An Interview with NightHawkX
A new single release from NightHawkX comes with a powerful statement and a hard-hitting, anthemic soundscape that resonates with a lot of us and comes through as a fist-in-the-air sing-along that boasts a powerful impact.
"Home of the Brave" blends a series of outstanding textures and tones together and creates an atmosphere that's really all its own. This is done by way of building a song that has a heavy-handed backbone, and of course, that's completely memorable.
The track has a great build to it, and again, the message reaches many because it's something a lot of us relate to but don't exactly know how to speak out about.
The song has to do with the state of the world right now, to a certain extent. But also, how a lot of Americans disagree with what's happening, but most certainly feel like we can't do much of anything about it.
This leaves people frustrated, and sometimes it takes a song like this for us to connect the dots.
The track is an anthem for this state of being and the people that are wrapped up in it.
What's important about this is the sheer fact that the song is a tool for protest. It stands tall, sends its message, and packs a punch doing so.
You can hear the aggression and the vocals but also the underlying statement that it's pushed from.
The guitar work on this record is outstanding, and the arrangement has such a perfect way of building into that climactic chorus that belts out with a robust and full-bodied approach.
The vocal style on this has some intensity to it, and it reminds me of bands like 30 Seconds to Mars.
It's got a vast undertone and a heavy-handed chorus, along with heavy sections that are more explosive with screaming and harder guitars.
This whole thing is put together well and has a fire behind it.
What's important is the message that it sends because people that have a lot of those kinds of inner thoughts and struggle with the state of things these days don't really know how to speak out about it or articulate it into words let alone Words and Music so, when we hear a song like this we automatically connect with it and maybe feel like we're less alone in that battle.
That is part of the importance of songs like this one. Even if it's just to let some of us feel less alone in having those inner thoughts or struggles, it does its job.
For me, this absolute powerhouse of a track was an alternative rock banger and came through with a closed-fisted soiree of rock influences that built into a track that was powerful and had a righteous charisma that I really loved.
Being able to incorporate certain elements of electronic rock in there was brilliant because it was just hinted at. The main genre is heavy alternative rock, and that is what brings on the more impactful and sonically driving sound that the song pushes for.
This was an awesome track, and with its release, we wanted to have a sit-down with NightHawkX to actually find out where it came from and what might be coming next from the artist and project.
Here's what happened.
TSWS: Thanks for taking some time with us! Let's begin with the new track, "Home of The Brave". This one had such a great blend of rock and electronic! Where did this track come from?
Thank you! For me, this was pouring from a strong desire to see the end of the fascist movement in the United States. For clarity, the fascist movement is the “blood and soil,” “everyone must be the same religion, speak the same language, have the same bloodline, etc.” movement that has taken over politics today. So, you could say that this is my own “Nazi Punks, Fuck Off.”
My goal was to make a solid statement that people could headbang to. The vast majority of Americans don’t like what’s happening right now and don’t agree with any of it. Anthems were made in the 1960s during protest times. I suspect there will be new songs like mine in protest of what’s going on today. Because of my disabilities, I’m not able to stand out and protest, marching several blocks without severely paying for it the next day. This song is my way of protesting what’s going on, my way of making a loud statement of “this is not right.”
TSWS: I'm hearing some different approaches to this song. Who are some of your biggest musical influences?
That has changed over time, but I’d say the biggest is TesseracT, along with Monuments and Northlane. Keep in mind that I’m also a child of the 80s. So, all the 80s hair bands tend to creep in from moment to moment, but most of my influencers are from the 2000s-2020s.
TSWS: Do you collaborate with others when working on music?
Well, as I put on my profile on Groover, I work with AI. So, I don’t collaborate with anyone at the moment to do the music, though I’d be open to it in the future. When I write a song, I write the lyrics first, then decide how I want the song to sound. I put prompts into Suno.AI to generate the genre, tempo, key, instrumentation, and how I want everything sung. For this one, I specifically had to tell the AI to shout the chorus. Even with that, it came back with a few pleasant surprises that I didn’t prompt it to do. I’ve noticed that the AI knows the general vibe I’m aiming for and performs accordingly.
