Q&A: The Beauty in Chaos With thenheturnedaround
THERE IS A METHOD TO THENHETURNEDAROUND’S MADNESS — and it’s mesmerizing. From the weirdly alluring image of his face covered in bandages on his album cover to his fascinating stage name, thenheturnedaround (THTA) is completely spellbinding.
“You can call me Ben, David, Carl, whatever you want honestly,” THTA says with a laugh at the very beginning of our interview.
The first thing that captured my attention about thenheturnedaround was his name. It’s one that would make anyone do a double take, but there’s also a peculiar depth to it — the name itself has a story to tell.
There are many elements to THTA’s artistry and musicality that are perplexing but give him and his music an otherworldly appeal. On you look just like someone i knew in a past life, he explores all the best dimensions of his personality and artistry to deliver a wholly engrossing debut album.
The 24-year-old Montreal-based songwriter and producer incorporates poetic lyricism about loneliness, loss, love, and existentialism with a deconstructed pop, electroacoustic and experimental soundscape. The 11-track project is entirely written and produced by THTA with additional production on “pop hit” provided by close collaborators Daniel Hartzog and 50landing. From the somber piano melodies on “numi, numi” to the catchy and synthesized “pop hit,” the project mirrors THTA’s state of mind, heart, thoughts, and experiences in different forms and shapes, but never once with limitations.
There is little to no structure in his music in terms of hooks and verses, yet his intentions and direction are clear that the album itself is cohesive in its chaos. Thenheturnedaround’s creativity is something to be marveled at, and there are so many of his talents such as poetry, sound engineering, and storytelling that complete this genre-bending project. Additionally, he also dropped a three-minute short film accompanying you look just like someone I knew in a past life.
Dive into our conversation with thenheturnedaround below, where he discusses the meaning behind his name, his music, and the sonic world he has created.
LUNA: You have a very unique name — what’s the reason behind your choice?
THTA: This is usually the first thing people ask me, and it is not something that I am able to justify in an easy way. I had been making music for maybe four years but I just played for myself when I decided I had to have a name to release my music under, and I didn’t want to use my real name. I wanted to create a space and identity that is separate from me entirely. Whether it’s as an escape or a compartmentalisation so that things don’t get too busy, I wanted something that was reflective of the idea that we can tell stories through sound and art. I remember reading a book — I don’t remember what the name was — but the last words on the page before I flipped it were, “Then he turned around,” and I realized that after those words there were infinite possibilities for where the story could go. I loved how uninhibited it was.
I have always struggled with perfectionism, and I spent years holding my music back because I didn’t have a name but I decided to just settle on one. I realized that it doesn’t actually matter that people criticized my choice or that I don’t really remember why I chose it, but I like it now. Perfectionism isn’t important because things just fall into place.
LUNA: You describe your music as a bridge between pop and electroacoustic composition, and your sound pushes the existing boundaries within the genres you’re in. What made you make the sounds you do, the way that you do?
THTA: Before I started studying music, I listened to music that was really bland… I had no variety in taste. I remember whenever I would submit something as a project my experimental music professor would tell me to push the boundaries more, and at first I felt frustrated but the more I challenged myself, the more accomplished I felt. I felt a deeper connection with the music because I poured more of myself into it.
That lesson stuck with me when I was doing art because I seldom feel satisfied. I didn't even really think about the walls of pop, many of the songs on the project are not cyclical and except for “pop hit” — there’s no first chorus or bridge. My music usually unfolds [in] a linear fashion, but I made music as I thought it should follow in my name.
LUNA: How did your background in making music influence your creative process as well as how you feel about yourself as an artist?
THTA: My background in music is relatively unorthodox. I started playing guitar when I was 13 but when I went to university I was pre-med. I realized very early on that this was not for me. Instead of dropping my major in microbiology, I added a minor in music. I decided I would just be sad doing science for a back-up but slowly I would take more classes than I needed for music and do the bare minimum for my science classes. I started studying more production and compositional techniques, and I dedicated four years of my life to learning about music. After leaving school, I wanted to create a project that was indicative of the skills I had learnt.
