The Hazel Effect × Loucas: Bop That
You know how, when you’re using ‘Discovery’ mode on Spotify, you get an avalanche of bangers that have you frantically hitting ‘Save’? Yeah. I didn’t think so. Recently, though, after weeks of pretty basic stuff, I actually struck a vein – with ‘Talk’, by The Hazel Effect × Loucas, from their newly released album “Engram”. Just a few seconds in, and the song’s underwater synth reverb and relaxed, less-than-90bpm rhythm had me in a groove. Of course I saved it.
Deciding to check out the other tracks on this album, I was surprised to find that I liked nearly all of them. ‘Broken Pearls’ is convincingly trippy, with high energy, utopian/dystopian oscillations… and the line, “I don’t give a f*ck about a rhyme scheme” had me (imaginary) high-fiving the artists. The abrupt tempo change in ‘Pink Slippers’—a drop down from 75 bpm to about 63 bpm—really slaps, too, in a sort of Arcade Fire meets BTS way.
‘Different Rooms’ has an emotional disconnect many of us can relate to, as well as the angsty tracks, ‘Celly’ and ‘Try’, although ‘Try’ strikes a deeper chord, with its clever interpolation of a simple guitar motif with an electric buzz that drives home the pain. The lightly upbeat ‘Flirt’ is a playful contrast, while ‘Blackbird’ is high-key in its intensity, with its nicely balanced blend of acoustics and electronics.
Now that these tracks were firmly on my favorite playlist, I figured it would be fun to find out more about these guys. Hopping from their YouTube channel to their website, it didn’t take long to connect with the talented musician duo, Hazel and Loucas, from the artsy city of Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Talking to The Hazel Effect × Loucas was not just entertaining, as I’d known it would be, it was eye-opening in many ways, so I thought I’d share fragments from our conversation here (edited for clarity and conciseness), so that our readers can appreciate the unusual perspective of these young musicians, besides enjoying their amazing music. (In the excerpt below, the artists are denoted by “HE×L”):
Q : How did you two come to work together on “Engram”? You’ve credited other artists as well on some of the tracks – are they part of the band as well?
HE×L : We’re actually more of a music collective, is who we are… Loucas and I started making music together in 2018. The others, including Melancholy Michaels and ayee dott are a part of our collective called ‘Ash Hills’. We’ve known each other most of our lives, growing up in Pennsylvania, around the Scranton/ Moscow area.
Q : What would you say have been your biggest influences musically?
HE×L : Being able to produce music where everyone that’s contributed has a voice, in the look and sound of the final product… that’s really important to us. And that’s why groups like BROCKHAMPTON – inclusive, and about representing and respecting different voices, are so inspiring. They’ve shown that you can be yourself, and still reach out to the world—to the point where you cannot not know who they are, and what they stand for, and that’s something we believe in.
Q : You’ve both been on the music scene for a while now, and that’s built up your visibility. What is your strongest connect with your audience?
HE×L : One thing our audience loves us for is consistency: We’ve put out a lot of singles so far, and we’ve got three full albums on the way, which is something our listeners are looking forward to. We’re really, really thankful for the incredible support and loyalty of so many fans. It means everything to know that there are people rooting for us.
Besides music, we’ve been finding that our clothing line also hits different with our audience. We think it’s ’coz they can relate to the culture, the esthetic beyond our music. That’s why we’re doing multiple clothing drops before the year’s out… stay snatched, peeps!
Q : Earlier, you described yourselves as a music collective. What does that mean for the future of The Hazel Effect × Loucas, as well as “Ash Hills”?
HE×L : We’re seeing ourselves growing, adding more artists, gaining greater outreach… events, that’s something we’re really looking forward to organizing. Our dream is to launch a music festival, something that embodies the spirit of our collective, welcoming and celebrating talent from diverse sources.
Q : Good luck with that awesome project. Given your status as a collective, what’s your position on revenue sharing among musicians?
HE×L : Although we don’t have it written down as such, yet, we’re clear on our vision for collabs among artists. We’d like Ash Hills to become the kind of powerhouse that gives fresh talent a platform to come out and be recognized… sort of like the way that Young Thug built up the careers of so many artists.
Q : Wow, that’s truly inspirational. Wish you and your collective get the bread! Any final thoughts for your audience?
HE×L : A lot of people already know us from our previous hit singles ‘Savages’ and ‘He Said / She Said’. But all musicians grow, and we’ve seen that when we work together – Loucas and I and the other artists in our collective, we push each other to be the best we can be. And that really shows in our music. So do check out our newly released album, “Engram”… and we’ll be dropping more music soon!
No doubt that The Hazel Effect × Loucas’ next, sick release is gonna blow us away again. Just hoping it’s real soon.
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About the Author
Dr. Jerry Doby Editor-in-Chief of The Hype Magazine, Media and SEO Consultant, Journalist, Ph.D. and retired combat vet. 2023 recipient of The President's Lifetime Achievement Award. Partner at THM Media Group. Member of the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture, the United States Press Agency and ForbesBLK.
