A Chat with To Hell With Tradition (30.08.22)
The solo project of German singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Achim Hofmeyer, To Hell With Tradition is something intriguing, intoxicating and enticing. We speak with To Hell With Tradition (THWT) about his album Blurred, upcoming music video, greatest achievements and future plans.
OSR: What made you decide to pursue music as a career?
THWT: I always felt the urge to express myself in creative ways even in the earliest years of my childhood. For as long as I can remember, there has been this universal force about certain music coming, for example, from the speakers of my parents‘ yellow, old BMW whenever we took a ride and listened to random mixtapes. A force that – if only for a moment, for the duration of a couple of bars – made me feel a soothing oneness with the entire universe and yet a bittersweet ancient longing born out of the knowledge about the general volatileness of this sensation. Ever since then, I feel, I have been on a spiritual mission to create those precious moments with my own music.
OSR: What does music mean to you?
THWT: Music can be the gateway that connects me to something primaeval that just cannot be described in plain words. That goes as a consumer, but even more so as a creator. I know from painful experience that neglecting this gateway gradually results in mental and physical agony.
OSR: What can you tell us about the album Blurred? Is there a backstory or particular theme running through the album?
THWT: Generally, with To Hell With Tradition, I draw inspiration from within rather than from external stimuli. I feel with Blurred I am digging even deeper than I had already done with my previous two albums. It reflects my progress on the path to finding and understanding the interconnection of the seemingly isolated layers of my true self and physical reality. The whole album is set as an inner dialogue between the conscious and subconscious while the dividing line between those two tends to blur.
OSR: You have an upcoming music video for the track ‘Eggshells’. What inspired the video?
THWT: It was a combination of limited resources and a particular section of the song’s lyrics that gave me the inspiration to shoot this video. There is only so much you can do with a stationary camera, one light and a standard room, but the result really makes me proud. ?
OSR: Did you have any expectations for the album and video and do you think you have met them?
THWT: As far as the creative end result is concerned, I definitely met my expectations, otherwise I would have held back the release until I am satisfied. I have set quite high standards for myself – of course, realistically derived from whatever I have at my disposal. Unless I meet or exceed those, there will be no release.
OSR: Describe To Hell With Tradition in a single sentence.
THWT: Right in the sweet spot between mainstream and indie with deep and profound lyrics, yet captivating tunes.
OSR: What do you hope people take from Blurred and your music in general?
THWT: Authenticity, depth and genre independence are the most important pillars for me. I never set out to create music based on considerations of what people might want to hear, or what might be of the best commercial success. I selfishly create music that gets me into those spaces I have cherished so much for all my life. When I notice that my music seems to do the same (or similar things) for other people, it’s all the more rewarding because it’s real. It’s art. Not business.
The questions my music is based on – as encrypted as the lyrics might come across at first – are as old as humanity itself. I love the idea of people out there listening to my music and feeling this universal connection, feeling understood in their longing, their search for answers – be it on a conscious, subconscious or emotional level.
OSR: What is the last thing you broke and how did it happen?
THWT: The plastic bowl I am using for kitchen waste. I slammed it on the organic waste bin a bit too hard when emptying it recently.
OSR: What do you think is your greatest achievement?
THWT: Having rid myself of external expectations and found the path to my natural flow. This is an ongoing process, of course, but the starting point was a major life change.
OSR: Do you have future plans for To Hell With Tradition?
THWT: Somewhere on my future path, I really want to bring all this to the stage and finally play live shows again, but given my arrangement, I need to headhunt a couple of fellow musicians first. For the time being, I am already working on album number 4 which I’ll most likely start recording this winter.
Many thanks to To Hell With Tradition for speaking with us. For more from To Hell With Tradition, check out his official website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Spotify.
