Hermen - Dark, brooding electronica created by SA's own Kestie Morassi

It's probably be easier to send you this link - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kestie_Morassi when describing this Adelaide, born and bred legend as she's one of Australia's best actors and creatives! But when she's not lighting up the silver screen and teaching her craft, Kestie is 'Hermen', her musical project and a damn fine one at that! Creative's always have the ability to bounce through disciplines and Kestie is no exception. She has released some singles on streaming platforms that possess a dark, brooding underbelly(funny that she was on that series!). Fun fact, Kestie and I went to school together, so recently after she released her latest track 'The Story' I immediately bailed her up and swung the top 5 by her.. Check it out! 

1.      Hermen! Thanks for catching up for a chat & an insight into your musical world! What struck me the most about Hermen was the dark, electronic undertones in your sounds. Kinda reminds me of Massive Attack meets PJ Harvey – It’ moody AF. Where does this come from and are these European influences part of what makes – Hermen?

Great to talk to you. And that’s a huge compliment thank you. Trip-hop was the sound that opened everything up for me in the 90’s really. Artists like Massive Attack, Tricky, Lamb, Portishead all had a huge impact on me, and they’re still records I listen to front to back. I remember hearing albums like Maxinquaye and Mezzanine for the first time and feeling like I’d never in my life heard sounds like that before. I loved the lyrics and the dreamlike style of them and I’ve always wanted to write like that. As for what makes HERMEN as well, it’s like a feeling or a mood rather than a character ‘coz people ask me if it’s an alter ego but I don’t see it that way. I knew I didn’t want to release music under my own name because I’d spent so much of my life as an actor, and this felt like a very different creative thing. You can feel when things are right. The whole project has been a lesson in following my instincts. Hermen sort of tells me what it wants to be rather than the other way around.

Your film clip for ‘The Story’ is just next level – What is the theme, tell us! And what are the lyrics about in your songs – Where does the brood in the lyrics stem from?

Thank you so much. It’s funny, because it’s like that creative flow state I was talking about before. The film clip for The Story went through so many different versions. At some point it was going to be set in a shop window, then built around reflections in my living room window, then even out in the desert. I kept testing ideas, but nothing felt quite right. I found the actor/dancer who I wanted to be the focus of the clip, and we didn’t end up using the exact costume, but she arrived one day with this sparkly outfit and it gave me the idea. You know, a showgirl who doesn’t want to be a showgirl anymore. She’s been sold this story that she’s supposed to be beautiful, ornamental and there to entertain or captivate other people. She’s very much pushing back against that and choosing freedom and rawness instead, I guess. That’s why there’s so much earth, sand and grit in the visuals. I loved the contrast of it with the sparkles. It feels like she’s stripping away all the bullshit layers and reconnecting with something more honest and primal. We shot it 3 days later. Ultimately the song is about wanting to break free of the narratives we’re sold about ourselves and others and forging your own path. The idea of the showgirl was not only beautiful aesthetically but was a perfect fit thematically. It all just fell into place in the end.

What are future plans for Hermen? Is this a project you want to take live, I can already see the visuals will be an important part of what makes you very unique

Ha yeah, I mean, that’s the question I’m still exploring. What exactly is Hermen, that’s why I call it a project. Is it just music to be released or is it something else. In the beginning, it was just me in my living room with a computer, trying to write songs, and gradually it’s become something bigger than that and incorporated my love of filmmaking and visual storytelling as well. Collaboration has become a huge part of the process as well. Whether it’s the music itself or the visual side of things, other artists will help shape what Hermen is becoming. I’d like the project to keep expanding beyond what I originally imagined.

 

To answer about performing live, I’m not really sure yet. If I did, I don’t think it would be a traditional gig. I’d be more interested in something really intimate and stripped back. Maybe a small industrial space, maybe it’s a one-off impromptu event. You’re right to say that the HERMEN visuals feel just as important to me as the music. Imagery of some kind would always be part of it. But there are no immediate plans to perform live. I’m just gonna keep following the ideas and see where the project wants to go next.

Tell us about future recording plans – You have two singles completed and both are outstanding – What’s next, let us know!

 

I think the next song I’ll release is probably the darkest thing I’ve done so far. It started as a poem written by a friend of mine that I couldn’t get out of my head. Over time (with her permission of course) I pulled it apart, rewrote, rearranged, gave it a hook and a chorus. So now it’s a song. You could probably call it a spoken word piece, I don’t know. It feels like the right time for it. A lot of fucked up things in our world have been hidden for a long time and are coming to light. The song is kind of reckoning, I guess. A warning. The visuals are already starting to form in my head. I have a bunch of songs I’m excited about developing, so there’s plenty more to come.

If you could perform any festival or show or perform with any current artist on planet earth – Who would that be?

Dark Mofo. No question! If HERMEN ever ended up at Dark Mofo, it’d be in a very happy place. I can definitely see Hermen there. Future Hermen though. I definitely don’t feel ready or evolved enough for something like that yet. As for artists, Tricky would be an obvious one because his music completely changed the way I think about sound and he likes a female artist too as accompaniment. Lamb too. And then there’s someone like St.Vincent. She fascinates me. I don’t even know if I’d want to perform with her, I’d probably rather be in the room while she’s creating something. I’ve seen footage of her working and she’s always up on her feet, moving around, experimenting, never in a chair working. She seems so free and fearless. I’d love to just watch her process up close. I only just discovered Wet Leg too and they are blowing my mind right now. Their Tiny Desk Concert is peak coolness. Maybe Tiny Desk?!