bardz leans all the way in on hold me close, a raw, acoustic-led single that strips everything back and lets the emotion lead. It’s an open letter to his father, full of reflection, clarity, and grief—but also layered in respect.
The track is part of his upcoming EP the only way out is through, out May 30, and marks a creative moment where everything feels both refined and deeply personal.
In this interview, bardz talks about the tension between instinct and self-doubt, what it means to slow down in an age of constant output, and why his creative compass has always been guided by movement, memory, and meaningful collaboration.
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What’s the hardest part about trusting your own process?
I firmly believe that I know nothing. Kind of like that saying “the more you learn, the less you know,” I think I used to have a harder time trusting my instincts. Granted, you get better at something over years of practice, but I’ve learned that my best stuff—the things that move me the most—were almost always made in a dissociated state, not trying to achieve anything. Trusting myself to let go and play around is tough sometimes but always the end goal. There’s so much you can learn from others, but the things you were meant to keep and add will happen naturally. The things that aren’t aligned will fall away every time.
How do you keep going when things feel slow or uncertain?
I move spaces, make music in other parts of the house, city, country, or world if I can. This last year I’ve been lucky enough to have extended stays in multiple continents to make music. There’s no better way to get inspired than meeting and making music with others from new places. But all that travel isn’t truly necessary—I’ve made my favorite songs with pen and paper in my backyard.
What do you come back to when nothing is working?
‘Beginner’s mind’ is a concept I love. Staying curious and open keeps the process fun and fresh, never leading me to believe I actually know anything. This helps me be a better experimenter, collaborator, and listener. I think this is different from confidence though—at some point some habits get calcified and the way you make art will always happen in a certain way. I think that is the ‘style’ that will always be attributed to you.
Together these both keep music moving forward.
Have you ever questioned your process and stuck with it anyway?
All the time. In a weird way my process can inherently be very confident and unconfident at the same time.
The beauty in this though is if I’m truly trusting my gut, I’ll know when something is actually good and worth expanding on. I’ve tricked myself in the past thinking that just because I’ve spent time on something it’s worth keeping—this is not true at all.
When has your slow approach paid off long-term?
There’s a growing pressure with this age of content where we all feel the pressure to take time away from art to make endless videos to get visibility. I think the desire for numbers, opportunity, and even some virality is hard to ignore. Every time my collaborators and I have decided to make the thing that might go against the grain, we never regret it. The right people find the art and it impacts them the way it’s supposed to.
This can take much longer but it is always worth it.
What systems or reminders help you stay confident in your path?
Whenever I feel stagnant or unsure of myself, I try to think back to who I was 10 years ago and ask that guy if his mind would be blown by the things we’ve pulled off since then. Most of those decisions that led to anything worthwhile came from the gut, usually involving people I care very much about. Keeping a good circle and staying healthy all around let me feel the best about my decisions, especially when they’re risky.
What’s something that used to make you doubt yourself—but doesn’t now?
Getting better every day at killing the people-pleaser part of me has been the biggest thing. I might act like I don’t give a fuck but truthfully, I think I give a lot. Also—time and hitting that 10,000 hour rule.
I don’t really believe in fake it till you make it. I think be scared and unconfident until you have the reps to know why you should trust yourself. The relationship with yourself is like a relationship with anything else.
The post bardz on pressure, pacing, and trusting yourself to slow down appeared first on Magnetic Magazine.