June 5, 2025 • 27 mins
Nick Bendzsa sits down with us to peel back the layers of his musical metamorphosis from synth-pop architect to folk-trap innovator. The Newfoundland native, now based in Montreal, candidly reveals how his sound has evolved alongside his personal journey.
Growing up with a music professor father who specialized in experimental and improvised compositions, Nick absorbed the spirit of musical freedom from an early age. While his teenage years found him playing bass in a blues band and performing for crowds of 2,000 at just 17, his true artistic voice was still developing. Nick reflects on how these formative experiences shaped his approach to music-making: "I think it was very much like being around him and going to his concerts and picking up this spirit of freedom through music and the joy of creation."
The conversation delves into the fascinating transition from his previous project Hello—characterized by densely layered electronic soundscapes—to his current solo work under his own name. This shift wasn't just stylistic but represented a deeper change in creative philosophy. "I'm not trying to add frivolous stuff," Nick explains. "I want to just communicate a bit more directly." His self-described "trap folk" sound merges fingerpicked guitars with trap beats and ambient textures, creating something uniquely authentic that flows from genuine emotional experiences rather than genre conventions.
Particularly illuminating is Nick's discussion of how producing for other artists has informed his own work, teaching him to consider what elements truly serve the emotional core of a song. This perspective has helped him embrace minimalism and authenticity over the pressure to create attention-grabbing pop songs in today's saturated music landscape. With his album "Very Soft Glow" set to release on May 24th, Nick Bendzsa invites us to witness the next chapter in his evolving musical story—one that promises to continue blurring boundaries while remaining firmly rooted in emotional truth.
Subscribe to hear more conversations with boundary-pushing indie artists who are redefining genres and creating deeply personal music on their own terms.
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Episode Transcript
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Nick Bendzsa (00:01):
Sometimes when I tinker you, gentle red meets
baby blue Saturday night withouta crew.
Year in space brings somethingnew.
Young leaves on the trees likea canopy.
(00:24):
Wish I could still keep up withyour family.
So here we are, another episodeof Beer Will Podcast, bringing
you indie artists across theglobe, I hope.
I mean we've touched on manycontinents, so I'm very happy to
come back home, though.
colleyc (00:42):
Today we're going to be talking with a Newfoundlander,
currently in Montreal, but stillhis heart is on the island.
I'm sure we have Nick Benza,who is a native of St John
living in Montreal, and youmight have also heard of his
other groups called Hello, andalso I found Stompbox as well,
nick, which I want to talk about.
So Hello was very much of asynth poppy, but Nick's kind of
(01:05):
started putting out stuff in hisown name which is a little bit
more indie, stringysinger-songwriting.
We have some beautiful songsthat he's put out this year and
we'll talk about those and somuch more.
So, nick, thanks so much forjoining me today on the cast.
Nick Bendzsa (01:24):
Thank you so much for having me, Chris.
I'm really happy to be here.
colleyc (01:26):
Excellent, well, lots to talk about.
I know that creativity has beena part of your life, it seems.
From a very young age I foundJesus Christ Superstar.
What do they call those?
The pamphlet, I guess, of theshow.
What do they call those ticket?
(01:48):
The pamphlet, I guess of theshow?
Um, so I know that that thisprocess has been you've been
going through it for a long,long time and I believe you're
still.
Are you at McGill?
It was said that you were doingand musical sound engineering
at McGill?
Is that still ongoing?
Nick Bendzsa (01:57):
yeah, I just.
I just finished my master'slast April, so I guess a year
ago now, uh, at McGill, but yeahso I mean creativity, young age
.
colleyc (02:09):
What are your, what are your poignant moments that you
can recall of those earliestencounters with creativity and
and and what were thoseexperiences like?
And and what kind of sparked orstarted to spark the musical um
journey that you started?
Nick Bendzsa (02:30):
That's an interesting question because I
was really close with my dad andboth my parents are very
musical.
My dad was actually a professorof music in Newfoundland and he
really well in classical, buthe really focused on a lot of
experimental and improvisedmusic.
So I think my early memorieswith it was just a lot of fun,
like I didn't really I don'tknow as a kid, I don't know if I
was like specifically musical,but I think we had like a lot of
(02:52):
play around music um.
And then I think when it reallystarted kind of clicking for me
when I was a teenager and Istarted taking piano lessons and
I was just getting I loved edsheeraneran and Jason Mraz, kind
of these like famous singer,songwriters and just like I just
couldn't stop singing andplaying.
And then I got intosynthesizers and my, my dad had
(03:14):
a couple of cool synthesizers,so we would like I don't know he
taught me a bit of it and Ijust sit in my basement on my
cork, micro cork for a long time.
colleyc (03:24):
That's really great, and was was your dad.
You said that they your mom anddad both kind of dabbled in
music and you had that aroundyou all the time.
So I'm surely that, inspiredand having access to instruments
as well allowed you to kind ofstart exploring this side that
you were interested in.
Nick Bendzsa (03:42):
Yeah, definitely.
Well, I think it's kind ofinteresting because my dad was
he's a very like deeply like,like feeling and um musical
person, but I don't know howmuch kind of like direct
mentorship in some way.
I think it was very much likekind of being around him and
going to his concerts and likepicking up this spirit of
freedom through music and likethe, the, the, the joy of
(04:04):
creation.
And yeah, it was kind of likelike those magic moments.
He did a lot of improvisation,so it's kind of like those magic
moments of like, I don't knowlike things that only happen
once.
colleyc (04:16):
They're just capturing something really magical, right,
right, you capture that, that,that essence of something, or
the moment of.
And what were your?
I know that in high school youhad a band.
You guys hadn't releasedanything but you were.
It seemed to be that you werequite popular around the island
anyway, like can you tell usabout those first experiences
with stompbox, kind of like?
(04:39):
What was that, that initialstyle that you guys started to
play with?
Nick Bendzsa (04:43):
that's funny.
It's funny you found thatbecause it's it was like such a
big part of my, of my life inhigh school.
But we were completely a bluesband.
I joined, kind of like lastminute.
I didn't know, I didn't playany blues ever, that wasn't kind
of my world at all.
