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On the heels of his new single with Orion Sun, Hether has shared another look into the enveloping world of Holy Water, his debut album arriving October 24th. Out today on R&R (Dijon, Mk.gee), "Images of Love" is a longing plea that encapsulates the widely coveted talents of producer, mixer, engineer, songwriter and master collaborator Paul Castelluzzo, aka Hether, and ways in which his impeccable arrangements and confessional lyrics will build and break one's heart. Trading his typically prodigious guitar work for a stark progression of piano, his voice enters from the heavens and floats towards a higher state of karma, fear and desire, while his upright bass, snare and kick stride in lockstep. Like the recently released "Company" (with Orion Sun), "Falling For The Feeling," "Monica" and "Stupid Love," a symphony of strings brings the song to unpredictable places, as Castelluzzo crafts "slow-burning dramas that start bright and flowery yet leave us with a strange shadow of unease," says Stereogum.
Listen to "Images of Love" via R&R, and see Hether in the music video:
HERE
Before being called "the coolest man in music" (The Line of Best Fit), Paul Castelluzzo was a teenager surfing the beaches of San Diego and playing bars with local jazz greats like Curtis Taylor, until Rodney Jerkins brought him to Los Angeles to perform on tracks for Britney Spears and Justin Bieber. In between driving for Lyft and serving as the music director for a Russian Pentecostal church to make ends meet, he was enlisted for Romeo Santos’ album, Golden, but soon returned home to begin his next chapter as Hether.
Since then, his self-taught guitar style, songwriting talents and profound production palette have led to him working with everyone from Clairo, Dominic Fike and Remi Wolf to Paul McCartney, Anderson .Paak, Benny Blanco, Kali Uchis, Kenny Beats, Mac Miller, Rick Ross, Vince Staples and more. But with Holy Water, Castelluzzo officially arrives as Hether, showcasing a rare artist who has been "a secret weapon for years" (KCRW), an undeniable feeling of "a mildly hallucinogenic daydream" (Stereogum), and a trademark sound that has been quietly defining a moment in music. Across its 18 songs, he coalesces a storied young life, unbelievable history of collaborations and an enduring love of 1960s jazz into a sonic world that he created and now seemingly everyone wants to live in. "When it comes to new releases with top-tier production, it doesn't get much better," says Grimy Goods, "The release of his upcoming debut is the culmination of credits accumulated primarily behind the scenes, showing a different side to Castelluzzo and bringing him to the forefront."
Following the album's release, Hether will debut Holy Water live at Los Angeles' Lodge Room on November 5th, and Booklyn's Music Hall of Williamsburg on November 12th. Find tickets HERE, and see Hether play a special rendition of "Monica," backed by strings and more.
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