Catch up with Neon Hitch to see what she had to say about her new music video for "Sparks" and Eleutheromaniac and join the #WeRNeon movement now.
How did you get started in music?
Neon Hitch: That is a very big question [laughs]. Well, I come from the circus, for those who don't know me, and I've always been a performer and then, I actually honestly had never sang a note before the age of sixteen. When I was sixteen I was singing in the back of a car and my boyfriend was like 'I've never heard your sing before, you should do this' and it just kind of happened, you know, I met the right people and, honestly, I never was like 'oh, I'm going to be a singer when I grow up,' it kind of naturally happened, but I have always been a performer of some kind.
How do these track you're working on and releasing now compare to your previous releases?
I mean, I think it's all still me, I just think, as a whole, over the past year I've done a lot of growing, as a human and as an artist, and I think that really translates in my new work.
Have you had more creative freedom to work on the music you want since leaving Warner Bros.?
I have, yeah. I guess, you know, it comes with being a pop artist, you can't help but think, well, is this radio friendly or is this too raw or is this pop enough? I've kind of just reached this place recently where I just don't give a fuck and I think that's where the best music comes from [laughs]. I'm having fun with it and I'm just being myself and me, personally, when I like an artist, that's what I like seeing, so that's sort of what I hope to do myself.
What was your idea behind the music video for "Sparks"?
The video just came out; I'm so excited about it. The inspiration for this was, it's a love song and what I really wanted to do was I wanted to do something similar to the ink blot test where it's not like a straightforward storyline where it's like, 'oh, this is what it is,' I kind of wanted to get people guessing and questioning and they want to watch it again because they're like, 'wait, who's that guy?'. I kind of want people to make up their own concept for themselves because it could mean many different things depending on the way that it speaks to you, so that was kind of my goal and also just to be my purest form of myself.
What was it like working with these directors, Ryan Gregory Phillips and Josh Guillaume, from The Paradise Collective?
The video was a three day shoot, which is the longest video shoot I've ever done - the longest one before this was I think one day - but I think it was great. We got to capture so many different scenes and so many different sides of me and we have a lot of fun with it.
"Sparks" is dramatic and has an anthem sort of feel to it, what was the inspiration for the song itself?
The song came from my love that I have, you know, when you meet someone, whether it's love or not, there's always this spark and it's like, you know, some people call it butterflies or whatever but, for me, I'm a fiery woman, so there's this spark that ignites this fire between two people and I'd just gone into the studio and I was working with this group, Dsign, who I've made like the whole album with and I was just telling them about this feeling that I had and I just start singing this idea and they just start playing these chords around it and they just fit perfect.
Is "Sparks" representative of the style we can expect to hear on the forthcoming album?
Yes, from Eleutheromaniac, yes it all has a similar kind of sound. I mean, there are so many different sides to me but the ones that I've done with Dsign, it does have that similar sound. It's kind of got like a little Kate Bush vibe - which I love - felt kind of like this world feel that's empowering so, yes, a similar vibe but I have so much music coming out this year that is many different styles also.
Any artists, aside from Kate Bush, you've been inspired by?
I really listen to a lot of older music and just recently I've been in New Orleans a lot, so my favorite shit recently has just been like the people on the streets that are performing. I like it to be raw and authentic and just real talent, so I'm loving jazz right now and the old people, I love Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Otis Redding, but I love so many different kinds of music.
Could you sum up Eleutheromaniac in one sentence?
Magical.
It's an expression of myself and I think it's really going to be a time when people really get to understand me, if they have not already.
Clearly you've worked hard to get to where you are now, what's the best advice you have?
I think that if it was easy everyone would be doing it and for what I'm going for, I know it's not going to be an easy path. I'm on a heroes journey and, you know, I'm not a puppet, I'm a real artist, and I think you've got to go through some shit to make that who you are, so I would say, don't get beaten down by the hard times, just embrace them and learn from it and grow.
What do you want to say about your music?
I just want to say to my fans thank you for your patience and just watch this phase, I'm going to make everyone very proud of me!
