Alex Hast is an electronic music producer from Kyiv, Ukraine. Ex-guitarist for metal bands Chasing Embers and Kthona. After quitting the band and successful experiments with electronic music on TikTok (most of his videos on this platform have earned millions of views), he changed his focus to his own electronic DIY project and debuted in February 2022 with an experimental track called "My Dear Neighbor". "We. Surrounded" is an experimental EDM sound that combines traditional EDM parts with a pretty unusual selection of synths, structure, and drops.
By Kamil Bobin
Discovered via Musosoup
Kamil) Hey Alex Hast, super nice to have the chance to chat with you. What first got you into music?
Hey! I think it happened when I was 16 or something. I used to play in some bands, write some basic music, etc., but it was not serious at all. It was just like a hobby. But at some point (around my 25s), I just realized that I actually wanted to do music professionally, and that was all I really wanted to do. Now I regret that I lost so many years while I wasn't dedicating all my time to music, but that's not a reason to give up, is it?
How do you balance your time in the studio with other commitments such as a part-time job, family, admin?
This is indeed the most complicated thing for any up-and-coming musician. I do have a full-time job, and it really slows me down, but I still have to pay my bills. I found a reasonable solution some time ago: I switched to a completely remote job, so now I can arrange my time according to my feelings. I still have work to do, but at the same time I don't need to wait until my working hours are finished to return home and write some music. It's a crucial moment because you never know when you'll get a spontaneous idea for a new track.
Your latest song is 'We. Surrounded'. Can you tell us more about the making of it and if there were any unusual things happening during the process?
The demo was written in late 2021, and I should have released it in early 2022, but as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, I had to put my music plans on hold because our lives here in an actual war zone changed dramatically.
How do you find yourself in the music business? When you started out in music, did you know it would be like this?
I definitely wasn't ready for the fact that being an unsigned artist means you must not only write music but also be a manager, producer, advertiser, and so on. I was naively thinking that I just had to write good music, and it would benefit me in the future. But that's not the case nowadays.
What would you be doing right now, if it wasn’t for your music career?
I can't answer this question because of my background. As I told you before, I just got into music after many years of thinking that it was not what I had to do. Now I know this is it, and I can't even think of other options at the moment.
How do you know when a work is finished?
Simple answer: when you realize that any new step makes the song worse than before. That's when you must back off the studio, give it some time, and accept the last version.
Do you have any hobbies or interests outside of music?
It's very important to make your brain rest a little bit after hours of day job and music production, so yeah, general stuff: video games, TV shows, riding a bike around the city (the last one actually helping to come up with some new music ideas). That's said, such things are mandatory; otherwise, you'll eventually lose your mind.
What is it about music that makes you feel passionate?
A possibility exists for music to take you to a whole new world, a whole new dimension. It doesn't work for me with books, movies, or any other activities. But music is able to surround me whole, and this is why I love it so much.
Who is your favourite musician?
I came to electronic production from the rock and metal world, so most of my idols are basically rock and pop-rock artists: Panic at the Disco, Muse, Coldplay, Twenty One Pilots, and Placebo. At the same time, I don't really have a lot of "favorite" electronic artists; probably that's why my tracks may sound a little bit experimental for the masses: I'm not trying to copy any other artists; I just make it how I feel it. It may result in the "wrong" sound according to some electronic genres, but this is what I like to do.
What are your plans for the future?
For a long time I've been preparing a solo indie-rock kind of project, and this is probably what I'll be doing in the near future. My electronic project "Alex Hast" will still exist and will get new releases, but I'm going to return to instrumental music and focus on it.