A Chat with Hockitay
- The Slow Music Movement
- Mar 10
- 7 min read
Every so often a single reaches through the speakers, makes you sit up, think "that's fresh" and demands your attention. Hockitay's "over/over" was one of those; so much so, I wanted to find out more about this young, talented artist, and kindly he agreed to answer a few questions, and I'm happy to report he talks a lot of sense.
Congratulations on your recent single - it really struck home when I heard it, it led me to the rest of your music and I’d love to find out more about you and your music. Let's start at the start. Tell me a bit about your roots, early musical inspiration and education.
Thanks man! Growing up in a pretty secluded area of Guatemala, I wasn’t exposed to much music beyond the CDs my parents owned. I remember Arcade Fire’s “Funeral” and Bon Iver’s “For Emma” being two that I really enjoyed. I think my true musical education came about much later, when I had moved to Montreal and had access to the internet, mainly Youtube. I discovered so much music in those pre-teen years that really shaped my taste. Some that come to mind are James Blake’s “The Colour In Anything”, Bon Iver’s “22, A Million” and “i, i”, Sampha’s “Dual” and “Process”, Big Red Machine, King Krule, Stromae’s “Racine Carrée”, Solange’s “A Seat At The Table”, Chet Faker’s “Built On Glass” and “Thinking In Textures”, Frank Ocean’s “Blonde” and Radiohead’s “In Rainbows”. Looking back, I think being an only child led me towards ‘solo’ acts that were auteurs of complex and encompassing musical worlds. I’m lucky enough to have been raised by two artists and mostly left to my own devices, so I had time on my hands to discover new music.
In terms of my musical education, I’ve played piano for as long as I can remember, taking classes on and off. My dad got me into it early on, but I always enjoyed improvising over sight-reading and proper classical playing. All through high school I played tenor saxophone and sang in choir. Things really started around 2018 though, when I sold my Playstation and bought Logic Pro. I’ve been tinkering away on the computer since then, finding my voice and overall sound.
As for writing, that’s also been a constant in my life. It started out as poetry, then short stories and essays, eventually morphing into the music I was making. I think that’s why I see it as separate from my music. I’m always writing words and music, but it’s a rare thing when they line up in the ‘right’ way. When they do, I usually end up with songs like those you’ve heard.
It seems like you're on some sort of woozy, low lit, modern day trip hop mission, is that a fair description? Do you have any EDM bangers secretly stashed away on your hard drive?
Haha, not really. Though I do have tons of instrumentals and beats that I really love but wouldn’t see myself singing on. Maybe one day those can come out as a tape or be reworked into songs for someone else. I’d love that. I think the trip-hop label makes a lot of sense, but to be totally honest, I didn’t know about legends like Massive Attack until pretty recently. Still, I think my interest in sampling and modern production as a whole is deeply linked to hip-hop and electronic music, even if I wasn't always aware of it.
So you compose, produce and sing, is that you playing the guitar as well? There's an Alex B. on production credits, is this a solo project or a joint effort? Tell me more about your approach to making music and your studio set up.
I have a home studio setup where I usually start ideas and record vocals. My favorite piece of gear is easily my Elektron Octatrack, which is a dynamic performance sampler that I use both in the studio and on stage. It’s both frustrating and meditative.
I'll usually get a demo to a place I'm happy with on my own before bringing it to Alex, who handles guitar, bass and additional production. Buvard and David S. Blouin have made all of the visual material so far, and Charles Madore is another producer who helps out from time to time. I guess I see myself as the connective tissue (writing, producing, mixing, etc), but it’s really a team effort. I don’t see any of that changing anytime soon, either. Over the years we’ve spent so much time together working on each other’s projects and we’re at a point where we can fully trust each other on every level. Collaboration is one of my favourite parts of the process, so I’d love to branch out and bring in new people when it feels right.
It seems like you've been taking the show live as well, is that a big part of the musical plan? How are you setting about the live shows?