But they were just looking fora bass bass player and my my
bass teacher at the time like Isaw an adam kajiji for like
teenagers looking for a bassplayer and one of the guys was
(05:04):
like in my class, which wasreally funny.
Um, so yeah, uh, I don't know,but I think that was a great
experience because it kind ofgot me into the world of like
playing shows.
I played in a couple other kindof indie bands at the time but
that was the kind of group weplayed a lot of shows with.
We like toured aroundnewfoundland a couple times.
I went to the winnipeg FolkFest and like.
So it's like really cool forbeing like 14 and 15 and still
(05:27):
my couple of my biggest shows todate.
I remember when I was 17 Ithink we played this big like
New Year's, like Canada NewYear's party and like 2,000
people there and like I was likeI don't know if I'll play a
show like that ever again at thetime right amazing exposure at
a young age, though like to feelthat intensity of you know 2
(05:49):
000 people looking at youlistening to what you're doing.
colleyc (05:53):
What an experience so once that evolved, like when did
you start kind of thinking theother side of the hat too, like
you wanted to kind of playaround with the audio and and
record and and layer and mix?
Like when did that aspect comeinto your, into your creative
process?
Nick Bendzsa (06:12):
yeah, I think it really started.
I again like I was inspired byEd Sheeran when I was a kid and
he had this like loop pedal andI got a loop pedal and I started
making kind of like like usingthis like Elisa's keyboard I had
in my microchord to like dodrum beats and and kind of play
around.
I was really inspired by kindof all of that like bedroom pop
stuff that was coming out oflike the 2015 to 2020 era.
(06:34):
So I think it was that I wasmaybe like 16 and I'd always
written songs, but I think Istarted kind of like narrowing
in on a bit of more of the stylefrom the hello era, this kind
of dream pop sound um aroundthen.
Yeah, so it's mostly kind oflike I don't know a couple
keyboards in the loop pedal.
And then I think when I went touniversity I was 17 I started
(06:55):
like learning how to use logicand getting into that whole
world of that um.
But yeah it was always kind offor myself.
And then when I went to, Ithink, university finally, like
I started for my master's andcoming to montreal and started
kind of having a bit a lot moreof an ear for, I guess,
sculpting sound through mixingand like the whole production
(07:16):
through the mixing lens a littlebit more, and like working with
other people kind of helpedthrow back a lot of like what I
didn't understand and like whatI didn't know about creating
music and um, I think, uh, justbefore the podcast we were
talking about the kind ofacoustic and electronic stuff
and like kind of seeing thiswhole acoustic world really
opened up my eyes of because Iwas before it was all kind of on
(07:36):
the computer and just likeknowing how to think about how
to blend those worlds a lot yeah, for sure.
colleyc (07:42):
I was gonna ask you about that too.
Like in your in your writingprocess, um, when you were doing
hello stuff, um more of thesynth, poppy, um genre, how
would you build a song like, howdid it start, how did that
process start for you?
And when you were building itas kind of a singer, songwriter,
are you always looking throughthe end of of the sound engineer
(08:05):
or you know that productionpart?
Is that always present?
Or are you able to separate thetwo and say like, okay, I'm
focusing on the song here, I'mnot going to think about all the
layers I can put.
And then, once you havesomething that you're on to you,
you like, how do you what's?
What's your process in inregard to that?
Nick Bendzsa (08:23):
well, yeah, when I was younger, with the hello
stuff, it would be a lot morekind of like I'm sitting down on
my computer and I'm just likehammering away, trying to like
put parts in and think, findthings I think sound cool, um,
and I remember finally feelinglike I would.
I would feel like there wereemotional songs for me in some
way, but I would kind of startthe writing process with maybe
like there'd be some emotionaltriggers and like that, or I'd
even just be messing around likemaking beats, but I think
(08:45):
pretty soon like the emotionalelement would completely fade
away and I was trying to piecetogether little parts of the
song, um, so that's a bigdifference, I think.
With with this material Istarted off it was just kind of
like, uh, kind of same beforetoo, like I don't want to put
anything into the music thatdoesn't kind of come from this
emotional place.
Like it like, yeah, like Iguess thinking minimalism, like
(09:06):
I've always had like a very likemaximalist approach to
production, um, but yeah, I justkind of been like well, what
needs to be here, like whataugments the message, and like I
don't want to put filler stuffin right.
colleyc (09:19):
Right.
Did you feel that when you wereplaying around with hello, that
, like you would have have lotsof layers?
Let's geek out a little bit.
How would you build a song withHello, because it does sound
very full and there's a lot ofstuff that's going on there.
What was your approach tobuilding that?
So you had the song structurebasically ready to go, you had
(09:41):
your chords, you had your lyrics.
How did you go about buildingon that and what was your kind
of like?
I don't like.
What was your style or yourformula that you like to follow
that created that sound of hello?
Nick Bendzsa (09:56):
I think, well, maybe I guess in the vein of
improvisation in some ways, it'slike I don't.
I think I approach it's notreally improvised, but I
approach each song and kind offorget that I've done songs
before in some way where I go inand like, especially with Hello
, and I'm like, okay, I'mstarting completely from scratch
.
I don't have like kind of likea drum kit I go to or like a
whatever sound like.
It's just like it's free forall a little bit.
I think with that I would kindof I would always kind of have
(10:18):
these like bass, chords anddrums and bass.
There's a lot of baselinefocused stuff, cause that's what
I was into when I was younger,but then I would just start
because I didn't know how to mix.
So I would try to find the likeintensity and the sound through
layering, which I think maybeis how it comes.
It's like, okay, like I need tohave some transition.
I need to have like thesethings need to feel big.
(10:40):
I'm just going to add a bunchof sounds and add a bunch of
different lines and textures.
Um, so it was kind of that.
It was like I never felt like Iguess maybe it's like I didn't
understand things as well.
I never felt like I was able to, um, actually finish a song on
my own, so I was always kind ofjust going away at it until at
some point I was like I can't goany farther of this.
I need to kind of go and recordwith someone else and like,
(11:02):
maybe do it better.
It would usually be the samethings I'd recorded before, but
just I don't know.