TSWS: When did it all start for you as a songwriter?
I did some songwriting in my 20s, but it was instrumental and with borrowed samples. So, I couldn’t really claim it as my own. I didn’t really get serious about it until last year.
I had started getting training on the use of AI in my company. So, I was exploring AI tools all over the place, learning how they worked and what they could do. While that was going on, I started to get a serious pain in my right side. After a couple of emergency room visits, I was told that I had a palm-sized tumor fused to my spine, pushing the spinal cord away and choking out the nerves coming from the spine.
I had to go to surgery to get that removed, which put me out of work for several months. All during my recovery, I worked on Suno.AI, learning how it worked and how to get the exact results I wanted out of it. It was the only thing I could do for two months because concentrating on schoolwork was a solid “no.” I had to have something that I could do every few minutes and put down as needed so I could rest and deal with the pain.
There’s something that such a high level of pain causes you to do mentally. It came out in my songs in the beginning. They were all “Ouch! Get the hell out of here! Make this stop!” intertwined with some happy stuff here and there. It wasn’t until I got back to my job and started getting past all the pain that I started writing things that focused on something other than pain.
TSWS: Did you produce this song yourself?
I did. I used Distrokid’s Mixea tool to master the track. I think it turned out really well.
TSWS: Do you have a home studio that you work with for your tracks?
Everywhere is my studio, honestly. The living room, the bedroom, my office… I just put my headphones on and start working. I know a lot of people can have this “ew, it’s AI” reaction, but it still requires work and skill, just different types of work and skill than what you have when you play an instrument. Having studied piano for 8 years and violin for 6, I’m very much aware of what it takes to learn an instrument and to play it well. AI is like any other tool in the artist's pocket. We don’t look at people who use purchased loops on FL Studio as “less than” because they use that. Why should we with AI?
TSWS: Are you doing anything live right now? Any live performances?
I am actively looking for someone to perform my work. I’ve had a couple of individuals look at the music, but nothing solid has come from that yet. I would be absolutely floored if I could find someone to perform “Butterfly” or “Home of the Brave” right now. That is my dream.
TSWS: Who is in your headphones right now?
I am really digging “Neon Grave” by Dayseeker right now. I had another curator mention that my song “Butterfly” reminded her of these guys. I had never heard of them. So, I did some digging in Tidal to find them, and now they are on my metal playlist.
TSWS: How long does it take you to complete a track like this one?
At a minimum, it takes an hour and a half to write the words once I have a good pattern in my head. I then take a look at what I want the music to sound like. I have a default prompt that I use for my initial sound and start honing it down from there, entering subtle alterations for instruments that I want on the forefront, changes to the vibe that I want, etc. That process can take several hours. This isn’t a simple “throw in a prompt – crank out a song” situation. I am very intentional with how I want things to sound.
I do not put in a “sound like Band X” prompt. I’m not looking to imitate a specific band. There is a specific sound I’m going for. The path to that can be rather quick like it was with “Butterfly,” or it can take several dozen iterations as it did with “Home of the Brave.” The key is not taking the first thing that pops out and going with that. The key is being satisfied with the sound of the entire song. When I first started, there were a lot of mistakes that made it onto the final tracks. That has been greatly reduced over time.
TSWS: Now that this is out, what's next for you?
I make songs every week, partly to keep practicing but also to provide new content for my listeners. I hope to be able to keep that up when I attend seminary next month.
TSWS: Before we go, what would you like to express to fans of the music?
First of all, thank you so very much for listening. I can’t tell you how much it means to me that people listen to and love the music I make. I’m constantly working to get better at what I do. I hope not only to earn your respect but also to move you in ways that only music can. It’s one thing to write a 20-page paper with several citations pointing to a specific thing. It’s another to condense that thought into a 3-minute, 30-second song and impact the soul more than a volume of 20-page papers can do. I hope my songs have that level of impact.
TSWS: Thanks for your time once again!
