No Filter: BELLHEAD on Rage, Rituals & “Threats”

If Bellhead’s latest EP “Threats” feels like a middle finger raised with style and intention, that’s because it is – loud, unapologetic, and soaked in raw emotion. The Chicago-based duo, made up of Karen and Ivan, has carved out a distinct niche in the post-industrial underground with their dual-bass assault, gritty vocals, and no-nonsense ethos.

In this conversation, the band pulls back the curtain on their creative process, the emotional weight behind “Threats,” and the strange alchemy of antique stores, gym sessions, and late-night epiphanies that fuels their work. Bellhead doesn’t just make music, they build worlds, and they do it with grit, wit, and a perfectly raised eyebrow.

I’m sure fans would love to know more about your backstory. How did you all come together, and what journey led you to form this band?

Karen: Ivan and I were friends for quite a while. We played in the same band, just at different times. We both knew we were serious about music, and due to a series of unfortunate events, we both ended up band-less at the same time. So, during a Chicago blizzard, we got really drunk, passed out to ‘To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar’, and when we woke up, we decided to form a band.

What’s the elevator pitch for your music? In a few words, how would you convince someone to listen to your music for the first time?

Karen: Unapologetic dark songs for people who like to dance.

Is there a specific philosophy or worldview that influences your music? What do you want people to think about or feel when they listen to your songs?

Ivan: I wouldn’t want anyone going around telling me what to think or feel. Let’s say, for instance, I make a chair and I sell it to you. Now you take it home, and you are standing on it. I made that chair for sitting, but I’m not in your home with you while you are standing on the chair. Just enjoy it, however you do.

When you start working on a new project, like “Threats,” do you already hear the music in your head, or do you prefer to experiment and see where it takes you?

Ivan: It’s a lot like throwing a medicine ball back and forth. Songs start small, like a bar of soap. Sometimes Karen sends me a bass line, and I get it up on trucks and show it to her. Other times, I take a riff I liked from sound check and build it out for Karen to review. Once we have determined we have something we are enthusiastic about, then we rehearse it, adding intros & outros, structuring breaks, and the like. I’ll take it home, finalize the drums, and add some production if the song suggests it, such as piano or atmospheric sounds.

If you listen closely to a song, it will tell you the words. I like unreliable narrators. When there is a sole survivor of a shipwreck, do you take him at his word? I wanted to go all in on song lyrics that were open to interpretation. Are the intentions truly good, or is there something else unseen?

Each record is a record of progress. It’s what has been completed for release up until this point. All these other parts about the lab have been started and just need more work. I can only say that when a song is finished, they start from weaving in and out of each other like branches clawing at the moon.

For this release, what was the creative process like? Were there any unexpected twists or challenges that shaped the outcome?

Ivan: Karen said to me, “I’m done being nice,” and I told her, “I was never nice,” and with that, we took some big swings. We went through personal losses that resulted in emotional outbursts. Mourning has a way of forcing words and songs out of me. The record is not about death. It’s not that one-dimensional. Death, she is the progenitor of the work. Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance make an appearance, or are a motivator in all the songs.

Do you have any reference tracks or artists that serve as your creative compass when producing new material?

Ivan: If we are working on something and it’s more than ⅔ the way along, but now it’s hit some quicksand, I’ll turn to comfort records. Records that I’ve continued to enjoy since I first heard them. Passive listening seems to help. Put on ‘Kind of Blue’, make dinner, and then I get an idea of how to resolve the bridge. Drive back from the market listening to ‘Scary Monsters’, and then realize the parts are right but the structure is wrong.

Do you have any personal rituals or habits that get you into the creative mood? What role do things like food, lighting, coffee, or even literature play in your process?

Ivan: My favorite thing to do is put my phone down. Everything is better without a phone. I just need my bass, a means to record, and to be left alone. I will write till the sun comes up.

What would you say are the biggest distractions for you when trying to create music? How do you overcome them?

Ivan: A big theft of time from making new music is playing the music we have already made. Rehearsals, Recording, Touring, and all the back end in support of the band take time. I end up writing on the road scraps of lyrics on everything from motel paper to gas station receipts.

Songs get developed every rehearsal we can because it may be some time before we can work on new music together again. Having more ideas than time is a fantastic problem to have. I am not sure what we will do next, but I assure you it will not be boring.

Time for a little fun! What are some of your guilty pleasures? Whether it’s a song, a food, or even a quirky hobby, share with us something that people might be surprised to know about you.

Ivan: When we are on tour, we go antiquing. It is very rock n’ roll. We were at an antique store where Alice Cooper bought a sword and used it on stage. They had this picture by the cash wrap, and the teenager working couldn’t piece together why I was excited about it.

What are some unexpected things—be it a book, a film, or an activity—that inspire your creativity and keep you motivated?

Karen: I’m a big fan of powerlifting. I go to the gym a lot and work out, which thankfully will keep me in shape enough to move all of our gear around when we go on tour.

Otherwise, I think Ivan and I motivate each other. We spent 5 hours coming back from Detroit this weekend, talking about new merch, what the next record is going to be, and our plans for the week. We work hard and keep pushing ourselves to be the best versions we can be.

What do you envision for your future as a band?

Karen: We’d really like to be the first band that play on the moon.

In the long run, what do you hope listeners will take away from your music? What message or feeling do you want them to walk away with?

Karen: Our job is to write catchy songs and create performances that entertain the crowd. What they feel otherwise is entirely up to them. Music triggers people differently.

Before we end, is there anything you’d like to share with your fans that they might not know about you or your upcoming work?

Karen: We’re working on a music video for the EP currently and hope for it to come out this year. More tour dates will be coming in the summer and fall, including coming to some new cities like Houston and Grand Rapids, MI, and returning to places like Memphis and Little Rock.