-glaring heat raining down. “KEROSENE” cements HADEE. as an upcoming artist with a versatility that leaves his listeners longing to explore.
With a Tarantino-esque flair, HADEE. portrays the desire to risk everything going up in flames for what he wants, and he does so with a signature cool in “KEROSENE.” We sat with HADEE. to get some insight into the meaning of his new single. “Every scene we find ourselves in is locked away inside a memory, eagerly waiting for the day it’s brought to mind again. Some are placed in a decorative manner, while others are hung up in a frame with broken glass. Like a film lit by a match, these recollections can burn bright, and for a split second, a part of us gives in to self-reflection. It’s that contrasting feeling I wanted to delve into.” This of course begged the question of how the writing process of “KEROSENE” came about. HADEE. explained, “It started out as an instrumental idea I had made a couple years back. It was a bassline that I had then developed, but I couldn’t seem to think of the right words for this one idea. I had almost accepted that it would never become a full song. Fast-forward to this past summer, I had found the original recording of the instrumental, and that’s when the chorus melody we hear in the song came to
mind. This allowed me to further get into the storyline and arrangement, so I could create a decent demo.”
In regards to the recording process of his new track, HADEE. elaborated, “This track was mainly recorded at Alar Studios, created by Alfredo “Alar on the Mix” Rivera. We combined in-the-box methods with analog gear to create the perfect blend of classic and modern. Just a few names of hardware we used on this track include a custom Signal Arts 47 that went into 2ubes VTS Preamp. I recorded the guitars with both my D’Angelico Premier DC and Deluxe LudLow through my Blackstar HT-60. I think we definitely found a sound that brought what we wanted out of “KEROSENE.” The drums were then recorded at Miami Beach Recording Studios (MBRS). Alfredo was also the session engineer for that too. As for assistant engineers, Alfredo had a few audio engineer students from Broward College come to the session to get an insight on the process. The track was then mastered by Shane Slack.”
To fully bring to life the vision he had in mind for “KEROSENE,” HADEE. chose to film the music video for it in California. “In my mind, this song felt hot. Not literally, but sensory. So I wanted to show the pressure and tension within each beat. but there still had to remain a certain cold breeze in the song. We ended up renting out a blue 1970 Ford Mustang convertible and filming over in Vasquez Rocks and the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. The video was shot by Dmitry Zhitov, a great friend of mine. I remember getting a bad sunburn from filming out in the desert all day,” HADEE. recalls, “I don’t really go in the sun much. Totally worth it though.”
When asked if he had a favorite part of the track, HADEE. stated, “For some reason, I’m always interested in seeing how the bridge of a song may end up. For the most part, the structure of “KEROSENE” was written around the bass guitar with the guitars essentially encompassing it. As for the bridge, the idea was to create a departure that I wanted to feel, for lack of a better way to put it, mirage-inducing.” We see this concept executed when the song bares itself to the bone in this section, simply a kick and bass, as it introduces us to the contrasting ambience of the bridge. This refresh does not last long though as we pick up speed back into the latter half of the bridge, then leading into what we find is the climactic buildup of the third chorus. In case it was not evident before, the third chorus buildup is where we really see the drums shine, perfectly performed by Jxrdan Jxsiah (a.k.a. JJ). When asked about his musical influences, the solo artist gave a wide list ranging from 80s new-wave synthpop likened to Billy Idol and The Cure, 70s/80s Bowie eras, a touch of classic film noir, finished off with a balanced mix of modernity such as The Killers, Two Door Cinema Club, Young The Giant, and Walk The Moon to name a few. “While I love too many artists to ever list, I can safely say the top three artists that I take much inspiration from are David Bowie, Billy Idol, and Jim Morrison of The Doors. This inspiration shows, if not always in the music, then in my taste in fashion and similar aspects.”
Since his debut release in the Spring of 2022, HADEE. has been hard at work bringing the vision of this project into existence. Aside from playing consistently in Florida’s local music scene, he has also continued to put effort into growing his online presence. With only one song released, he has managed to build a well-received presence in the scene, as well as landing a slot on his first major show that will be taking place at Revolution Live in Ft. Lauderdale on February 18th, 2023. There will be special guests such as Mayday Parade, Boys Like Girls and Charlotte Swans attending Emo Prom, the 4th annual highly-anticipated event hosted by Black Market MIA and Emonite Miami.
While “KEROSENE” has a clear tone-shift from his debut single, “4AM,” HADEE. shows that he is not willing to be defined by one sound. The gemini nature of his style further intrigues the listener, keeping them unsure of which song they would enjoy more, and even more uncertain of what may follow next. At the end of the day, they each have their own charm that sums up to what we’ll come to associate as HADEE. “It isn’t about which song you enjoy more, rather, which track fits the mood you wish to amplify. Like anything else, there’s a time and place for everything. The right song makes the scene. Regardless, as long as you feel like you can blast this song in your car and feel some serotonin be released, then I’ve done my part!,” HADEE. laughed.
HADEE. plans to promote his release through social media, live shows, new merchandise, playlist services, guerrilla marketing, a music video and lyrics video, as well as many further mediums. Starting on February 3rd, 2023, “KEROSENE” will be available on all streaming and video platforms.
