Review Fix Exclusive: Allocai Talks ‘Cloud9’ And More

Review Fix chats with singer/songwriter Allocai, who discusses his creative process, goals and more.

Review Fix: How did you get involved in music?

Allocai: I was always a singer and I did write a couple of songs from as early as 9 years old but it was never anything serious. I got deep into music after the ordeal with my father. That’s when I discovered the real meaning behind creating music and delved headfirst into it. Not only was it a form of emotional therapy but it gave me a voice and made me feel powerful in a situation where I was virtually powerless to alter the outcome. 

Review Fix: What’s your creative process like?

Allocai: My very first step is to identify the emotion that I want the listeners to empathize with. I deeply believe at the core of art is empathy and emotion. You have to be able to make people feel something whether it’s anger, sadness, excitement, confidence etc. you have to serve that proverbial drug that pulls out a particular feeling in an audience. After I identify that feeling then I get to developing the other aspects that will allow a listener to connect with my material like the melody, the production, the concept and the lyrics.

Review Fix: What inspires you?

Allocai: I have a deep yearning to master my craft more than anything else. I need to be that version of me in my head who’s singing, dancing and performing on stage at 1000% with complete confidence in my abilities to the point where I am able to create new techniques and alter the very fabric of the art form.

Review Fix: How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard you?

Allocai: My baseline genre is mainly pop but it’s infuse it with other elements from different genres to create a style of sound that is hard to classify into any one specific rigid genre of music. This creates a colorful blend of sounds that perfectly execute my main goal of allowing listeners to empathize with me on a deeper level.

Review Fix: How are your live shows different from your studio work?

Allocai: I’m a showman at heart. My live shows offer a visual representation of the passion I felt that went into creating the song I perform. That display of passion which is accentuated with costumes and dance routines allows for a more intimate connection with the audience on a deeper level.

Review Fix: What inspired your latest single?

Allocai: My latest single Cloud9 was inspired by my phase through drug abuse. When I found out that dad was about to marry my girlfriend and she was pregnant, I found out both news at the same time. It was just too much for me to handle on top of all the drama that was already unfolding and it genuinely felt like my life was spiraling out of control. Drugs provided me with a tantalizing escape from it all but as soon as the high wore off I was struck with reality again and my need and dependency for this toxic cocktail increased exponentially. Cloud9 explores the inward battle I had with myself of trying to get back on the right path and finding an ounce of strength to face my reality.

Review Fix: What’s next?

Allocai: My album Cruelty drops in March 2020. The album chronicles the ordeal with my father but instead of narrating the story word for word in each song, the album tells the story through emotions and feeling rather than words. Each song represents an emotion I was going through until I eventually reached my road to recovery. Really excited for everyone to finally hear it.

Review Fix: Anything else you’d like to add? 

Allocai: I also have a tour of the west coast coming up in April/May that will cover California, Nevada, Texas, Arizona and New Mexico dates and tix will be available soon so be on the look out.

mm
About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13821 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*