Editor’s Note: It was a great chat with hip-hop artist Killvein for Madness To Creation. In this interview, Killvein discusses working with the legendary Tommy Lee for the single “Knock Me Down”, along with coping with the Covid-19 pandemic and mental health awareness. Killvein wears several hats. Not only is he a hip-hop artist, he’s a self-taught producer and a multi-instrumentalist. He’s also featured on the track “Leave Me Alone”, which is on Tommy Lee’s upcoming release “Andro”. Fans can find Killvein at the following locations:
Madness To Creation: These are wild times we’re living in with the uprising and Covid-19, how have you handled that?
Killvein: I’m staying inside for the most part.
Madness To Creation: Given the Covid-19 pandemic, what adjustments have you made to your social media accounts, whether it’s Instagram Live or Facebook Live or anything like that?
Killvein: I guess I really haven’t adjusted too much during this pandemic. If anything, I’ve just focused on not going outside and I’ve adjusted to just focusing on making new music, and maybe recording that and putting that up.
Madness To Creation: On June 5th, you collaborated with Tommy Lee for the release of “Knock Me Down”, what are some nuances and things you learned from him?
Killvein: I definitely learned a lot from him, we went to his studio to record that song in his studio, I’ve just learned to do what you think sounds good, and have fun with it and that’s the bottom line. He always has fun making new music and it just shows being around that kind of energy is really inspiring.
Madness To Creation: Would you say that the song “Knock Me Down” can relate to a mental health standpoint?
Killvein: I guess it can be interpreted like that, I find that a lot of my lyrics are really open for interpretation. It’s kind of hard to pinpoint what “Knock Me Down” is really about, I kind of like to leave it to the listener to make their own assumptions and decisions on, but I guess in a way it definitely could.
Madness To Creation: Speaking of mental health awareness, what are some things that help get you through the tough times and what are some things that make Killvein happy?
Killvein: I’ve always just enjoyed making music and playing music from a very young age, and whenever I’m feeling sad or having anxiety, or feeling depressed or alone, I just tend to gravitate towards focusing my energy on just making music, and that usually has a pretty good outcome for me, so at least I have something to distract myself with and just to have something come out of that too, just making a negative into a positive, you could say.
Madness To Creation: When you step into the studio, what is your mindset and what tips or advice do you have when it comes to being a producer?
Killvein: I guess one of the biggest tips would be to trust your first instincts, your gut instinct really because sometimes I see a lot of people and some producers especially are mulling over some songs for too long or overthinking it too much, so I think what producers need to learn from is to try to finish whatever you started and come back to it later, if it really needs to be changed, you can do that. A lot of times in my experience, the first idea tends to be the best idea.
Madness To Creation: Fun question for you, give me a song or album that you can listen to and no matter how many times you listen to it, you never get tired of it.
Killvein: I would say “Around The Fur” by Deftones. It’s probably my favorite album of all time.
Madness To Creation: What’s your favorite song on that album?
Killvein: Probably “Headup” or “Lotion”. I like “Dai The Flu” a lot, that’s probably my favorite.
Madness To Creation: Incredibly underrated track, gonna have to jam some Deftones later.
Killvein: I agree!
Madness To Creation: You’ve also done another track with Tommy Lee called “Leave Me Alone”, can you take us into that song and what fans can expect from it?
Killvein: It’s pretty drastically different from “Knock Me Down”. “Knock Me Down” is very heavy and there’s a lot of screaming, but this one is more relaxed, straightforward, and confident hip-hop kind of cut, people can just expect it to be a more relaxed vibe, it’s a fun song to listen to, it’s got a good energy to it, and I’m excited to have that out as well.
Madness To Creation: What does the future hold in store for you when this Covid-19 pandemic is all over?
Killvein: I’m always making new music just about every day. I really hope after everything opens up I can start playing more shows again and doing that. I have so much material that it’s overwhelming, I just keep adding on to it, so that will probably be good for me is to focus on what I have out and what I can do to improve and widen my fanbase really.
Madness To Creation: What else would you like to add?
Killvein: Single was released on June 5th, people can find me on my Instagram which is my main source for social media, so if fans want to get in contact with me it’s just @killvein, and all of my music and my solo stuff is on Spotify, I-Tunes, Apple Music, Soundcloud, and I got some music videos on YouTube besides the ones I did with Tommy.
And there you have it! Check out Killvein via Spotify below!
