Music Review and Interview with Zelena Hull – Serious

Serious is a gorgeous, classy track, with a certain smoothness that carries the rock sound beautifully through the air. The intro is fantastic, that almost vintage sounding guitar plays the gentle riff, sets the scene for the serene and serious – perfectly in fitting with the whole theme of the song. There’s a sort of cowboy like atmosphere created, by this I mean you can imagine it as the backdrop to a Western movie scene – things start calm, but with an air of the storm that is to come, and the storm that comes is utterly stylish and satisfies that thirst for loudness.

When Zelena’s vocal comes in, and the guitars start to distort, and the beat crashes out around you – it all sounds great together. That lead vocal is so controlled and easy to listen to, with just enough angst behind it to keep it all sounding very real. The overall vibe of the track is brilliant, it has that wonderfully addictive rhythm, rock and blues feel to it; you can never listen too may times, which is a brilliant thing to achieve with song writing.

The chorus section maybe repeats a bit much towards the end, but then to counter this there is that perfectly smart and stylish guitar solo to give you a much needed break within the music – a moment to reflect, and to focus on how good the musical performances are throughout this piece.

It’s a catchy and memorable melody, always important; not something you’ll forget in a flash. Also, Zelena’s vocal style has something about it that is quite unlike a lot of other modern singer songwriters – there’s a fluency to it, a certain clarity in her expression of lyrics, yet still it manages to sound rustic and raw. A really enjoyable voice, perfect for the lead vocal roll in any rock song.

By Rebecca Cullen

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Exposed Vocals: So tell us your Story.  Where did you grow up?  What made you decide to be an artist?

Zelena:  I have always lived in South Carolina.  My mother is an artist.  Growing up I always watched her while she was painting and sculpting and she also played musical instruments.  She decided to take me for piano lessons when I was 11. I just fell in love with it.  My coach Dan Caston let me bang on the drums, play the piano, and sing while we twirled around on his chairs.

Exposed Vocals:  How did you come up with that name?  What was your inspiration behind it?

Zelena:  I use my real name Zelena Hull.  My mother chose my name Zelena because the English version means sunshine.  She figured I would always be happy with that name.

Exposed Vocals:  What do you think about online music sharing?  Do you ever give your music away for free?  Why?

Zelena:  I do not support music sharing.  It is hard enough for an artist to make money.  I do give my music away for free at times to people who love it but cannot afford it.

Exposed Vocals:  Since everyone was a startup once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some good tips?

Zelena:  It’s very hard since I’ve just began getting traction myself and have a long way to go.  Being determined and keeping a positive outlook, try not to be too sensitive, and believe in yourself and hopefully your dreams will come true.

Exposed Vocals:  Where do you usually gather your song writing inspiration?  What is your usual song writing process?

Zelena:  Other music and the song writing process inspire me.  The melody pops in my head and I write it down.  I usually have greater success if I write the music and lyrics at the same time.  I’ve written many songs that are currently in the production phase.

Exposed Vocals:  D you have a band website?  What online platforms do you use to share your music?

Zelena:  You can go to www.zelenahull.com, tweet Zelena Hull, search Zelena Hull on Facebook.  I honestly started writing because of my involvement in competitive singing.  It took off quickly.

Exposed Vocals:  If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do?  How would you spend it?

Zelena: I would invest it and keep on rolling.  I must do my music, I could not put it on hold, I love it too much.

Exposed Vocals:  How do you find ways to promote your music?  What is best for you? 

Zelena:  YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook are best.

Exposed Vocals:  So what is next?  Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?

Zelena:  I’m working on my new album since my last single release.  We are working hard in the studio so hopefully in a few months we will ready to start talking about the release.

Exposed Vocals:  If you weren’t making music what would you be doing?

Zelena:  That’s not going to happen.

Exposed Vocals:  How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?

Zelena:  A lot of help from a lot of good people.

What should fans look forward to in 2016?

Zelena:  Finishing up my album we are currently working on and we will actually begin production on another album shortly after.  Besides recording, look for more live performances and travel.  Thank you so much.