“Yesterday was a breakdown night. I didn't tell anyone that,” the 20-year-old reveals in a deadpan tone. “It was a total breakdown. No one would know. I have those often, though. [It's] like an identity crisis.” A new-wave solo artist, Canadian artist EKKSTACY is the self-labelled rockstar battling his personal frustrations and eager dreams.
Right now however, EKKSTACY is on the road, and has just woken up somewhere in Philadelphia.
“I kind of feel like shit. No, I'm fine. I'm okay. I did just wake up,” he mumbles. It’s early hours for the musician and he’s got a busy schedule ahead. Alongside a buzzing tour, EKKSTACY also has a looming deadline for his upcoming album,. “The new record is due in two days and I wouldn't say it's finished,” he shrugs. Neither a fan of concept records nor his current sound – describing it repeatedly as “boring” – alongside the semi-amusing line of quitting music entirely, the young artist is deep in the space of figuring things out.
Here, in the latest instalment of our weekly Who the hell is? series, we chat with EKKSTACY to find out more about his new record, his plans to escape Canada, and more…
How are you feeling today?
“I'm touring in America and doing the whole thing in a fucking minivan. The rest is terrible except when you're onstage. It's all about drinking – I couldn't do [it] without the alcohol.”
Have you always been interested in pursuing music?
“Kind of; since I was in grade eight, so about 14. There's other stuff I wanted to do before that – I wanted to skate. There's some other stuff but I don't want to bring it up, stupid little hobbies. I wanted to be a sculptor… I'm joking.”
When did you realise you that music could be a career rather than a side project?
“When I was 14, I tried and it was really bad so I just gave up. Then, once I was in grade 10, I had a friend who was doing music and he would bitch to me every day to try again and I kept saying no, because I was scared. Then eventually I could do this. There's a lot more to that story, but I don't really want to get into it.”