Toronto-based grunge trap and alt hip hop rocker Krosst Out marks the end of his former self with the symbolic unleashing of new single, “Funerals” — available now.
The track lands ahead of his forthcoming album, Phone Calls With Ghosts, a project that has the Toronto-based artist squaring away with his small-town upbringing; the LP is set for release June 26, 2020.
“Some kids treat piano lessons like a chore, but I treated them like a lifeline,” Krosst Out — nee Aaron Siebenga — offers. “They were my way out.”
The sentiment — and its translation into “Funerals” and Phone Calls With Ghosts — are in reference to his upbringing in the small Northumberland County town of Campbellford, Ontario, population 3,500.
“‘Funerals’ was the first song for this project I ever did, and it hit home with me,” Krosst Out shares of the revelation. “As the project grew, I built around this concept of talking to the people that don’t know who I am anymore, as well as for the people currently in my life, letting them know where I’m at.
“I feel as though you get to a certain point as an adult where it suddenly dawns on you that you’re no longer who you were when the people ‘back home’ knew you,” he reflects. “You’re different now, and that’s ok.
“This album is about that. It’s about coming to terms with — and then burying — your old self to make way for your new self. As hard as that is, it’s how we grow as humans. You are not the kid they used to know.
“The project started from the idea of a ‘road trip’ where you’re taking the scenic route,” he continues, previewing the album’s vision at large. “It’s a road trip with another person — but for this, it’s a ghost.
“The confines of the car force you to be honest with the other person, and that’s like what happened for me when writing this album. It took me to a place where, with every beat, I just got real on it and emptied out everything I had, track by track.”
Phone Calls With Ghosts is Krosst Out’s sophomore album offering, and follows 2017’s debut EP Lifeoftheparty, and a series of singles — including 2019’s “Too Much on My Mind” with Spark Houston and “End of My Rope” with Statik.
The video for “Funerals” — set for release March 27th — packs a powerful and poignant symbolic punch, serving as a friend/foe farewell of sorts for Siebenga’s small town to big city come up. “To make the video in a church in Campbellford is somewhat poetic considering the song is about the death of my former self, really.”
As for now, it is eyes on the road ahead for Krosst Out, starting with the release of “Funerals” — available now. Phone Calls With Ghosts is available June 26, 2020.
