Fast-rising Vancouver-born artist EKKSTACY returns with his new single “Problems”, featuring Trippie Redd. The song is a confident opening to EKKSTACY’s next chapter, one rife with personal growth and a renewed focus on his artistry.
“Problems” is a downtrodden song that supplants some of EKKSTACY’s more raucous moments on his captivating debut album Misery, which Alternative Press described as “the mark of an artist who’s come out of his shell, stepping boldly toward his future.” The new single shifts his sound into an introspective, interior space, combining glazed-over dream-pop and jangling surf guitar tones with a pop sensibility that has him poised to emerge as a fully-fledged rock star with more music to come this year.
Speaking on the track, EKKSTACY says, “This song was fun to make. It happened between like 3 and 6 AM in Miami right before I had to head to the airport. Trippie and I wrote and recorded the lyrics over the music that my main collaborator Mangetsu made back in Germany. We both came up listening to Trip, so I’m happy we both get to say we have a song with him now.”
The song’s accompanying visual juxtaposes EKKSTACY’s melancholy within stereotypical scenes of hip hop bacchanalia: EKKSTACY and Trippie Redd perform together inside a mansion, flanked by dancers after jumping out of a Lamborghini but Stacy appears aloof and removed, lost within it all and desensitized to the glitz and glamor of an industry that puts mental health in the backseat. It’s a witty and thoughtful visual, one that highlights a void within the heart of wealth, excess, and fame.
Speaking on the video, director Gilbert Trejo says, “For this video Stacy and I wanted to play with the idea of success and happiness, how one doesn’t always come with the other. What we want vs what we get, what’s expected of us vs who we are, etc. Once we knew what we wanted, it was fun as hell to come up with the sunny, happy, playful imagery for a song that would fit on a playlist with Between the Bars or No Name #1.”
The release follows a summer European tour, including performances at Reading & Leeds, that saw EKKSTACY come into his own as a live performer, playing shows that saw his post-punk, dream-pop and indie blend translate across the globe. “Problems” is set to push that to the next level, it is a team up that expands EKKSTACY’s horizons and lays the foundation for what is to come next.
