F L A U N T
Raised in San Diego and now living in Los Angeles, Hether is the solo project of 24-year-old Paul Castelluzzo. The guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter’s new EP, Hether Who?, dropped this week following the haunting and intimate video released for the EP track, “When U Loved Me.” Directed by Alex Lill (Sampha, Phoebe Bridgers), the music video shot in and around Los Angeles pairs with the second single from the new release. Castelluzzo explains, “Hether is a compilation of sounds based around my experience with love and loss. Two things that found their solace and expression through the creation of this EP.” Flaunt asked him a few questions about this new project and the future.
How did you get your start in music?
When I got my GED and left high school at 17, my parents moved to Italy. I didn't want to go with them, so I stayed in San Diego living with my girlfriend at the time. I was planning on going to music school in New York, the week I was about to pack my things and drive across the country, Rodney Jerkins tweeted me "I want you on my team.” I was thrown off and confused, but drove to LA and met with him, he offered me a job as his studio guitarist. I then moved to LA working for him and doing odd jobs like playing in a pentecostal church and driving Lyft. A year later I was asked to fly to NYC to play on a "Latin record.” They wouldn't tell me who it was for, but as I arrived to the airport, a man was standing there holding a plaque with my name on it and escorted me into his luxury SUV. We drove an hour to upstate New York and I woke up at a mansion with Ferraris and other crazy cars. I was so confused. As it turns out this recording session was for Romeo Santos, he had been in the room with me the whole time, but at the time I didn't know him or his music. Once the album came out, Romeo had asked me to tour the record with him. Around that same time, late 2017, my sister suddenly passed away. It shook the ground beneath my family and I. As reluctant as I was to leave my family at that time, I felt that touring was an escape from the reality back home. After the tour was over and I landed back into my LA apartment, I felt the sudden urge to write my own music. I wrote my first song as "Hether" around Jan 2018.
How has Hether worked as a restorative and healing project for you?
Since my experience with music up until this project had always been to serve other artists, I had never really experienced what it was like to serve myself musically. I found it to be incredibly exciting, and therapeutic to start writing and producing for myself. I was super sad when I started these songs, but I didn't want to write sad music. I wanted to echo that nostalgic happiness I felt as a kid. Listening to the Beach Boys and going surfing. Having no care in the world about the future or past. Just being happy. That’s what I wanted these songs to evoke musically. Hether was a great escape for me to cope with the confusion, existential dilemmas and questions I had that were eating me up. And in the process, I feel I have grown a lot as an artist and human being.
Tell us about the "When U Loved Me" video and working with Alex Lill.
I met Alex Lill, and immediately felt like ‘whoa, this guy is fucking cool.’ We met at a cafe to talk about shooting a video, and he had smoked like 5 cigarettes in 5 minutes. That’s when I knew, he's shooting my video. His girlfriend, Jessie Ann Kohlman, is starring In the video, and her performance is jaw-droppingly beautiful. She's such a character and really put that song into a world of its own. Working with Alex was definitely a dream come true.
Where do you see this project headed?
I’d like for this project to head towards the beach <3. I see Hether touring the world, I see Hether making someone happy, I see Hether making someone cry. I see a lot of things for this project. I believe that if you truly love the music, it will love you back. My main goal is to just brighten peoples lives, and hopefully give them that tingly feeling you get after hearing a song you really like <3.
What can we expect from your show at the Moroccan Lounge on February 12th?
I gotta start rehearsing for this! I will have a 5-piece band, with some of my best friends in the world. On drums, I’ll have my friend and musical collaborator, Joe Harrison, on bass, Sean Sobash, and on keys, Tim McNally. I'm trying to figure out what we’re all going to wear. Maybe speedos and Mohawks? I don't know yet. I’m excited to figure out how to translate the productions into a live setting. I’ve played a lot of ‘first shows’ for artists; I know the pressure involved in that. I want this show to feel fun and uncontrived. Hope to see you there!
Listen to Hether Who? and catch Hether live at the Moroccan Lounge on February 12, 2019.