I think having someone else'sconfidence in me helped me to
finish it for sure.
colleyc (11:10):
I think collaborations are super.
We realize they become superimportant because they kind of
shed a light on what we mighthave overlooked or not seen at
the time.
Right it's, it's good to alwayshave that second set of ears.
So when you transitioned fromhello into your self-titled
stuff, I mean the transition wasvery short, it was a year or
two.
Right that that you startedkind of changing over to your
(11:33):
self-titled stuff yeah, I guessI guess.
Nick Bendzsa (11:35):
So like I think I kind of stopped writing the
music for hello very regularly,maybe like two or three years
ago.
I was really like into it withschool and like um, right but I
think, yeah, I just startedfeeling less and less like
motivation.
It's like, well, I don't know ifthere's like I, I like the
music still, but I was just Idon't know how this if this is
(11:55):
how I want to express myself andI wasn't, I don't know.
I was kind of unsure where itwas going and I had this, I
guess, big cut in my life whereI had this big breakup and like
there's all this stuff happeningand I just started being like
well, I want to have more funwith it, I want to just like.
I never made any trap musicbefore and I was like it'd be
funny to just sit in my room andmake trap beats and stuff like
that.
So I think and I didn't kind ofintend to take a new direction
(12:17):
or go under my name, but then Iwas just thinking, well, you
don't be kind of funny to havethis new direction?
That's kind of like trapinfluence, all these things I've
never done before, which issomething I really like, where
it's kind of you go into a styleI don't listen to trap music
and uh, kind of go into a styleand just kind of know about it
off of your like imaginedreferences as opposed to the
(12:37):
like oh, I can copy this or cancopy that.
colleyc (12:39):
There's like um did you expand on that nick?
Like what trap folk like yousay that right traps folk
inspired as your describer?
Can you like I've never heardof that?
Like yeah, I was curious to askyou about what that trap, that
trap reference to you, what it,what it meant, means to you.
Nick Bendzsa (12:59):
I don't totally know.
I think it's the funny thing.
So with this I was kind of likeI don't know, I've been
producing for other people.
I've been producing some kindof pretty folk like indie folk
stuff, like fingerpick guitars,and I don't really know anyone
who's been making like mixedbeats in the same way.
So I was just kind of thinkinglike you know, I want to go for
it.
I started listening to like someyoung, lean stuff which is very
(13:21):
kind of I don't know likeclassic internet trap, and I
knew like a few songs and I justkind of was like well, I'm
going to try it myself, I'll tryto go for it.
And I was kind of mixing thatwith this like sort of
fingerpicked guitar style that Iwas doing for a lot of, a lot
of the music, which ended upkind of into these interesting
results because I had that.
And then I also like I make alot of ambient music and it's
(13:42):
kind of like trying to take thissort of like textural wash
element and like put it withthese trap drums and then the
fingerpick guitars, um and yeah,and I don't know if it's even a
style I'm gonna kind of keepgoing with, but it's just so
it's really liberating in someway to just try something new
yeah, and was emotional creampie that first.
colleyc (14:00):
Like I know, it's the first single you put out on
bandcamp under your name.
Was that the first track thatyou're talking about?
Nick Bendzsa (14:06):
no, the emotional cream pie was uh, I I wrote this
song I went home for to back toNewfoundland for Christmas One
year, like one and a bit yearsago, and I, I don't know, like I
just had this breakup.
My mom was getting married andI was like it'd be really funny
to just like be in my room likemaking trap beats and so I just
(14:27):
I mean this really like dramaticsong called can't hold back my
tears.
So that was kind of the firstone.
I kind of like this, like letme keep going with it.
But Emotional Cream Pie, Ithink came from I don't know.
My ex-girlfriend was kind oflike hey, I thought of the song
title, like I don't write music,like you should try something
(14:48):
with it.
So I did, I went back and Ithink she'd been kind of
thinking it would be kind of Idon't know, like a bit more like
fun and upbeat.
colleyc (15:03):
And I was just just like.
This is really sad.
It's a really sad feeling and Ijust had to get that out.
Cool, cool, I think you're.
You're right on to somethingtoo, like these emotions
sometimes.
You've got to find a, an exitpoint for it so that you can
kind of like move on with lifeand like.
Putting it down on tape seemsto be a very big remedy for
musicians, um, I'm sure you knowpoets put right poems and the
hockey players go and take slabshots.
I don't know that creative.
You gotta let, you gotta havean outlet.
(15:24):
And I think that you tapped intosomething here, because it it's
a total shift from hello, inthe sense that when we were
talking about this before, whereit was very electronic and
synth based, your earlier stuffand this stuff is very string
and folky and I'll throw trap inthere, even though I'm a little
(15:46):
bit wild on the term still butwhat was that transition like?
Was that you wanted to reinventyourself?
Is that?
Because I I mean, even yourvocals are like.
You can get a sense that it'sthe same person, but you've
lowered your register a littlebit and it seems a little bit
more like down in your heartarea that you're singing from is
(16:10):
that.
Can you expand on that a bit?
Nick Bendzsa (16:12):
yeah, oh, thank you for saying that.
It's I.
It was very unconscious, to behonest, like I.
I think it was just because Ihadn't really been writing that
much music for maybe like 18months.
And then, uh, I think it wasjust kind of coming from this,
like I was just having fun withit and a lot of the influence of
kind of being a producer andworking with other people, just
kind of getting that like likebeing into their music and then
(16:35):
having that kind of come back tome and with the voice I think I
don't know.
I guess I was younger when I waswriting a lot of the hello
music and I, I guess I mean like17 to 22.
And I think I was really tryingto explore myself in different
ways and I think that that'skind of always been like who I
(16:55):
am, like how I'm singing.
Now in in some way, I'm justlike it's kind of like trying to
just sink more into myself andbe like well, I'm the music's a
lot more genuine.
The like is it saying I'm nottrying to like kind of add
frivolous stuff, like I want tojust communicate the kind of a
bit more directly maybe?
colleyc (17:11):
right.
Yeah, I find that everythinghas its purpose, everything has
its intention, like it's verywell crafted and it's able to
connect the listener to yourfeelings.
