Melbourne’s will hyde has shared a trio of gorgeous tracks for the latest instalment of Rolling Stone’s ‘In My Room’, a series in which artists perform from home following a couple of years year which have seen live shows become a rarity.
As hyde unveils his second EP, nothing ever changes. today, it’s the latest entry in a burgeoning career that has seen him go from half of the acclaimed SŸDE to a beloved solo artist in just a few years. Famed for his ability to pair gorgeous, heart-rending lyrics with powerful instrumentals, hyde switches between genres effortlessly as he welcomes the listener into his world.
Now, with nothing ever changes. officially out in the world today, hyde has treated fans to a stellar performance from his bedroom, showing us where he’s come from, and where he’s going.
Bathed in violet light as a life-size standee of DJ Khaled looks over his shoulder, hyde kicks things off with a rendition of “misfit.”, from his debut 2020 EP, with u in mind.. As video effects and the youthful artwork for his latest EP is projected upon the wall, the pairing of the past and the present shines through via hyde’s gorgeous performance and delivery.
Grabbing the Casio keyboard for his second track, hyde dips into a rendition of “when u need me.”, which comes from his new EP, despite having been written back in the early days of the COVID pandemic.
“The habit I’ve realised I had, […] was to not be there for people, and not really commit to relationships because I wasn’t committing to myself, or really there for myself,” Hyde explains ahead of his performance.
“It’s really a song about finding out how to love yourself, which can be hard,” he adds. “I wish I had a blueprint for life, but unfortunately you don’t get one, you have to figure it out as you go through experiences.”
As he heads towards the end of his set, hyde grabs his guitar for a powerful rendition of recent single, “addicted.”, a track that was inspired by a feeling that many of us would have experienced, in which pain almost feels preferable to love and the heartbreak it can provide.
“Pain & happiness live on the same coin and through my self exploration I have learned that I want to sit somewhere in between,” he explained upon the song’s release. “A feeling of contentment, not feeling the need to hold onto relationships for a sense of self or purpose.
“It’s a realisation that I have to start living a life where I am at the centre, not at the whim of what other people expect and give me.”
Both “when u need me.” and “addicted.” appear on hyde’s new EP, nothing ever changes., which is officially out today.
“When I released my first EP, with u in mind., I felt like a lot of the stuff I was going through were issues I was still trying to process,” he explains. “It was a way of getting it out of my head & onto something external to me.
“This is the next chapter in my development as a human, which is to face into uncertainty, doubt, fear & shame to continue my growth.”
Described as something of a signifier that “life is worth living & the high moments have to be contrasted by lows to really know the difference”, hyde is undeniably on track to become a star of the Australian music scene in no time, and both his new EP, and ‘In My Room’ performance, confirm this.
Check out will hyde’s performance in the player above, or by heading over to Rolling Stone Australia’s Instagram page. In the meantime, his latest EP, nothing ever changes. is out today.
