In this exclusive interview, we sit down with Ark Patrol, the innovative electronic artist whose music has resonated with fans worldwide. As he prepares to release his new EP, “E,” as well as the announcement of his new album GEM, we unpack his musical journey, creative process, and the impact of his viral hit “Let Go” on TikTok. Ark Patrol, born in Hawaii and now based in LA, shares how his upbringing influenced his sound and the emotional challenges he faced while creating his latest project.
Ark Patrol’s new track “FOLN4U,” featuring genre-bending artist SEB, offers a glimpse into the artist’s evolving musical style. With its booming house beat and catchy lyrics, “FOLN4U” is set to be a standout hit from the EP. Ark Patrol describes the track as a reflection of the transition into adolescence, capturing the excitement and challenges of growing up. SEB’s contribution adds a dynamic layer to the song, blending melodic rapping with anthemic chants that enhance the overall vibe.
Throughout the interview, Ark Patrol opens up about his meticulous approach to music production and the rituals he follows to stay grounded. He also addresses the pressures and complexities of going viral, offering a candid perspective on how it has shaped his career and personal growth. As he looks to the future, Ark Patrol hints at exploring new musical territories inspired by alternative rock and surf music while staying true to his electronic roots.
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Can you share how your upbringing in Hawaii influenced your musical style and creative process?
I credit my music’s sense of isolation, disconnect, and tranquility to growing up in Hawaii and being homeschooled. A huge melodic foundation for me was Jack Johnson’s catalog. I feel like the music I’ve been unconsciously making straddled a similar line to his zig-zags across. It’s a safe, accessible vibe – grounded, which I love. Even though I’m native Hawaiian, that cultural aspect of my family disappeared from my life when my grandma passed away while I was still young and I never finished connecting to it.
So as a result, you have a childhood developed in an isolated paradise with no real history or culture tied to it. It’s been a block to get through, as the isolation itself has and still feels like my true culture and identity. What do you write about when you have no history and no identity?
What is your typical process for starting a new track? Do you have any rituals or habits?
Starting a track is a very intentional thing for me. I need to be fully present to treat the project seriously. In this case, treating a project seriously means saving and organizing all audio, tracking multiple ideas, taking time to explore each idea fairly, warming up the associated instruments or performance pieces beforehand, writing a contextual entry about recent inspirations / latent intentions I suspect of myself / raw feelings etc, and taking a clean break once I’m tired.
As a result, I don’t often dive deep into a new song—lots of times, I’ll go weeks without starting something new. I truly believe that living life and experiencing its highs and lows encodes music into our vessel in a way that brute-force production and performance wish it could.
Can you describe your experience of having your track “Let Go” go viral on TikTok?
It’s like hearing that a family member you haven’t seen in five years got married, or died, or cured cancer. There’s such a disconnect between what it means, and what it is. People still congratulate me for it to this day and every single time I think “What are you talking about?”. Ultimately it supports me a lot and I’m grateful for that, but when it went viral I didn’t even understand or care what TikTok was.
Going viral is so utterly disconnected from the purpose of music that it makes me sick to my stomach. It actually makes me sad that the world has changed in this way. I’m sure we’ll still have young artists who make the music they want to make – but the visible aspect of music has changed drastically. Now being a celebrity and stardom and fame are crossed with the concept of art in such a subconscious iPad-baby way that I’m not sure if a majority of our next generation can even become conscious of it. It’s scary and it’s our future. I had no choice whether to be viral or not. You don’t choose these things.
[embed]https://youtube.com/watch?v=tcLpZltKoMI&si=pwOPFhnQPSNNsREa[/embed]Even still, I do feel some responsibility to bring awareness. I’d say that’s the biggest impact that going viral has had on me. It brings immense pressure. It removes room for failure and replaces it with impatience. It accelerated my career in a way that I wasn’t emotionally mature enough to handle. I grew defense mechanisms to compensate. I saw insincerity and threats where there were none, and felt safe where I was not. When I turn to see what actually happened, it’s clear.
A giant wave of consumers devoured and burned through content at a galactic pace with me unintentionally feeding them. If an entire cafeteria tasted a meal that a teenager had made only for themself, loved it and demanded that teenager continue cooking and feeding them, how would that teen feel? Viral culture turned our collective consciousness into a lighthouse, dumbly highlighting one thing at a time while never looking up nor down. I’m in favor of knocking that lighthouse over.
How do you see your music evolving in the next few years?
I plan to explore new frontiers of music as I continue to develop my vocals. My next project takes inspiration from Phoenix, The Strokes and The Beths. It looks like an alternative rock-inspired hybrid journey, but I already have some sharp right turns planned for after that.
Let’s just say I really love 50s and 60s surf rock and am itching to pay homage to the oldies. Since electronic music is utilitarian to me, I can explore all of these without fully departing from it.
What advice would you give to aspiring artists & producers who are just starting out?
Be kind, gentle, and patient.
Smile at yourself, you’re perfect and you don’t know it. The journey to learn and develop your skillset and process is difficult and long – don’t do it out of spite. Whenever someone tells you you can’t do something, it’s a sign that you’re near the crest of invention. Believe in yourself. Be present.
The post Exclusive Interview: Ark Patrol on TikTok Fame and New Music appeared first on Magnetic Magazine.