I find this is a human feelingwe're having in this human
(17:34):
connection happening, which Ireally um, it's hard to achieve
that you know a singer,songwriter, to their audience
and make those emotions likereal for another person.
Um, who, who was?
Who are your inspirations thatyou were recording?
Or or, um, you know, like that,that you would record their
(17:58):
music, mix it all and likesomething like was left with you
, like you took something awayfrom that.
Can you describe some of thoseexperiences where an artist
might've like like, awokensomething in you?
Nick Bendzsa (18:12):
Yeah, I think a big one is my friend, alex, so
his project's called MicrowaveTower.
It's really beautiful music,no-transcript, I guess, like me
seeing like a more likefantastical or narrative arc
behind everything.
This is kind of I like thewhole element of like reality
(18:33):
interspersed with this, thissort of like that's a big part
of the album, like some of it'sdramatized and all these things.
And I remember kind of sittingand sitting with him and he was
kind of playing me some of hissongs and I just see the visuals
of exactly how I'd imagined thescene in my head from that
music and then I'd because it'spretty folk in some ways, and I
just be okay, let's, let's tryto make this without like,
(18:56):
without superfluous elements,and with just like kind of
recreate that, that scene aswell as possible and not and
think about what, what fits themusic narratively as opposed to
what fits musically into thesong.
Um, like, we have to have aguitar here, we have to have
this more like.
Okay, what would happen in thismoment?
Like, is it getting like almostlike the sort of vertical size
(19:18):
of the song?
That's a great awareness, thoughyeah, sorry, I said it's a
great awareness to come to thatlike realization, like let's
pare back or let's, you know,minimize things so that we can
get to the essence of it almostyeah, yeah, because just I don't
(19:38):
know, there's just so muchmusic kind of coming out and I'm
like like you have to do it foryourself in some ways, like
what's what's authentic andwhat's like there's no point in
kind of building it up becauseeveryone's got a huge pop song.
So if you want to be honestwith it, you gotta um.
But yeah, I think that that wasa big influence.
Then another one is my.
My friend, nick barkman, ismusic's nicholas lb, um, I think
(20:01):
, was in contact with you aboutsetting this up because he's
been managing for me, which hasbeen awesome but cool, I think
yeah, we just talk a lot about.
I don't know what it means to bean artist and what, um, and
just I think, just seeing hisprocess and just just I think,
having people like kind of opentheir hearts to me and like this
is what I do and this is what,um, yeah, it's just very
(20:24):
inspiring for me.
It's like you can kind ofaspire to something bigger than
the, the, the thing in front ofyou.
You like the song on yourcomputer.
It's like you can create awhole, a whole world in your
head around music and I thinkthat was a big thing and kind of
transitioning away from thissort of like band-based hello
music to, yeah, the new stuff itseems like a great transition,
(20:44):
like you learned a ton doing youknow the synth pop, and it's
really informed what you'redoing now, which is really great
.
colleyc (20:55):
I wanted to ask you kind of just to bring things to
a close here Nick, what does thefuture look like?
What are you looking for in2025 with your music and the
production, and is thereanything you can share with us
about maybe shows or recordingsor what we can anticipate?
Nick Bendzsa (21:11):
So I'm putting out an album with these singles on
it in May on May 24th I haven'treleased that yet, but 23rd and
that's called Very Soft Glow andit's kind of in this vein and
I'm really excited about that.
And outside of that've been, uh, because I've been starting the
(21:33):
next album, I've had anotheralbum which is kind of taking a
bit of a different direction.
It's a bit I guess I have apiano ballad on it.
I have a kind of it's like alittle bit more like drums and
bass and acoustic guitar andsome weird sounds so that's cool
, sounds fun.
Yeah, that's kind of it.
colleyc (21:52):
Are you going to be collaborating with other people
with the production side ofthings as well?
Nick Bendzsa (21:57):
Yeah, I'm producing for a few people.
Right now I'm going to beproducing an album for my friend
Nick.
I mentioned my friend Alex atMicrowave Tower, his sister at
Fine Food Market and there's afew other people here and there.
Yeah, it's a lot of fun.
colleyc (22:14):
I learn a lot through it, oh absolutely, I would
almost see that as like yourinspiration, almost like as you
were mentioning, where you, youknow, you take that, all that
back with you and, you know,start to analyze your own stuff
through some of that lens, whichis amazing.
I love that.
Nick Bendzsa (22:34):
Yeah, it's like you're forced to kind of like
dig into someone else'sperspective and like really try
to take it on Totally, totally,yeah, it helps you see yourself
a bit better.
colleyc (22:39):
Absolutely.
Holding mirrors up are goodsometimes, because it allows you
to empty what you don't needanymore.
Well, well, uh, nick, thanks somuch.
This has been really fun totalk with you.
Um, I'm really excited aboutwhat's to come as well.
Um, I'll be looking for yourproduce stuff too, I want to
(22:59):
check some out of how youassemble other people's music,
because this stuff that you'vebeen put out you got three
singles out now and an albumcoming.
Um, I hope too that you do ashow or a launch.
Uh, you're in montreal for thefirst time I could actually come
and see somebody I cast with.
That would be that would beincredible.
Nick Bendzsa (23:18):
Well, we're, I think I'm going to be doing.
I had a show this past week, uha few days ago, at.
It was like a at a sports barand it's the first show ever
there and it was kind of like wehad tvs all over the walls like
, and I've made a bunch ofvideos kind of for the different
tvs.
We're like live streaming ontothe tvs.
Those are a lot of fun.
I'm thinking, thinking about,I'm trying to figure out what
(23:39):
what the show will be, buteither a house show or, uh, I
don't know, one of these morelike diy shows.
But I will send you an inviteand it's been really wonderful
to have you.
colleyc (23:48):
I'd love to be there and support you.
Um.
All the best with that too.
All the best with your music.
Um, it's been really great touh, to find you and start to to
dig into your, into yourcreative music, your process.
This has been a lot of fun andwhen your next release comes out
, definitely I would love tohave you back and talk about it.
Um I'm sure we can talk foranother half hour, no problem
(24:10):
yeah, I'm feeling very gratefulto be here.
Nick Bendzsa (24:12):
So thank you so much, chris.
