Some bands make heavy music and some bands like Hitlist make chaos and humor and pure energy, and most of all, something you can’t ignore. Human Cereal is their latest album, featuring loud riffs, catchy vocals and a fearless collection of influences that range from nu metal to hardcore punk, noise and funk but never forgets to have fun. The idea of “milk falling from the skies” just got out of left field one day when the rain and a sudden idea of the band came together, and it has turned into a perfect fit for the band’s wild personality and unpredictable sound.
Human Cereal is entirely the band’s creation, using live recordings, and their energy is the essence of what is defined as “Hitlist.” Produced by Leeds’ Evan Martin and Bob Brazill on mixing and mastering, this release is a perfect mix of heaviness, melody and dance grooves all wrapped in a very fresh and exciting package.
Human Cereal is a stirring introduction and a potent calling to action as the band travels this summer, and prepares for new singles this fall. In this interview, Hitlist share insights into their creative process, challenges in recording, live energy, and what projects they are excited to explore next as they continue to break boundaries and defy categorization.
Listen to Human Cereal
Follow Hitlist
“Human Cereal” has this wild, addictive energy right out the gate, what’s the core vibe you’re going for, and how does it hook listeners on first spin?
It’s catchy above all, Liar’s vocals were written purely to sound catchy over having any real meaning! Originally Alcohol too was focused on melodic songwriting, but evolved into a hardcore punk inspired track with the addition of the drums. We never lose our sense of fun no matter how metal we go, as seen on Marriage Is Hard, our ode to the domestic argument.
Take us behind the scenes: what sparked the idea for “Human Cereal,” and was there a real-life moment or late-night brainstorm that birthed the concept?
The bassist, as you do on a particularly rainy day, was thinking about if it rained milk instead of water, making us human cereal. We immediately agreed the name would allow us to have great visuals, and it’s come to fit quite nicely as a brand we can market!
As Hitlist, your sound always pushes boundaries, how did the creative process unfold for this one, from demo sketches to final polish?
We originally decided to make a live EP, but found our arrangements sounded a bit empty so we overdubbed most of the parts to gain more creative control over the sound. We push boundaries due to our very disparate influences, from nu metal to noise, with a large shared funk influence! We like to dance and you should too.
Who’s in the studio crew or collaborators that shaped “Human Cereal,” and what unique magic did they bring to the table?
Recording-wise, it was all us! It was released with the help of a few wonderful Leeds legends: Evan Martin, who mixed the EP, and Bob Brazill, who mastered it. Huge shout out as well to the students at Production Park and Frazer Gall who provided the live recordings we based the EP on.’
The title alone is a head-scratcher in the best way, what’s the story or metaphor baked into “Human Cereal,” and does it tie into bigger themes for you?
The mix of songs is like a cereal variety pack! It’s also a really fun and eye catching title, because what is human cereal anyway? Hopefully it’s intriguing enough for people to want to listen. It’s a standalone concept (our next release won’t be called Human Toast) but it’s one we’ve had lots of fun with especially on social media and tying it into our live shows, etc.
Production-wise, any standout gear, samples, or “eureka” tweaks that gave it that signature Hitlist edge?
We tried to keep it as faithful as possible to the live recordings so stuck to our original tones and added some extra cool guitar parts, as well as some stereo delay on the vocals. Hitlist’s edge comes from our balance of dissonance/heaviness with melody and this is something we’re refining more with every song we write.
This feels like a bold single drop, how does “Human Cereal” fit into your bigger picture, like an album rollout or live set evolution?
We wanted to put out all our heaviest songs first as a kind of manifesto, a mission statement. Now people have got a taste, we’re ready to develop their palates with some more complex songs (but with no drop in energy!) in the near future.
Challenges during creation? Did anything almost scrap the track, or was it smooth sailing from vibe to release?
Recording it all ourselves was challenging, but we made good use of our degrees in music production, and not having a producer meant we were on our own in terms of creative vision – but we think we did a good job and executed it well for a first release. The feedback has been great so far – time well spent!
Fans are buzzing, what makes “Human Cereal” a standout in your catalog, and why should curators and playlists jump on it now?
Cos cereal is tasty. (Henrik wrote this.)
Looking ahead, any tours, remixes, or follow-ups brewing off this one? What’s next for Hitlist?
We’re in the middle of our tour celebrating this release at the moment, with dates in Huddersfield, Middlesbrough and Leeds that we’re really looking forward to! We’ve also got two singles planned for the summer/autumn with view to an album likely sometime next year, and some amazing gigs coming up too – we’re supporting a big Japanese indie band called DYGL in June and we can’t wait.
