RAC student Sage Dyck, aka thankshollow, is already putting his newfound production skills to good use with his brand-new single, “alkaline”. The track, which combines hip hop, alt-rock, and pop, is just a tease of what’s coming from the talented creator in 2021.
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It could be said that Sage Dyck is an authority on being young. At only 19 years of age, the Vancouver native, who has spent the better part of the last three years writing and producing music under various pseudonyms, is particularly well-suited to convey the trials and tribulations of young adulthood. After completing his first semester at RAC, Sage has already upped his production game with a brand-new musical project, thankshollow, which fuses myriad musical styles and genres to explore themes of love, sexuality, and mental health through the lens of youth. We recently sat down with the up-and-coming creator to discuss his music, influences, and new single, “alkaline”.
Sage Dyck has a clear mission statement for his thankshollow project: He wants to paint a picture of what being a young person feels like in 2021. Despite his years and clear intent, however, there is a maturity and reverence to the musical past that informs Sage’s approach to music-making. “My favourite part of creating music is using sounds from different musical movements and eras,” he explains, “and blending them into a musical timeline that helps represent an emotion I’m feeling or an experience I’ve had. My goal with thankshollow,” he continues, “is to explore different musical subcultures and movements, stringing together a web of unique sounds and textures while exploring themes of love, sexuality, and mental health”.
The tumult and transformative hallmarks that are so synonymous with growing up are best exemplified in Sage’s wide array of influences. With the boundaries between musical genres becoming increasingly difficult to define in today’s musical landscape, it comes as no surprise that his tastes gravitate toward the eclectic. “My musical influences vary across many different genres,” he says, “spanning from hip hop figureheads like Kanye West and Mac Miller to more genre-less artists like brakence and Jean Dawson, all of whom are phenomenal producers and songwriters in their respective fields”. Sage’s new single as thankshollow, “alkaline”, is the crystallization of this sonic curiosity, blending elements of hip hop and indie rap with alternative rock and pop. On the thematic content of his track: “It’s about healing mentally and working on loving yourself,” he explains, “so that you can give as much of that love as possible to someone else”.
Without committing to any specific genre, Sage is gearing up to release more introspective music under the thankshollow moniker in 2021. “My next musical venture,” he says, “is to explore the relationship we, as humans, have developed with synthetic experiences and connections, and the effect it has on us. Considering that we are currently in a global pandemic and have been for some time, many of us have been limited to using digital platforms to interact and connect with each other and the world around us. It’s important that we explore how these relationships affect our mental health and the way we develop, especially as younger people”.
