Before we premiere the video, Dave Carlin, the singer and songwriter of Hazel Bloom, wanted to open up about his past struggles and the inspirations for the song and debut album, Temporary.
I first started writing songs for this album about a year and a half ago during one of the most emotionally draining periods of my life. I was dealing with depression, anxiety, and derealization, which felt like they were deteriorating my body. I was undergoing these symptoms for about 6 months before I even knew what was happening to my health. I had just ended a seven year long relationship and lost a good friend in a car accident. I spent a third of my life with this person, so it was a huge impact on my mental health to lose them. I always imagined that losing a friend would be difficult, but you never really feel the full emotion of it until it happens.
I’ve always had trouble with these kinds of difficult situations. It was hard for me to express how I was feeling, and I bottled up a lot of emotion, which lead to a lot of unhealthy choices. I was drinking almost every night, sleeping most of the day and was late to work consistently. I was completely focusing all my efforts into forgetting and keeping my mind off of the past. I rarely expressed my thoughts and because of this, I caused a lot of problems in past relationships and friendships.
I spent seven years with a person I considered my best friend. From the ages of 14 to 21, I was growing into myself and finding what it was I was passionate about. From a teenager to an adult, I spent almost all of this time with one person, and it was extremely hard to cope with removing them from my life. It took a huge toll on my health, and my mental stability. Some of the best times of my life were with this person and I became so comfortable that I thought it was impossible to live without them.
So, I decided that writing this album would be a good way to express my feelings about situations I’ve been holding on to for so long and finally start to let go. I could place my feelings and thoughts over the past years into this album as part of a healing process that I would be able to look back on. I’d be able to look at how much I’ve grown over time and be able to remember the good times – not just the bad ones. It’s been almost 3 years, and some of the feelings still eat me alive from time to time, but I’m making progress.
My friend, Mike Hazel, who passed away in January of 2016 had a huge influence on this album and band. He was always into the music scene and I knew he wanted to be in a band which is something I could really relate with. He’s also the reason why I named the project ‘Hazel Bloom’. I wanted to create a type of art that resonates not only his presence but for anyone that has ever lost somebody or something. Even though they are not in this life anymore, I wanted to make something that still projects their presence; something to show that they still are making an impact on people in a positive way and to show that their presence. They are still in ‘Bloom’.
‘Temporary’ is what I decided to call this album/ art project I’ve been working on. As I mentioned before, when I started writing this, I was going through some very mentally strenuous times. But as time progressed I discovered a platform I could use to help me express myself, and things seem to be getting a lot better. My depression and anxiety seemed to be subsiding and I began feeling happy in my skin again. I’ve been working on talking about stressful and uncomfortable situations and I think it’s made me a healthier person. This made me think that even though things were dark for a while, those feelings are all temporary.
The other half of why I named this album Temporary is because I’ve had a lot of relationships, partnerships, and friendships fall apart. Countless people have come in and out of my life, some good and some not so great. But I’ve learned to cherish all those people as I’ll never know when they could disappear from my life. Although I don’t talk or see most of those people anymore, I like to remember all the great times I had with them. I wouldn’t change any of them for anything,. Those people and experiences help make me who I am today and I am very grateful for those experiences and those people.
Album art for the upcoming album, “Temporary”.
Most of all, I want anyone who encounters my art to be able to feel something. Whether this art brings back good experiences and memories or makes you cherish the people and experiences you have now, I hope you can feel it.
Because I know sometimes when you feel lost and it’s hard to feel any emotion at all.
View the brand new debut video from Hazel Bloom: “Was It All Worth It” below. And be sure to check out the full album Temporary when it releases later this year on Bandcamp and Soundcloud.
The photos in this article were taken by the wonderful Giana Murphy. Check out her own post, The Insecurity Project, for Dear Hope here.
Video shot and edited by Zach Cooper. Find him on Instagram here.
Follow Hazel Bloom on Twitter and Facebook.
Always remember that you are not alone.
You are loved.
PF
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