Hether Announces 'Whooops Demos' EP

Guitarist and vocalist Hether announces a new EP, Whooops Demos, due out January 15th, 2021, and shares a new single, "Sex Wax." Earlier this fall, he shared a video for "Twinkle," the EP's first single.

"Sex Wax," with its hazy vocals and sunny atmosphere, belies a lot of heartbreak. Hether sings his blues as if from the beach, surrounded by light and warmth yet not quite enough to snuff out his somber memories, or their lingering pain.

Stream "Sex Wax" below.

With a nod to his soft-spoken modesty, Paul Castelluzzo, aka Hether, sees singles like "Twinkle" and "Sex Wax" as well as the upcoming campaign for Whooops Demos as benchmarks in his evolving sonic and artistic growth. "It's an exercise in production and writing," hesays. "This song is going to help me bridge the gap between what I started as, and lead me to what I'm working towards."

Growing up in San Diego, California, 25-year-old Paul Castelluzzo grew up immersed in a maelstrom of genres, anywhere from jazz to '60s psychedelia, to the punk rock his brother shared. By age 20, he found himself posting guitar videos on YouTube and Instagram, with the hopes that if he continued doing so, the algorithms might work in his favor. Remarkably, it worked: Grammy Award-winning record producer Rodney Jerkins tweeted at the then 20-year-old, "I want u on my team!" Not long after, Castelluzzo toured with "King of Bachata," Romeo Santos as his guitarist. This led to additional tours with Dominic Fike, as well as collaborations with Anderson .Paak and the Free Nationals. Yet Castelluzzo yearned for a more personal outlet to finetune his own songwriting and amplify his voice. His debut EP, Hether Who? from 2019 is a guidebook to fleeting youth and the love and loss therein. In a series of surprise cosmic events, Castelluzzo discovered that Kendall Jenner of Kardashian lore had supported the lead track, "When U Loved Me," through Instagram, opening the floodgates to unexpected fans far and wide, and earning him almost 4 million streams on all platforms. With all these pieces in place, Castelluzzo is ready to take his personal projects to the next level.

Photo Credit: Joaquin Bartra