Interview with Hell of a Mind: ‘Music is very powerful, it helps you express something you can’t express with words’

Seville-based alt-rock band Hell of a Mind is gearing up to release its next single ‘Clowns’ next month.

The band comprises Javi Patón (vocals, guitar and composition), Manu Ramos (bass) and Segio Bueno (percussion). Patón met Ramos eight years ago when they played in another band together: ‘I was playing as a solo singer-songwriter but I was looking for a band and they were looking forward to playing with someone and that evolved to become Hell of a Mind,’ Patón said. ‘It’ll be two years this summer’. Their name is a reference to psychology and mental health: ‘I studied psychology and I work as a counsellor,’ Patón said. ‘For me, the name is some sort of way of talking about mental health problems, the problems society faces, the high unemployment here in Spain. ‘Rollercoaster’ is about that.’

‘Clowns’ shines a light on the music industry in Spain: ‘It’s a very critical song about the music environment here,’ Patón said. ‘There’s a specific genre of music that’s the king of music in our country but the message, both musically and lyrically, can be very empty. Some of the songs are about treating women in a gross way, sexual things, etc. A lot of people in Spain love that music but I don’t like the message, I don’t want to write songs like that. I guess I’ve got a problem with music on the radio like that. Sonically, ‘Clowns’, has a main aggressive riff that has some variations during the song and a chorus that exploits the tension created by the riff.’

They released ‘Rollercoaster’ as a single earlier this year and the title gives you a good idea as to what to expect, opening with a lot of distortion and equally heavy drums: ‘My Orange amp has a very dirty one for that grunge sound that I had in mind,’ he said. It’s an incredibly tight song, coming in at just under 2 minutes 30 but with a ferocious amount of energy. The chromatic chord progression in the chorus is insanely hooky, as are Patón’s melodic vocals: ‘I would describe it as intense, the song wants to go to the point,’ he said. ‘I wanted to show that feeling of being in a rollercoaster, all that energy, whether it’s good or bad. It all began with that first intro riff and then the riff in the chorus. I don’t think of myself as writing good lyrics, I write what’s in my mind. I always write the music first. I think I knew that ‘Rollercoaster’ would be about unemployment. ‘Fake’ is similar, specifically about the falsity of a relationship in this environment, that was a year ago.’

As ‘Rollercoaster’ kicks off: “You’ve been trying to hit me. And I’ll hit you harder. Go with your demons. You, scumbag, I hate that cave but I need it. You are the one that could leave and die.”

‘I’ve always loved music with catchy choruses’

I tell him that the chorus to ‘Rollercoaster’ has become a regular earworm: ‘I guess I’ve always loved music with catchy choruses. With pop music, the melody is very important. I love bands that nail that, it’s a huge influence on my writing.’ He cites his biggest influences as Muse, Soundgarden, Biffy Clyro, Pearl Jam, Queens of the Stone Age and Wolf Alice: ‘I love Biffy Clyro, they’re my favourite band,’ he said enthusiastically. ‘They’re not popular enough in Spain! I saw them live in Madrid two months ago, they were amazing. I love Simon Neil. I wish I’d written ‘Black Chandelier’ because it is the first song I ever heard from Biffy Clyro.’

Last year, they released their debut EP ‘The Exceptional Force’, an album he calls ‘a journey of strength and resilience’, winning the award for best EP of 2022 at the Sevilla Indie Chapitas Awards. Mental health is a theme that weaves throughout the EP: ‘I guess it’s professional and personal, it’s hard to separate them,’ he said. ‘Music is a way to express how I’m feeling, it’s very therapeutic. It’s a way of getting that feeling across. Music therapy, I don’t have that background but music is very powerful, it helps you express something you can’t express with words. That’s the magic of music. Music is my passion, it’s my way of understanding life.’

‘I’m An Animal’, the opener on the EP, opens with a thuddy, blistering riff before Patón comes in on vocals. In places, it gives me a Pearl Jam vibe, it’s a rollicking beast of a song. ‘We were in the pandemic and I was dealing with a lot of anger at that moment,’ he said. ‘I didn’t have a job, I’d just finished my studies. I didn’t know what to do with my life. I guess the song came out very naturally, that feeling that I was listing every category as a human. That feeling of being an animal and getting it all out. I think it fits well on our EP about resilience and strength. I was trying to express that anger in a proper way. Sometimes I’m an animal and can’t control my feelings. It’s a simple message but everyone feels that way sometimes. The chorus goes to the point, like people letting everything out.’

As it kicks off: “Here, I’m killing time. Rage in her line. I’m sure the best of me, it’s the best you had.”

Patón’s job involves working with very sensitive people who process things very differently, a task that can be very challenging. ‘I studied pyschology and two Masters degrees. Now, I’m doing my third Masters degree in acceptance and compromise, it’s third generation therapy. I work a lot with this sort of therapy and mindfulness.’

‘I discovered Pearl Jam thanks to my friends and the internet, they resonated with me very well’

As a teenager, his musical tastes went against the grain compared to what was popular on the radio in Spain at the time: ‘I discovered Pearl Jam – and the 90s bands I love like Soundgarden, Nirvana, Rage Against The Machine and The Smashing Pumpkins – thanks to my friends and the internet, they resonated with me very well. The other (Spanish) music didn’t make sense to me. I loved Nirvana and Pearl Jam, they’ve been huge influences. Jeff Buckley was one hell of an artist. I really like Isaac Gracie, a folk singer from London. I played in a band before for three years, we played a few Muse, Biffy and Arctic Monkeys’ covers. A dream for me would be to play with Biffy Clyro, Muse, Wolf Alice and The Smashing Pumpkins.’

He’s also testing out new sonic waters: ‘I’ve got a new indie folk project called Sybaris. Sybaris was a woman who could become a beast,’ he said. ‘It reflects the music I make from the quieter side that Sybaris can be to the more aggressive side that Hell of a Mind can be. I’ll release my third single ‘Skyline’ on 24 March. Sonically, it is a song that seeks to generate a quiet atmosphere accompanied by synthesizers, apart from the acoustic guitar as the main instrument. I lost my grandmother a few months ago, so this song was a way of channelling that as well as capturing the concept of life and motherhood as a cycle.’

‘Phoenix’, the closer on ‘The Exceptional Force’, opens with a chuggy riff that is reminiscent of the 60’s with a grungy twist taking it in a Pearl Jam direction. It showcases Patón at his most defiant, his vocals have a fresh urgency and, for me, it is the best track on the EP: ‘It took a long time to write,’ he said. ‘I had this “ba ba di ba” riff. Pearl Jam and all those 90’s bands were a very important part of this song. The outro is instrumental, it just builds and builds.’ It does, the guitars become increasingly frenzied and Bueno is drumming as if his life depended on it. It’s a natural closer, allowing the listener to go out on a high: ‘This song is a way of ending the journey. The phoenix is a metaphor, like the phoenix rises from the ashes, we have to go out there with all the strength we have. I write music as I feel it, I was trying to reflect my feelings.’

As the song goes: “Who knows when it’s the end of my star? I am feeling down and wrong but I know she’s the one lightning up. Just cheer me up, I won’t lose sight. I mean, just take it or leave it. I’ll always believe her.”

If he could go for a drink with anyone, he is quick to pick Biffy Clyro frontman Simon Neil: ‘I would want to ask him everything about his music, what inspires his music, his way of trying to share his music live,’ he said. ‘I’ve watched a lot of interviews with them, I love the way they talk, they seem such kind people. I’d ask for some personal advice. I’d love to know a lot more about doing music for a living full-time, that would be a dream for me.’

(Photo from left to right: Manu, Javi and Sergio.)