I was recently fortunate enough to sit down with James to discuss HCK9, his musical vision, and much more. This article is an attempt to summarise what was such an in-depth and fascinating conversation.

To start things off, I asked James what’s coming up for HCK9. He told me about an upcoming album due before the end of the year, accompanied by complementary video projects. The album will centre around James’ vision of a dystopian reality, and he expressed great enthusiasm for the accompanying videos, as they will significantly aid in conveying this world. I found this concept incredibly intriguing and wanted to dig deeper into why HCK9 is so focused on this idea. James explained that he “loves crazy universes in fiction, like Alice in Wonderland, where everything is so mad it almost seems normal.” He added that much of his inspiration for this dystopian future comes from our increasingly chaotic world. Drawing from the post-Covid conspiracy craze and the widespread distrust of authority seen in public discourse in 2024, James thought that using his music to paint a picture of a dystopia, with clear-cut good versus evil, could offer solace to those concerned about the state of the world.

One song from the upcoming album that’s already available to listeners is “Our Souls,” an intensely hard-hitting rock track that fits into James’ dystopian narrative. I noted similarities to the work of fellow Brits Bring Me the Horizon and Muse. James pointed out that if you say the song title quickly, it might sound a bit more vulgar—an entirely intentional play on words. The track is written from the perspective of an ordinary, non-elite individual in his dystopian universe, and you can certainly draw conclusions about the point James is making about the ruling class. It’s a track I can easily imagine being a crowd-pleaser at an arena gig—definitely worth a listen!

Following our discussion about the themes in his music, I wanted to understand more about James’ creative process. He shared that these days, he typically starts with the instrumental side of things, though in the past, before he became more involved in producing for others, lyrical ideas sometimes sparked new songs. Regarding lyrics, James said, “They have to be really special and stick with you for days to become the foundation of a song. Sometimes, you’ll have a lyric in your head, and when you’re doing the dishes or something, it’ll suddenly click.” We also touched on the role of technology in music creation, specifically AI, a subject James feels strongly about. He ensures that every piece of HCK9 artwork is “Made by Humans,” a tagline visible on all their artworks—even on streaming services. We agreed that while technology has its place in music, there’s a fine line. “Certain sounds are impossible to create without synths,” James said, but he also stressed, “We need to make sure that technology is used to create art, not that technology itself creates the art.” I found this particularly compelling. In artistic terms, AI could indeed lead to a dystopia within music and art, and it’s somewhat ironic that, while James explores dystopia in his music, he remains committed to human creativity in his work. It’s a serious stance, and I respect him greatly for it.

Shifting the conversation from the future of music to the present, we discussed the current state of live gigging for UK artists. As a London-based band, HCK9 faces the challenge of standing out in an increasingly crowded scene. James believes it’s getting harder for smaller artists to break through via live performances. He mentioned seeing small artists “lose money doing gigs,”