Like it was a lot of fun Ireally appreciate it.
colleyc (24:15):
And now you are not a podcast beginner, you have one
experience under your belt, so Ihope that uh people um catch
your attention, catch yourgroove and uh onward so thanks
so much, thank you, so much,thank you and yeah take care,
thank you way to the world inthe hand on my back, sack on my
(24:39):
shoulder, got a hole in the side, sitting on the bed at the edge
of your room.
Nick Bendzsa (24:45):
No, I gotta, it's gotta be soon.
Emotional cream pie, we cry.
I fill you with my love, youkeep it inside.
(25:12):
We are now at Upper SessionRoad.
(25:55):
It all went wrong.
It all went wrong.
Emotional cream that, we cry.
I fill you with my love, youkeep it inside.
Emotional cream pie, we cry.
(26:24):
If it is forever, a kiss isgoodbye, thank you.
Sometimes when I tinker you, gentle red meets
baby blue Saturday night withouta crew.
Year in space brings somethingnew.
Young leaves on the trees likea canopy.
(00:24):
Wish I could still keep up withyour family.
So here we are, another episodeof Beer Will Podcast, bringing
you indie artists across theglobe, I hope.
I mean we've touched on manycontinents, so I'm very happy to
come back home, though.
colleyc (00:42):
Today we're going to be talking with a Newfoundlander,
currently in Montreal, but stillhis heart is on the island.
I'm sure we have Nick Benza,who is a native of St John
living in Montreal, and youmight have also heard of his
other groups called Hello, andalso I found Stompbox as well,
nick, which I want to talk about.
So Hello was very much of asynth poppy, but Nick's kind of
(01:05):
started putting out stuff in hisown name which is a little bit
more indie, stringysinger-songwriting.
We have some beautiful songsthat he's put out this year and
we'll talk about those and somuch more.
So, nick, thanks so much forjoining me today on the cast.
Nick Bendzsa (01:24):
Thank you so much for having me, Chris.
I'm really happy to be here.
colleyc (01:26):
Excellent, well, lots to talk about.
I know that creativity has beena part of your life, it seems.
From a very young age I foundJesus Christ Superstar.
What do they call those?
The pamphlet, I guess, of theshow.
What do they call those ticket?
(01:48):
The pamphlet, I guess of theshow?
Um, so I know that that thisprocess has been you've been
going through it for a long,long time and I believe you're
still.
Are you at McGill?
It was said that you were doingand musical sound engineering
at McGill?
Is that still ongoing?
Nick Bendzsa (01:57):
yeah, I just.
I just finished my master'slast April, so I guess a year
ago now, uh, at McGill, but yeahso I mean creativity, young age
.
colleyc (02:09):
What are your, what are your poignant moments that you
can recall of those earliestencounters with creativity and
and and what were thoseexperiences like?
And and what kind of sparked orstarted to spark the musical um
journey that you started?
Nick Bendzsa (02:30):
That's an interesting question because I
was really close with my dad andboth my parents are very
musical.
My dad was actually a professorof music in Newfoundland and he
really well in classical, buthe really focused on a lot of
experimental and improvisedmusic.
So I think my early memorieswith it was just a lot of fun,
like I didn't really I don'tknow as a kid, I don't know if I
was like specifically musical,but I think we had like a lot of
(02:52):
play around music um.
And then I think when it reallystarted kind of clicking for me
when I was a teenager and Istarted taking piano lessons and
I was just getting I loved edsheeraneran and Jason Mraz, kind
of these like famous singer,songwriters and just like I just
couldn't stop singing andplaying.
And then I got intosynthesizers and my, my dad had
(03:14):
a couple of cool synthesizers,so we would like I don't know he
taught me a bit of it and Ijust sit in my basement on my
cork, micro cork for a long time.
colleyc (03:24):
That's really great, and was was your dad.
You said that they your mom anddad both kind of dabbled in
music and you had that aroundyou all the time.
So I'm surely that, inspiredand having access to instruments
as well allowed you to kind ofstart exploring this side that
you were interested in.
Nick Bendzsa (03:42):
Yeah, definitely.
Well, I think it's kind ofinteresting because my dad was
he's a very like deeply like,like feeling and um musical
person, but I don't know howmuch kind of like direct
mentorship in some way.
I think it was very much likekind of being around him and
going to his concerts and likepicking up this spirit of
freedom through music and likethe, the, the, the joy of
(04:04):
creation.
And yeah, it was kind of likelike those magic moments.
He did a lot of improvisation,so it's kind of like those magic
moments of like, I don't knowlike things that only happen
once.
colleyc (04:16):
They're just capturing something really magical, right,
right, you capture that, that,that essence of something, or
the moment of.
And what were your?
I know that in high school youhad a band.
You guys hadn't releasedanything but you were.
It seemed to be that you werequite popular around the island
anyway, like can you tell usabout those first experiences
with stompbox, kind of like?
(04:39):
What was that, that initialstyle that you guys started to
play with?
Nick Bendzsa (04:43):
that's funny.
It's funny you found thatbecause it's it was like such a
big part of my, of my life inhigh school.
But we were completely a bluesband.
I joined, kind of like lastminute.
I didn't know, I didn't playany blues ever, that wasn't kind
of my world at all.
But they were just looking fora bass bass player and my my
bass teacher at the time like Isaw an adam kajiji for like
teenagers looking for a bassplayer and one of the guys was
(05:04):
like in my class, which wasreally funny.
Um, so yeah, uh, I don't know,but I think that was a great
experience because it kind ofgot me into the world of like
playing shows.
I played in a couple other kindof indie bands at the time but
that was the kind of group weplayed a lot of shows with.
We like toured aroundnewfoundland a couple times.
I went to the winnipeg FolkFest and like.
So it's like really cool forbeing like 14 and 15 and still
(05:27):
my couple of my biggest shows todate.
I remember when I was 17 Ithink we played this big like
New Year's, like Canada NewYear's party and like 2,000
people there and like I was likeI don't know if I'll play a
show like that ever again at thetime right amazing exposure at
a young age, though like to feelthat intensity of you know 2
(05:49):
000 people looking at youlistening to what you're doing.
colleyc (05:53):
What an experience so once that evolved, like when did
you start kind of thinking theother side of the hat too, like
you wanted to kind of playaround with the audio and and
record and and layer and mix?
