SHINEDOWN songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Eric Bass has today shared his new single “Azalia”, taken from his forthcoming debut solo album “I Had A Name”. Fans can watch the brand new music video below.
A concept album set within a sprawling new world, “I Had A Name” was written, recorded, and produced entirely by Bass.
“‘Azalia’ is one of the two main protagonists in our story,” explains Eric. “She is a former warrior monk who has thrown off her religion to become an assassin. Dedicating her life to the insurgency against the WAL and Legion, and to killing every official who had anything to do with her mother’s death.”
He continues: “In the song ‘Azalia’, we find her on the run for her life with the government’s demons close behind. She will have to rely on her tenacity in order to not give up, and on her natural abilities to survive. The keys to which are contained within a gift her mother gave her as a child. Eric Bass presents… ‘Azalia’.”
Fans can look forward to more new music as Eric prepares for the release of “I Had A Name” on February 28. The record is available for pre-save/pre-order now at this location.
When “I Had A Name” was first announced in November, Eric said in a statement: “We live in a world right now where music gets homogenized and maybe everything sounds and feels the same. I wanted to create something different and I hope listeners hear that. Lyrically and emotionally I hope it empowers them and they can see themselves in the characters and stories I sing about.”
He continued: “We all go through dark times and hardships, but there’s always a way out. I think that’s what being a human being is about. I feel like Earth is a test and we’re here to prove ourselves, go through things and come out better on the other side.”
Regarding the LP’s first single, “Mind Control”, he said: “‘Mind Control’ is part of a larger story than I’m telling on this record and in the graphic novel that goes along with it. We’re following this character Devaren as he’s talking about his disdain for the population and how he can’t stand them, but at the end of the song he has this reflective moment where he actually regrets everything he’s been doing. The interesting thing about the characters in this story is that they represent a different part of my neurodivergence and mental health journey. In ‘Mind Control’ Devaren represents the depression that has crept into my life over the years that I didn’t see coming. I just had to personify that in a character so in ‘Mind Control’ it has taken over, but ultimately in our story it will be defeated.”
Bass is best known as the co-songwriter, producer, and bassist for multiplatinum rock institution SHINEDOWN, which holds the record for most No. 1 singles on Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock chart.
“Eric Bass Presents: I Had A Name” is an immersive, expansive, and richly thematic work. As well versed in KISS and VAN HALEN as PEARL JAM and SOUNDGARDEN, Bass poured passion and creativity into “I Had A Name”.
The initial storytelling spark behind “I Had A Name” ignited in a hotel room in Milan, Italy, as SHINEDOWN toured behind 2018’s “Attention Attention”. “I sat on the bed with a pen and paper and wrote for two hours,” Eric explains. “It turned into a synopsis for a prequel to the story I’m telling on the album. When I started writing music, I thought about these characters. The album doesn’t chronologically tell the story, but it depicts various scenes from it — bits and pieces that happen throughout it.”
As with much of “Attention Attention” and “Planet Zero” (SHINEDOWN‘s first No. 1 on Billboard‘s Album Sales chart),“I Had A Name” looks both outward at society and inward, as darker emotions seep out from within the more significant metaphors and storylines on the surface.
“I’ve spoken about my struggles with depression and neurodivergent issues before,” Bass points out. “When I finished writing this record, I looked back at these characters I’ve created and realized I’d written the most autobiographical record of my life, which wasn’t conscious as I was writing it.
“The album is an epic odyssey. I don’t want mental health to be an ‘angle’ that obscures that,” he adds. “But I don’t mind talking about it. Anytime I talk about it, I hope it’s helpful to someone else.”
With his SHINEDOWN bandmates’ full support and encouragement, Eric challenged himself to write every lyric, compose every song, perform every instrument, and produce and mix the entire affair.
Ultimately, as with every endeavor of the South Carolina native’s career, “Eric Bass Presents: I Had A Name” is about authenticity. “I’m always about honesty in art,” he says. “When I listen to something, I want to hear that the person dug into the dirt and bled for it to happen. The truth always prevails.”
“Eric Bass Presents: I Had A Name” track listing:
01. A World Unseen
02. The New Gods Of War
03. Azalia
04. We Can’t Go Home
05. Goodnight Goodnight
06. Mind Control
07. New Graves
08. All Good Children – Our Guts
09. Modenhardt
10. Dead Inside
11. The Churches Of The Dead
12. Wanna Go To Hell
Photo credit: Sanjay Parikh