EKKSTACY on How He Writes His Own Anime & Loving Cock & Ball Torture

Canadian rising indie star EKKSTACY, known for fusing post-punk and synth wave, will play for the first time in Romania today at Control Club. Twenty-year-old artist EKKSTACY had already dealt with a lifetime of depression and anxiety before a severe mental health episode at age 17 led him to drug-induced psychosis and a suicide attempt. As he bounced back, EKKSTACY immersed himself in music. “I really needed something like an outlet,” he says, “because I didn’t have anybody. So I started writing.”

EKKSTACY is the missing piece of today’s post-punk puzzle we were looking for. Curious to find out more about his upcoming live performance and his music, I sat with EKKSTACY and asked him a few questions.

Hello! I’m so happy to be chatting with you about your upcoming concerts. What’s it like playing in a country you’ve never been to before? Any expectations?

It’s cool. I’m happy I made it this far away from home. I always expect to have a shit time, and I’m usually pleasantly surprised.

I’m sure fans would be interested in knowing more about your backstory. What was it like in the beginning days of your music career and how have you grown since then?

I was a kid with few friends that stayed in my room most days making music, wishing I had something else to do most of the time. Now I wish I could spend more time alone at my old house.

What are the elevator pitches for your music that’ll make people have to listen?

That’s a good question I don’t really know.

Physically speaking, what do you think would be the perfect setting for your music?

Depends on the song, but I think the perfect setting for my music is at a venue with my singing them.

When listeners make their way through your music and hear your songs, what do you want them to feel?

I just want them to feel something. If you feel something listening to my music I’m happy.

One part of your journey I wanted to touch on is how you’ve come to be the artist you are today. What do you bring from your early years to your current career?

I try to remember how much I used to hate everything and how much everything used to scare me. I feel better about things now.

For a fan-to-be who may not have yet heard an EKKSTACY track but is reading this as their introduction into your world, how would you describe your sound and where it’s going?

I call it post-punk but that’s really vague. I’m trying to get into more genres because I love a lot of music. I’m getting heavier, I’m taking more influence from nu-metal and post-hardcore as opposed to indie and punk.

Give us an idea of your songwriting. How do you build these beautiful atmospheres?

I just write whatever comes to mind. I’ll have a feeling, but that has nothing to do with me. Sometimes the universe just lets you write a really good song. Sometimes it doesn’t.

Do you have any specific reference tracks that drive your productions?

Anything by Title Fight, Christian Death, or Deftones currently.

There are many descriptions of the ideal state of mind for being creative. What is it like for you? What supports this ideal state of mind and what are distractions? Are there strategies to enter into this state more easily?

As I said before, if the universe wants you to make a good song it will let you. Making music all the time only increases your chances of you having a moment.

What was the craziest idea you had – whether feasible or not – that you really wanted to go forward with?

I want to make my own anime. I’m currently writing it.

Do you have certain rituals to get you into the right mindset for creating? What role do certain foods or stimulants like coffee, lighting, scents, exercise, or reading poetry play?

I like to start drinking right after I have a good idea. So that when I’m recording and the song is coming together I’m starting to feel even more.

Guilty pleasure time. What would you say are some of your current most guilty pleasures? All is fair game-food, books, video games, or even cock n’ ball torture, whatever floats your boat. Let us have it.

I love cock and ball torture that’s crazy that you guys bring that up. I love having my penis and balls stomped on. I’m surprised I still have genitalia after everything my wiener has been through.