Yungblud Talks Taking Halsey To Doncaster And Why Genres No Longer Matter In Music
21 March 2019, 16:31
Yungblud revealed how the epic ’11 Minutes’ was created and that he’s going to show Halsey Doncaster!
If you’re anything like us, you’ve probably had '11 Minutes’ on loop for the past few months, and Yungblud revealed how the stunning collaboration between him, Halsey and Travis Barker came from a random DM and a chat about music over a few beers.
Halsey Reveals She Slid Into Yungblud’s DMs First
It’s well known Yungblud – real name Dominic Harrison – met Halsey after she slid in his DMs with her number and a black heart, and he explained, “It was mental, it was just crazy. I remember I was in a studio and it just popped up and I was like ‘what?!’.
“And it was sick that she just wanted to grab a drink and talk about music, no-one ever does that anymore and I think it kind of resembles her as an artist, she’s real and that’s dope.”
It was Halsey who suggested adding Blink 182’s drummer, Travis Barker, to the track after Yungblud thought there was something missing from the sound.
He revealed, “It was such a good call from her, because I was like I need some energy like Blink 182 vibes and she’s such a rock kid at heart like me. I think that’s why this song works because it’s three artists who genuinely have this massive adoration for rock music.
“You can tell it wasn’t flown from place to place we were all there giving our input. He laid it down in one take. Don’t let anyone kid you, a drum track is usually a loop, a drummer will go in and do a loop, and he ain’t a looper.
“That track is literally one full take. No looping. He did it in one take and I was like, ‘can you just do it again for our enjoyment?’. I was looking at him going, ‘you ain’t even human’.”
YUNGBLUD, Halsey - 11 Minutes ft. Travis Barker
Yungblud’s admiration for Halsey’s talent is palpable, and her iconic voice is the perfect pairing for this emotive track. The ‘Loner’ star described the moment she got on the mic and blew him away with her vocals.
He explained, “It’s a moment, it was real, I think you can tell that. All it is, is just capturing a little bit of magic in a bottle and then putting it in some headphones.
“I remember as soon as she opened her mouth on the microphone I was like ‘woah’. Something I nonsensically started in my bedroom with probably one of the most influential, most incredible female artists in the scene at the minute, that was crazy for me. It made it really resonate and I was just like wow, this is something different now.
“It’s a guitar based record which is being played on commercial radio again, so that’s wicked. That’s a win for rock and roll music and that’s what we love. We wanted to create a song that had the energy of a rock song, the swagger of a hip hop tune and the chorus of a pop song, in one big pot, mashed up.”
On the subject of genres, Yungblud agrees that the melting pot has never been more diverse, with artists dipping their toes into different styles of music to create something really special.
He explains, “That’s completely it, I was speaking about this the other day that genre is becoming less and less relevant, everyone is always like ok what’s going to come next, is it going to be a Brit Pop revival… it’s like that doesn’t matter man, it’s becoming less and less about genre and more and more about what you’re actually talking about.
“Socially aware music is what’s taking on as a movement right now, you just have to look at Billie Eilish. It means something because our generation are so smart. We genuinely know what we want from the world and we know what we have to say, you don’t have to spoon feed us.
“So music has to catch up with us in that sense, it can’t just be cookie cutter because there is so much more information and we’re so much more intelligent so we see that there’s obstacles in front of us so we’re able to jump over them and overturn them.
“I think that’s sick. There’s something in the air, you can feel it, and socially aware subject matters are going to come back to popular music and that’s exciting as hell. “It makes us feel a part of something and all we want to be is a part of something because it makes us feel less alone, and when we feel less alone we have less anxiety and that’s what music’s about, escaping.
“It’s the language that everyone speaks, instantaneously, it’s like how do you know what I’m thinking and you’ve never even met me?”
Part of the instant connection with Halsey, Yungblud says, comes from the fact they are both from small towns – him being from Doncaster and she from New Jersey.
Given that the pair are rumoured to be in a real-life relationship, are they going to show each other their hometowns? He revealed, “I haven’t taken her to Doncaster yet but I’m going to New Jersey on tour, so she’s going to tell me where the good places are and it’s going to be sick, man.
“She’s got to come to Donny though! Have a pint down the pub and a cool fish and chips and that.” Sounds like the dream to us.
Yungblud will be heading out on his sold-out US tour in May before heading back to the UK in the summer for some festival appearances as well as his headline tour dates in the UK in November.
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