Like when did that aspect comeinto your, into your creative
process?
Nick Bendzsa (06:12):
yeah, I think it really started.
I again like I was inspired byEd Sheeran when I was a kid and
he had this like loop pedal andI got a loop pedal and I started
making kind of like like usingthis like Elisa's keyboard I had
in my microchord to like dodrum beats and and kind of play
around.
I was really inspired by kindof all of that like bedroom pop
stuff that was coming out oflike the 2015 to 2020 era.
(06:34):
So I think it was that I wasmaybe like 16 and I'd always
written songs, but I think Istarted kind of like narrowing
in on a bit of more of the stylefrom the hello era, this kind
of dream pop sound um aroundthen.
Yeah, so it's mostly kind oflike I don't know a couple
keyboards in the loop pedal.
And then I think when I went touniversity I was 17 I started
(06:55):
like learning how to use logicand getting into that whole
world of that um.
But yeah it was always kind offor myself.
And then when I went to, Ithink, university finally, like
I started for my master's andcoming to montreal and started
kind of having a bit a lot moreof an ear for, I guess,
sculpting sound through mixingand like the whole production
(07:16):
through the mixing lens a littlebit more, and like working with
other people kind of helpedthrow back a lot of like what I
didn't understand and like whatI didn't know about creating
music and um, I think, uh, justbefore the podcast we were
talking about the kind ofacoustic and electronic stuff
and like kind of seeing thiswhole acoustic world really
opened up my eyes of because Iwas before it was all kind of on
(07:36):
the computer and just likeknowing how to think about how
to blend those worlds a lot yeah, for sure.
colleyc (07:42):
I was gonna ask you about that too.
Like in your in your writingprocess, um, when you were doing
hello stuff, um more of thesynth, poppy, um genre, how
would you build a song like, howdid it start, how did that
process start for you?
And when you were building itas kind of a singer, songwriter,
are you always looking throughthe end of of the sound engineer
(08:05):
or you know that productionpart?
Is that always present?
Or are you able to separate thetwo and say like, okay, I'm
focusing on the song here, I'mnot going to think about all the
layers I can put.
And then, once you havesomething that you're on to you,
you like, how do you what's?
What's your process in inregard to that?
Nick Bendzsa (08:23):
well, yeah, when I was younger, with the hello
stuff, it would be a lot morekind of like I'm sitting down on
my computer and I'm just likehammering away, trying to like
put parts in and think, findthings I think sound cool, um,
and I remember finally feelinglike I would.
I would feel like there wereemotional songs for me in some
way, but I would kind of startthe writing process with maybe
like there'd be some emotionaltriggers and like that, or I'd
even just be messing around likemaking beats, but I think
(08:45):
pretty soon like the emotionalelement would completely fade
away and I was trying to piecetogether little parts of the
song, um, so that's a bigdifference, I think.
With with this material Istarted off it was just kind of
like, uh, kind of same beforetoo, like I don't want to put
anything into the music thatdoesn't kind of come from this
emotional place.
Like it like, yeah, like Iguess thinking minimalism, like
(09:06):
I've always had like a very likemaximalist approach to
production, um, but yeah, I justkind of been like well, what
needs to be here, like whataugments the message, and like I
don't want to put filler stuffin right.
colleyc (09:19):
Right.
Did you feel that when you wereplaying around with hello, that
, like you would have have lotsof layers?
Let's geek out a little bit.
How would you build a song withHello, because it does sound
very full and there's a lot ofstuff that's going on there.
What was your approach tobuilding that?
So you had the song structurebasically ready to go, you had
(09:41):
your chords, you had your lyrics.
How did you go about buildingon that and what was your kind
of like?
I don't like.
What was your style or yourformula that you like to follow
that created that sound of hello?
Nick Bendzsa (09:56):
I think, well, maybe I guess in the vein of
improvisation in some ways, it'slike I don't.
I think I approach it's notreally improvised, but I
approach each song and kind offorget that I've done songs
before in some way where I go inand like, especially with Hello
, and I'm like, okay, I'mstarting completely from scratch
.
I don't have like kind of likea drum kit I go to or like a
whatever sound like.
It's just like it's free forall a little bit.
I think with that I would kindof I would always kind of have
(10:18):
these like bass, chords anddrums and bass.
There's a lot of baselinefocused stuff, cause that's what
I was into when I was younger,but then I would just start
because I didn't know how to mix.
So I would try to find the likeintensity and the sound through
layering, which I think maybeis how it comes.
It's like, okay, like I need tohave some transition.
I need to have like thesethings need to feel big.
(10:40):
I'm just going to add a bunchof sounds and add a bunch of
different lines and textures.
Um, so it was kind of that.
It was like I never felt like Iguess maybe it's like I didn't
understand things as well.
I never felt like I was able to, um, actually finish a song on
my own, so I was always kind ofjust going away at it until at
some point I was like I can't goany farther of this.
I need to kind of go and recordwith someone else and like,
(11:02):
maybe do it better.
It would usually be the samethings I'd recorded before, but
just I don't know.
I think having someone else'sconfidence in me helped me to
finish it for sure.
colleyc (11:10):
I think collaborations are super.
We realize they become superimportant because they kind of
shed a light on what we mighthave overlooked or not seen at
the time.
Right it's, it's good to alwayshave that second set of ears.
So when you transitioned fromhello into your self-titled
stuff, I mean the transition wasvery short, it was a year or
two.
Right that that you startedkind of changing over to your
(11:33):
self-titled stuff yeah, I guessI guess.
Nick Bendzsa (11:35):
So like I think I kind of stopped writing the
music for hello very regularly,maybe like two or three years
ago.
I was really like into it withschool and like um, right but I
think, yeah, I just startedfeeling less and less like
motivation.
It's like, well, I don't know ifthere's like I, I like the
music still, but I was just Idon't know how this if this is
(11:55):
how I want to express myself andI wasn't, I don't know.