Absolutely. Playing more shows for people would be great. For now, the setup is just Alex and I, but I’d love to incorporate live drums and visual elements as things grow.
You're fairly new to the game with one EP, a live recordings and a new single to your name. Are you sitting on an album or two? What's the release schedule plan?
I’m sitting on a lot of music, but I don’t think I’ve made any ‘album’ material yet. Right now, songs usually get finished one at a time, because I need to focus the time I have, fitting sessions into our day-to-day lives as much as possible. It’s kind of impossible to set aside a serious chunk of time when nobody’s getting paid and we’re just starting out. That’s the dream for my first album, though.. setting up somewhere for two months with a few friends and building an idea from scratch. I’m sort of particular about albums, so I’m waiting for the right moment to cross that line. Until then, I've got a lot of music ready to go over the next few months, with an EP coming later this year, which I’m dying to have out.
So "over/over" was inspired by "digital fatigue" - something most of us can relate to, I know I consider it a necessary evil for TSMM, having deleted all my personal profiles many moons ago. How are you coping with our switched on 24/7, constantly notified, phone sized view of the world? Do you sense people around you are getting tired as well, and if so what's the alternative? How does the social media content demands of modern music marketing sit with your digital fatigue?
It’s really difficult to make it work for you without working for it… It feels like the price to pay for my music to find new people is either time or money, two things I don’t want to give the tech overlords. I'm in constant cognitive dissonance, and I have a naive dream of getting to a place where I don't have to engage with it for my music to be heard. My girlfriend and other people I know don’t engage with social media at all and I find that awesome. One small but tangible plan I have is growing my mailing list, which I’ve found to be a more inspiring and personal way of reaching out. Still, though, the truth is that I don’t have much to say on social media that isn’t already in my music.
You've got a great sound, a striking website and a cool visual aesthetic, and have just teamed up with Future Gods, who seem like a good crew. Are you au-fait with the business and marketing side of the music industry, or do you just want to get on with making tunes?
Thank you. A lot of the admin work of being a DIY artist comes pretty naturally to me. Tweaking and polishing the smallest details feels like an extension of making the music. It’s probably the same part of my brain that enjoys mixing the songs. I think it all goes back to my obsession with artists that can build a world around their music. Obviously, doing something like liner notes would be more fun than making a pre-save campaign, but it’s all part of the process. Teaming up with Joshua at Future Gods has been a real blessing. It was intimidating to bring someone else into the project at first, but I’m so glad I took the leap of faith. He believes in the music and brings a lot to the table that I just couldn’t.
There’s a lot of noise about streaming remuneration these days, any thoughts as an artist on the issue? Is it even possible to make a career from music these days and if so how are you going to do it? How are you paying the bills at the moment?
To be honest, making music a sustainable career seems less realistic every day. It’s obvious that music and art in general are wildly undervalued. So many people just treat it as sonic wallpaper, which couldn’t be further from how I feel about it. Still, there’s no doubt in my mind that I’ll be making it as long as I’m alive, whether that’s as a full time musician or in my spare time outside of a day-job.
For now, I’m privileged enough to still be at home and in school, so turning a profit isn’t at the forefront of my mind. I’ve worked a lot of odd jobs and recording gigs to cover my losses with music, but I’d love to be able to pay my friends for all their work. Big picture, I’d much rather have a steady income and retain my freedom in music than focus on making my art profitable. It’s been a passion project since the start and it always will be, whether I end up making money or not.
Do you have any physical release ambitions, or has that ship sailed for the younger generations?
Absolutely. Making a double vinyl of “slo mach” and my next EP would be really fun. Physical media definitely has its place, and I think it will only become more valuable (like live shows!) with the endless enshittification of the internet.
How are you consuming music these days?
Tidal, but I’m slowly building up my collection on Bandcamp.
I’m always on the lookout for exciting new artists across all sorts of genres. Do you have any tips for me?
I’ve been listening to Cleopatrick’s “FAKE MOON” album and Okay Kaya’s first project “Both”. I’m also looking forward to Wesley Joseph’s upcoming album.
