It’s easy to classify EKKSTACY’s music as moody, but the unpredictability makes his music special. The Vancouver-based alternative artist has broken through by mixing indie rock, punk, and metal, creating a sound that’s versatile and consistently in-tune with his ever-shifting disposition.
EKKSTACY’s interest in music dates back to his early teenage years, when he was too hesitant to pursue it seriously. He’s blossomed since getting past his reluctance: his 2022 album misery has over 200,000 plays on SoundCloud. The platform has been instrumental in EKKSTACY’s success and reaching his fans.
EKKSTACY is taking his relationship with the platform to another level by taking us through his hometown in his First on Soundcloud Docuseries.
The story allows him to define who he is on his own terms. It goes beyond the music, showing him skateboarding around Vancouver with his friends.He’s forthcoming about the importance of friendship, explaining how lonely he felt when he first started school due to a lack of fellowship. Since then, he’s found a group of people who are like him.
“People didn’t care about me until I started making music, basically…But the people here are my people—like, my real people. We skate, we drink, and we make music.”
Highlighting the vulnerability that’s essential to his music, EKKSTACY opens up about how a life-threatening experience at the age of 16 made him who he is today. “I tried a drug,” he remembers. “It kind of started feeling like my eyes were in the back of my throat.” He remembers jumping out of a window, then waking up the next morning with stitches on his chest and arm in addition to a sharp pain in his side.
“I was totally different before that… I never had an ounce of sad in me, anxiety, or anything. But yeah, I’m happy that happened. It started music. I probably wouldn’t have been shit if that didn’t happen.”
Listen to EKKSTACY’s music and watch his First on SoundCloud’22 Docuseries episode to learn more.
LISTEN TO EKKSTACY
Credits: Directed by Hannan Hussain & Liam Reardon, Stills by Ramy Elsokary.