I was kind of unsure where itwas going and I had this, I
guess, big cut in my life whereI had this big breakup and like
there's all this stuff happeningand I just started being like
well, I want to have more funwith it, I want to just like.
I never made any trap musicbefore and I was like it'd be
funny to just sit in my room andmake trap beats and stuff like
that.
So I think and I didn't kind ofintend to take a new direction
(12:17):
or go under my name, but then Iwas just thinking, well, you
don't be kind of funny to havethis new direction?
That's kind of like trapinfluence, all these things I've
never done before, which issomething I really like, where
it's kind of you go into a styleI don't listen to trap music
and uh, kind of go into a styleand just kind of know about it
off of your like imaginedreferences as opposed to the
(12:37):
like oh, I can copy this or cancopy that.
colleyc (12:39):
There's like um did you expand on that nick?
Like what trap folk like yousay that right traps folk
inspired as your describer?
Can you like I've never heardof that?
Like yeah, I was curious to askyou about what that trap, that
trap reference to you, what it,what it meant, means to you.
Nick Bendzsa (12:59):
I don't totally know.
I think it's the funny thing.
So with this I was kind of likeI don't know, I've been
producing for other people.
I've been producing some kindof pretty folk like indie folk
stuff, like fingerpick guitars,and I don't really know anyone
who's been making like mixedbeats in the same way.
So I was just kind of thinkinglike you know, I want to go for
it.
I started listening to like someyoung, lean stuff which is very
(13:21):
kind of I don't know likeclassic internet trap, and I
knew like a few songs and I justkind of was like well, I'm
going to try it myself, I'll tryto go for it.
And I was kind of mixing thatwith this like sort of
fingerpicked guitar style that Iwas doing for a lot of, a lot
of the music, which ended upkind of into these interesting
results because I had that.
And then I also like I make alot of ambient music and it's
(13:42):
kind of like trying to take thissort of like textural wash
element and like put it withthese trap drums and then the
fingerpick guitars, um and yeah,and I don't know if it's even a
style I'm gonna kind of keepgoing with, but it's just so
it's really liberating in someway to just try something new
yeah, and was emotional creampie that first.
colleyc (14:00):
Like I know, it's the first single you put out on
bandcamp under your name.
Was that the first track thatyou're talking about?
Nick Bendzsa (14:06):
no, the emotional cream pie was uh, I I wrote this
song I went home for to back toNewfoundland for Christmas One
year, like one and a bit yearsago, and I, I don't know, like I
just had this breakup.
My mom was getting married andI was like it'd be really funny
to just like be in my room likemaking trap beats and so I just
(14:27):
I mean this really like dramaticsong called can't hold back my
tears.
So that was kind of the firstone.
I kind of like this, like letme keep going with it.
But Emotional Cream Pie, Ithink came from I don't know.
My ex-girlfriend was kind oflike hey, I thought of the song
title, like I don't write music,like you should try something
(14:48):
with it.
So I did, I went back and Ithink she'd been kind of
thinking it would be kind of Idon't know, like a bit more like
fun and upbeat.
colleyc (15:03):
And I was just just like.
This is really sad.
It's a really sad feeling and Ijust had to get that out.
Cool, cool, I think you're.
You're right on to somethingtoo, like these emotions
sometimes.
You've got to find a, an exitpoint for it so that you can
kind of like move on with lifeand like.
Putting it down on tape seemsto be a very big remedy for
musicians, um, I'm sure you knowpoets put right poems and the
hockey players go and take slabshots.
I don't know that creative.
You gotta let, you gotta havean outlet.
(15:24):
And I think that you tapped intosomething here, because it it's
a total shift from hello, inthe sense that when we were
talking about this before, whereit was very electronic and
synth based, your earlier stuffand this stuff is very string
and folky and I'll throw trap inthere, even though I'm a little
(15:46):
bit wild on the term still butwhat was that transition like?
Was that you wanted to reinventyourself?
Is that?
Because I I mean, even yourvocals are like.
You can get a sense that it'sthe same person, but you've
lowered your register a littlebit and it seems a little bit
more like down in your heartarea that you're singing from is
(16:10):
that.
Can you expand on that a bit?
Nick Bendzsa (16:12):
yeah, oh, thank you for saying that.
It's I.
It was very unconscious, to behonest, like I.
I think it was just because Ihadn't really been writing that
much music for maybe like 18months.
And then, uh, I think it wasjust kind of coming from this,
like I was just having fun withit and a lot of the influence of
kind of being a producer andworking with other people, just
kind of getting that like likebeing into their music and then
(16:35):
having that kind of come back tome and with the voice I think I
don't know.
I guess I was younger when I waswriting a lot of the hello
music and I, I guess I mean like17 to 22.
And I think I was really tryingto explore myself in different
ways and I think that that'skind of always been like who I
(16:55):
am, like how I'm singing.
Now in in some way, I'm justlike it's kind of like trying to
just sink more into myself andbe like well, I'm the music's a
lot more genuine.
The like is it saying I'm nottrying to like kind of add
frivolous stuff, like I want tojust communicate the kind of a
bit more directly maybe?
colleyc (17:11):
right.
Yeah, I find that everythinghas its purpose, everything has
its intention, like it's verywell crafted and it's able to
connect the listener to yourfeelings.
I find this is a human feelingwe're having in this human
(17:34):
connection happening, which Ireally um, it's hard to achieve
that you know a singer,songwriter, to their audience
and make those emotions likereal for another person.
Um, who, who was?
Who are your inspirations thatyou were recording?
Or or, um, you know, like that,that you would record their
(17:58):
music, mix it all and likesomething like was left with you
, like you took something awayfrom that.
Can you describe some of thoseexperiences where an artist
might've like like, awokensomething in you?
Nick Bendzsa (18:12):
Yeah, I think a big one is my friend, alex, so
his project's called MicrowaveTower.
It's really beautiful music,no-transcript, I guess, like me
seeing like a more likefantastical or narrative arc
behind everything.
This is kind of I like thewhole element of like reality
(18:33):
interspersed with this, thissort of like that's a big part
of the album, like some of it'sdramatized and all these things.
