EU1OGY
[Photo by: Cowboi Kidd]

EU1OGY drops explosive new video for genre-blending track "HOT BOY"

On Tuesday, hardcore artist EU1OGY unveiled his debut full-length album DAGGERS. In celebration of the release, he has dropped a powerful new video for his latest single “HOT BOY.”

Inspired by relationships that have gone awry, the striking “HOT BOY” visual offers just a taste of the genre-blending style and personal narrative EU1OGY incorporates into all of his music.

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Baltimore-based EU1OGY has always been heavily influenced by an array of genres. From punk to metal, hardcore and hip-hop, EU1OGY has never let genre boundaries limit his creativity. In fact, his latest single “HOT BOY” further proves EU1OGY’s ability to adopt contrasting sounds and create music that’s both distinctly original and ear-catching.

EU1OGY exclusively tells Alternative Press that he was first inspired to write “HOT BOY” after hearing a particular piece of work from Brooklyn-based DJ, producer and drummer Yung Gutted.

“I first heard the instrumental by Yung Gutted and knew it was a song I wanted to write to,” EU1OGY tells Alternative Press. “Yung Gutted took it offline, and it stuck in my head. So, I went after it and he blessed me with it.”

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Once EU1OGY sat down to write “HOT BOY,” he let his emotions run wild. Eventually, he created a personal song that details how negative relationships can actually make you stronger.

“When I was writing the song, it really just spoke to what I was experiencing in my life at the time,” he tells Alternative Press. “It was full and emotional and hard. The song went crazy. I was dealing with hate and jealousy from ex-friends, and this song was really about taking that in stride and using it to my advantage. The lyrics pull inspiration from the likes of Drake and Good Charlotte—a combination of the cockiness of hip-hop and the confidence of pop-punk.”

For the “HOT BOY” video, EU1OGY and director WAXO drew inspiration from the raging wildfires in California last year. After seeing all of the images of the smoke-filled sky, WAXO knew that effect needed to be incorporated into the heavy-hitting visual.

“When we were getting ready to film, [it] was right around the time of the huge fires in California,” EU1OGY tells Alternative Press. “Everyone was posting these apocalyptic pictures of the sky super red. WAXO wanted to have that feel in the video because it meshes perfectly with the ambiance of the song and EU1OGY in general. The video is tinted red as if it’s on fire. ‘HOT BOY.'”

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Originally, EU1OGY wanted his friends to be involved in the video. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, those plans quickly changed. As a result, EU1OGY portrays multiple mysterious personas in the “HOT BOY” visual. With his hometown of Baltimore as the backdrop and dog Cave, EU1OGY also connects all of the characters and symbols found throughout his other videos in “HOT BOY.”

“It’s all shot in Baltimore,” he shares with Alternative Press. “That’s my hometown, and the vibe of the city is a perfect backdrop for the visuals. I wanted to capture [myself] as EU1OGY, which is multiple things. That’s why I play a few different characters in the video, which ties back into the characters in my other videos. I wanted to capture the mood of my shows and performances—dark, creepy, unstoppable, can’t take your eyes off it.”

Last year, EU1OGY dropped compelling videos for “WAGON V. 2” and “SNAKES,” which both appear on DAGGERS. For each project, EU1OGY incorporated numerous symbols including a snake, ski mask, skeleton and knife. In “HOT BOY” specifically, EU1OGY performs in both black ski and skeleton masks. He can be seen holding a knife in various parts of the video.

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EU1OGY further tells Alternative Press that this imagery is all intentional. In fact, each symbol is inspired by the different genres blended on DAGGERS.

“I’m super particular about every aspect of my artistry from who I work with to what I depict,” EU1OGY says. “These symbols are really the overarching indicators for my influences and pop up consistently in videos, posters [and] merch. I come from a background of metal, hardcore [and] punk, so these are classic images in those scenes. I adopt them in EU1OGY and transform them with my own twist because EU1OGY is really this crazy mesh of that background with more recent influences on my music like hip-hop, trap [and] electronic music. It’s a way for me to take the classic ‘scary’ metal/punk vibe and make it feel fresh.”

DAGGERS has truly been a long time coming for EU1OGY. After creating these new songs, he incorporated them into his live sets. From there, he was able to tweak details that he may not have caught during the recording process. As a result, the painstaking effort EU1OGY put into this debut LP represents the purest form of his artistry.

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“The writing process for DAGGERS took a long time,” he says. “Some songs were written on public transit, and some songs were just phrases stuck in my head that I thought were catchy. I performed these songs live without putting the album out for a really long time. I got to see what really worked and how people responded to them. So, the songs have evolved a bit over that time. The versions that landed on the album are well crafted but intentionally gritty sounding.”

DAGGERS presents an unfiltered and telling glimpse into the life of EU1OGY. Each track details a personal narrative that is universally relatable to all who listen. Now that the LP is out, EU1OGY hopes that every listener is able to take something away from this collection of carefully crafted songs.

“I want people to feel empowered and be inspired when they listen to DAGGERS,” he says. “I feel like there is a song on there that anyone can relate to or connect with. From a song about the death of my father to ‘HOT BOY,’ which is all about feeling yourself. I want people to listen to DAGGERS and then rewind it and listen to it again because it is so unlike other albums out there.”

DAGGERS is available on a limited edition vinyl and preorders are available here. The debut LP from EU1OGY can be streamed here and below.

https://twitter.com/EU1OGY_/status/1372628496585949188

EU1OGY is also among the talented group of acts featured in Alternative Press’ mighty 100 Artists You Need To Know issue including cover stars Chase Atlantic, Bad Omens, Maggie Lindemann and Rina Sawayama.