Having soared to success as one half of teenage electronic duo SŸDE, Melbourne-based singer-songwriter will hyde is stepping out on his own with his debut tune “easy for u”. Bringing together shimmering synths and enthralling vocals, Hyde explores clarity in relationships against stripped-back instrumental.

Speaking on the single Hyde says, “ It’s always hard to be honest with yourself, the relationships I have are sort of one way. it can feel like there’s something personally wrong with you, but there isn’t”. We caught up with the rising star talking inspirations, music healing and anxiety.

Check out the interview below…

Hi will, how are you? How is lockdown treating you?
I’m great, thank you! Lockdown has been going well, I find it really easy to be by myself. I like spending time to just sit with my thoughts. I’ve also been able to spend a lot of time with my family and my new puppy, so all has been going well. There have certainly been times where I have found myself struggling with self-love, I think this time has allowed me to realise what I need to work on.

How has it influenced your creativity?
I think it has brought out a clearer picture for who I want to be as an artist. I’ve been writing/producing by myself which has been refreshing and productive, and I’ve made a lot of songs that I wanna put on a project at some point in the future!

You’ve been really open about your anxiety about the industry – why do you think it’s important to be frank and how does this affect your music?
I think I’ve spent enough time trying to avoid how I actually feel/running from who I am to be something else and I just got tired. It was really exhausting trying to meet the expectations I that used to put on myself. It’s important to be honest with yourself because that’s the only way to true happiness. I think it has made me want way more control lyrically too. I just do sessions with a producer now, I don’t work with co-writers as much anymore.

Where do you pull most of your inspirations from?
I listen to a lot of music. I usually start my day listening to music and end it listening to music. I’m inspired by emotions and how music moves me, I listened to Chelsea Cutler’s “I was in heaven” the other day and it just struck a chord with me. Fashion is equally as big for me. I express myself through my clothes just as much as I do with music. I love looking at unique fashion pieces and fluid fits. I remember seeing a photo of a guy who turned out to be Paul Klein from LANY and I was like man that dude’s a stud! I also like watching movies because it has the power to take me to another world and that can be really moving.

A lot of your music delves into healing, whether it’s therapy/reiki etc – is music another form of healing for you?
It is healing in a different way. I try to stay away from venting through music. I find that for me, I like to approach a song when I’m level headed and have some clarity around the situation because as writers we have a powerful responsibility to tell a story that is fair for whoever else is involved. If I vent it becomes biased, at least for me. I have found music healing in the sense that I like listening back to them as a journal entry. It feels good to be able to revisit songs when I need something to connect to. That’s special.

How would you like your music to make people feel?
I would like my songs to help make people feel enough, help them understand that even though we can find ourselves in messy situations, it doesn’t mean we deserve to be in that place. We are enough as we are, therefore we deserve to be happy. I would love if people felt more in tune with their emotions after listening to it. I hope whoever listens can just make the song special to them! It isn’t about me and it isn’t about the record, it’s just about creating moments with music that feel powerful to the listener – that’s how we can make real change in the world!

Your new track “easy for u” really seems to delve into the process of self-discovery – what was the most challenging part of putting the song together?
My favourite part of the process was making the drug reference – because I feel that that is something we need to start talking about with our generation. We have a drug issue. That’s just how it is. That’s not a judgment on people who take drugs. I just think we need to start having a conversation about substance use, because too many people in my life have already been thought what it does to you. I come from a supportive family and so do they – so what about the people who don’t have that support network? How are they doing? It felt like that line in the song could help people face some inner demons they may be running from with drug abuse. It hurts me to watch people in my life fade/change because of the pain they feel inside.