And I remember kind of sittingand sitting with him and he was
kind of playing me some of hissongs and I just see the visuals
of exactly how I'd imagined thescene in my head from that
music and then I'd because it'spretty folk in some ways, and I
just be okay, let's, let's tryto make this without like,
(18:56):
without superfluous elements,and with just like kind of
recreate that, that scene aswell as possible and not and
think about what, what fits themusic narratively as opposed to
what fits musically into thesong.
Um, like, we have to have aguitar here, we have to have
this more like.
Okay, what would happen in thismoment?
Like, is it getting like almostlike the sort of vertical size
(19:18):
of the song?
That's a great awareness, thoughyeah, sorry, I said it's a
great awareness to come to thatlike realization, like let's
pare back or let's, you know,minimize things so that we can
get to the essence of it almostyeah, yeah, because just I don't
(19:38):
know, there's just so muchmusic kind of coming out and I'm
like like you have to do it foryourself in some ways, like
what's what's authentic andwhat's like there's no point in
kind of building it up becauseeveryone's got a huge pop song.
So if you want to be honestwith it, you gotta um.
But yeah, I think that that wasa big influence.
Then another one is my.
My friend, nick barkman, ismusic's nicholas lb, um, I think
(20:01):
, was in contact with you aboutsetting this up because he's
been managing for me, which hasbeen awesome but cool, I think
yeah, we just talk a lot about.
I don't know what it means to bean artist and what, um, and
just I think, just seeing hisprocess and just just I think,
having people like kind of opentheir hearts to me and like this
is what I do and this is what,um, yeah, it's just very
(20:24):
inspiring for me.
It's like you can kind ofaspire to something bigger than
the, the, the thing in front ofyou.
You like the song on yourcomputer.
It's like you can create awhole, a whole world in your
head around music and I thinkthat was a big thing and kind of
transitioning away from thissort of like band-based hello
music to, yeah, the new stuff itseems like a great transition,
(20:44):
like you learned a ton doing youknow the synth pop, and it's
really informed what you'redoing now, which is really great
.
colleyc (20:55):
I wanted to ask you kind of just to bring things to
a close here Nick, what does thefuture look like?
What are you looking for in2025 with your music and the
production, and is thereanything you can share with us
about maybe shows or recordingsor what we can anticipate?
Nick Bendzsa (21:11):
So I'm putting out an album with these singles on
it in May on May 24th I haven'treleased that yet, but 23rd and
that's called Very Soft Glow andit's kind of in this vein and
I'm really excited about that.
And outside of that've been, uh, because I've been starting the
(21:33):
next album, I've had anotheralbum which is kind of taking a
bit of a different direction.
It's a bit I guess I have apiano ballad on it.
I have a kind of it's like alittle bit more like drums and
bass and acoustic guitar andsome weird sounds so that's cool
, sounds fun.
Yeah, that's kind of it.
colleyc (21:52):
Are you going to be collaborating with other people
with the production side ofthings as well?
Nick Bendzsa (21:57):
Yeah, I'm producing for a few people.
Right now I'm going to beproducing an album for my friend
Nick.
I mentioned my friend Alex atMicrowave Tower, his sister at
Fine Food Market and there's afew other people here and there.
Yeah, it's a lot of fun.
colleyc (22:14):
I learn a lot through it, oh absolutely, I would
almost see that as like yourinspiration, almost like as you
were mentioning, where you, youknow, you take that, all that
back with you and, you know,start to analyze your own stuff
through some of that lens, whichis amazing.
I love that.
Nick Bendzsa (22:34):
Yeah, it's like you're forced to kind of like
dig into someone else'sperspective and like really try
to take it on Totally, totally,yeah, it helps you see yourself
a bit better.
colleyc (22:39):
Absolutely.
Holding mirrors up are goodsometimes, because it allows you
to empty what you don't needanymore.
Well, well, uh, nick, thanks somuch.
This has been really fun totalk with you.
Um, I'm really excited aboutwhat's to come as well.
Um, I'll be looking for yourproduce stuff too, I want to
(22:59):
check some out of how youassemble other people's music,
because this stuff that you'vebeen put out you got three
singles out now and an albumcoming.
Um, I hope too that you do ashow or a launch.
Uh, you're in montreal for thefirst time I could actually come
and see somebody I cast with.
That would be that would beincredible.
Nick Bendzsa (23:18):
Well, we're, I think I'm going to be doing.
I had a show this past week, uha few days ago, at.
It was like a at a sports barand it's the first show ever
there and it was kind of like wehad tvs all over the walls like
, and I've made a bunch ofvideos kind of for the different
tvs.
We're like live streaming ontothe tvs.
Those are a lot of fun.
I'm thinking, thinking about,I'm trying to figure out what
(23:39):
what the show will be, buteither a house show or, uh, I
don't know, one of these morelike diy shows.
But I will send you an inviteand it's been really wonderful
to have you.
colleyc (23:48):
I'd love to be there and support you.
Um.
All the best with that too.
All the best with your music.
Um, it's been really great touh, to find you and start to to
dig into your, into yourcreative music, your process.
This has been a lot of fun andwhen your next release comes out
, definitely I would love tohave you back and talk about it.
Um I'm sure we can talk foranother half hour, no problem
(24:10):
yeah, I'm feeling very gratefulto be here.
Nick Bendzsa (24:12):
So thank you so much, chris.
Like it was a lot of fun Ireally appreciate it.
colleyc (24:15):
And now you are not a podcast beginner, you have one
experience under your belt, so Ihope that uh people um catch
your attention, catch yourgroove and uh onward so thanks
so much, thank you, so much,thank you and yeah take care,
thank you way to the world inthe hand on my back, sack on my
(24:39):
shoulder, got a hole in the side, sitting on the bed at the edge
of your room.
Nick Bendzsa (24:45):
No, I gotta, it's gotta be soon.
Emotional cream pie, we cry.
I fill you with my love, youkeep it inside.
(25:12):
We are now at Upper SessionRoad.
(25:55):
It all went wrong.
It all went wrong.
Emotional cream that, we cry.
I fill you with my love, youkeep it inside.
Emotional cream pie, we cry.
(26:24):
If it is forever, a kiss isgoodbye, thank you.
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