Finding inspiration within new boundaries can seem daunting, but it also defines artists who are unafraid to develop and push their creativity in every way. Hemai, hailing from Birmingham England, has crafted a genre-blending display of reverberations and organic emotions as a musical statement, taking what he finds intriguing within this world and channelling it into the musical expression that is his latest fantastic album, Strange Beauty.
Strange Beauty is the most appropriate title for this debut album. The young visionary has made his mark on the modern musical atmosphere, injecting a new sense of direction and mental understanding into how music can transform anything. Hemai describes that this release couldn’t be ignored in his artistic sub-current. “The world inspired this album. The earth. The climate. Natural beauty. Organic feelings. Really looking deep within the journeys of people who I love, people who spread love, things, and beings who portray love. It’s a big bouquet of songs that help me make sense of the world and why it can be such a beautiful place.”
The talented musician comments on the story and variety of musicianship within the record, and how pushing musicians to create within new artistic realms resulted in a passion that comfort zones could never produce. “The album came together throughout the lockdown here in the UK. It was inevitable that all of the playings from myself and my brother (drums) and the vocalists would be creatively different as everyone was in this new never-before-experienced space. It was a strange time, but the passion of all involved was something incredibly beautiful.”
Written in London during the lockdown, Strange Beauty defines a chapter of Hemai and his current existence that truly incorporates the contrast of seeing a major world city become lifeless, ferrying all the external sounds of nature within the concrete wilderness to influence the soundscape of the album. Hemai dives deeper into how the record’s location and use of local musicians impacted its sound. “The sound of London in lockdown influenced me massively on Strange Beauty. This album is a little rougher around the edges than my previous work, on purpose but very passively. I owe it to this city and the creatives in it. I’m very humbled to be amongst some incredible humans, but also those from my hometown Birmingham. It’s where I learned everything I know. But I’m still on this journey of life and experimenting with new sounds, new tones, and trying to be a sound scientist a little more each day.”
Hemai took the artistic responsibility of combining the atmosphere of London in lockdown, his new musical talents, and his tuneful roots into a grand unison of excellence. He elaborates on how he merged the albums setting with his already established personal musical hemisphere. “I feel I grew up around music which had a lot of tonal characteristics involved in the music. I was very blessed to think back on it. It seemed to be something that was very much thought about. Especially the stuff I listen to that’s from the 70s. The whole jazz fusion world is where I draw most of my influence from, so being in a space like London which has engineers who also incorporate this audible aesthetic to music makes it easier for me to blend it into my music. It was beautifully aligned.”
Hemai took every musical variable he had been presented with and saw a vision that nobody else could. Strange Beauty is an album that will transport the listener to a contrast of worlds that make so much sense, offering a telescopic view on sounds and textures that require real bravery.
Hemai goes deep into his artistic vision for the record and how during the lockdown, small gestures of care and consideration went a long way to enhance people emotionally. “Strange Beauty, simply put, was about finding the beauty in the smaller packages of life. Things in day-to-day life make our day more joyous. Even if it’s something as small as a smile from a stranger. Transforming all of this, into sound. Into chord progressions, rhythms, tones, and everything else.”
Hemai concludes his comments on the actual task of constructing his debut full-length at this stage in his career, detailing how he managed to transport the listener for an everlasting and captivating length of time. “I [loved] making this album wholeheartedly. I’m so much more an album man than anything else now. And this is my first one! The space it took me to is an experience I’d want everyone to be involved with. Even if it can bring a small slice of joy to the listener, that’s my job done. It’s humbling to think that it can do that to others, and very fulfilling.”
Strange Beauty is the essence of evolution within Hemai, it represents how he has grown as a musician and as a human. The growth on this record stands out like no other and shows a musician fighting the natural curve, taking hold of the path in front of him and writing his own future the only way he knows how. “Strange Beauty was written about the evolution of things. I went into it thinking I was going to make an album that has these time signatures, these instruments, these rhythmic sequences. But I actually didn’t listen to any of that. It naturally unfolded to be the project that stands today.”
Hemai goes on to further, recalling a fond memory of the recording process with his brother, Sam Hemus. “There is a heavy section at the end of of a track called Brother’s Shuffle. My brother Sam Hemus playing those drums is incredible. He’s so amazing. But, the end of this song, made me see actual lights. I remember producing one night, and thinking I just want to go absolutely crazy at the end of this song. I was probably going crazy due to being in the same room for endless hours making this album with the whole world on lockdown. So it definitely rubbed off on this outro. I didn’t think much of it and wrote/produced it all in a super short amount of time as I wanted to keep that fire burning. Then when I and Sam got into the studio, it got re-ignited and it is how you hear it now. Super raw.”
Strange Beauty is a record that highlights how music is the support system we all desire in times of desolation. Hemai crafted a soundtrack that could decorate any state of affairs with a joyful and hopeful splash of color, generating a concrete connection to music. “Music still remains to be my best friend. This album went through one of the strangest periods of my life with me, and to be able to narrate that through tones and sounds is spectacular. I’m so humbled to be able to express this down. I love it.”
However Strange Beauty did see Hemai pushing himself into unknown realms, despite his natural instinct taking him there. He comments on being vulnerable when pushing himself into areas of the unknown, battling and making peace with a mindset that naturally wished to tread outside the comfort zone, proving how he is an artist that knows the importance of an honest artistic display. “All of the music on this album is a territory I’ve never really delved into before. It’s present, it’s ever-changing. Everything is as fresh as coming out of my fingertips and straight-up being pressed onto audio. I will now always make music presently, as this is how our feelings and expressions sound at the time of making it.”
Strange Beauty is a debut record that defines what exploring the human mind should be about. It shows there are no limits, where any object and setting can be morphed into a new environment through art. Strange Beauty is an injection of positivity in the modern musical landscape and takes the essence of smiling at a stranger and amplifies it so it can immerse a whole city. Hemai is an innovator, and Strange Beauty will make you see how effortlessly elegant life can be.
Stream Strange Beauty here.
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