I am also self-reliant and sometimes I do recognize a need for collaboration because it is so important to the creation of art. For “pop hit,” I wanted my friends to contribute to this song because they are incredibly talented and they could add to the track and make it more than what it already is. It is important for me to know how to do things myself but to also know that I can reach out for help or a different opinion when I have reached an obstacle.
LUNA: You worked with producers 50landing and Daniel Hartzog on this album. How was that process?
THTA: They are really good friends of mine. Daniel has taught me so much of what I know today. I once spent two weeks in Atlanta with him helping him produce some tracks, and he has provided me with so many opportunities and knowledge about the industry.
Jack [50landing] and I met online, and we are very close. The making of “pop hit” was so fun, and I realized I have so much respect for these two people. Jack brought such a fresh perspective to the way the song was conceptualized, and Daniel helped me polish it. Further, I wanted this album to be a marker and testament of who I was on April 5, 2024 and who I was friends with.
LUNA: There isn’t a typical structure to your songs, but you did say “pop hit” was a song you made ironically. Can you expand on the composition and arrangement within this project?
THTA: Besides “pop hit,” I have never sat down to write a verse and chorus. I sit on my laptop and let things spill out of me, and that’s why there is a start and finish with my songs. Everything is linear. A song like “field” is indicative of a story unfolding, or “,,&,,” which feels like a moment in time. The album itself goes from electronic to acoustic over time, which is meant to emphasize the importance of acoustic composition. The general structure is an ode to electroacoustic music and just cementing that we can blend these sounds.
LUNA: You mentioned how you tried to rid yourself of the need to be perfect, and you make music that cannot be confined to the genre you are making. How much of yourself and your ideas about perfectionism is present in the themes of this album?
THTA: Perfectionism leads to so many things, such as self-loathing and doubt. The by-products of it permeate the tracks of this album: “bask” depicts the feeling that I hate myself well. On “,,&,,” I am expressing these ideas that I am just not good enough or deserving of love. It leads to this idea that I don't have a sense of identity without someone else and that is present in every song.
LUNA: It’s such an interesting contrast to your approach to making music and writing lyrics because it seems effortless. Your album title, you look just like someone I knew in a past life, is so romantic and intriguing. What made you choose that name for your debut?
THTA: The album title is one of the most important elements of the project to me. I am obsessed with fleeting connections, whether you share a glance with someone on the street or share a five-minute conversation at the bar with someone and never see them again. I love the idea that we are now tethered to these people for the rest of our lives without knowing it; I am not theistic at all but there is something bigger than us at play here.
The idea of [the phrase] “you look just like someone I knew in a past life” could be directed at anyone. At the time that I was writing this project where a lot of relationships around me were changing. There was someone I was involved with at the time I made this but I was not just about my relationship with them, but rather all these people I have had in my life. In another life I probably knew and meant a lot to these people.
At first it was melancholic, but now that I have sat with it, I think the idea of being connected with people unknowingly from even the most insignificant interactions is quite romantic.
LUNA: What are some of your dream collaborations?
THTA: King Krule, Nettspend, definitely. There are certain people who you can just tell that their minds work in interesting ways. People who would just teach me invaluable lessons about music.
LUNA: You mentioned Nicholas Britell as one of your musical influences. Are there any films that influence your artistry?
THTA: My best friend, Celine Koma, made experimental films and I scored most of them. His films are thought provoking and they encourage me to think critically. I am responsible for providing the music that conveys the message as magnanimously as possible. Jon Batiste with the score for Soul because it elegantly combines jazz with electroacoustic ambient music; it is also about existentialism which is so important to me.
Although, it’s literature that impacts me more. You could read the darkest lines about pain but the language is so flowery that it makes me smile.
LUNA: Your album cover is you in bandages, and it makes you look like you are in pain but also hidden. What was the motivation behind that?
THTA: I was working on the film Bandages with Celine Koma, and after I took a selfie of myself in these bandages it struck me how much I related to this character he had built for me. Someone who is scarred and injured but here nonetheless resonated with me deeply. It never occurred to me that I would be the album cover but I started to feel more like that as the album came to fruition. I realized that there was a character to this album, and even more than that, I now had a visual concept connected to the sound album. It once again felt like it was fate and not a mere coincidence.
