FEATURE: Hip-hop Artist THREEZERO Shares Dreamy Debut Album ‘SEEING DOUBLE’

THREEZERO is the new project from Midwestern-born-and-raised musician Nate Russell. Now based in Santa Barbara, California, the 23-year old musician brings together his love for hip-hop, poetry, and bedroom production into a mix of groove-forward beats and melting vocals that find a place between Frank Ocean, Mac Miller, and James Blake. Russell began his musical journey at 11 years old, slipping away from the arguing kickball players at recess to pick up the violin. It was during those formative years that his love and appreciation for classical music flourished, and once he hit high school, it truly began to take shape. He began experimenting with the violin’s possibilities within hip-hop, a natural progression as he had also begun to write poetry, and with a close group of friends, formed a hip-hop group that would eventually lead to his solo project THREEZERO.  

A one-two punch of groovy lo-fi melodies, matched with his seasoned falsetto sing-rap style, SEEING DOUBLE is a quick hit of 10 tracks, all of which hold themselves to a deliberate two minute cut-off point.  Efficiency is at the root of the record; a record that was inspired by a feeling of being “fucking bored”. Boredom, hyperactivity and intense feelings of loneliness ignited a desire to create, resulting in the album’s first single “The Tower”. 

“Especially after making The Tower, I got very intentional with making shorter songs and a short album”, Nathan shares about the process. ”I wanted people to hear 5 seconds of my songs and know instantly whether they would like it or not. I wanted people to feel like the music was changing so rapidly that they’d need to replay the project in full a few times to catch all the elements. I wanted them to feel the rush I felt of getting out these song ideas with as much urgency as I’ve ever felt.”

His energy was matched by his long-time collaborator and friend Liam McGhie, who has produced music with Nathan since their high school hip-hop days. From his bedroom in Santa Barbara, Nathan connected with Liam, who was living in Philadelphia at the time. Their chemistry and creativity was no match for distance, as the two put together SEEING DOUBLE virtually, over the next year.  

Clocking in at a streamlined time of 14 minutes and 6 seconds, SEEING DOUBLE is a hazy and level headed journey through emotions and self-acceptance, as its thematic weight is filtered through dreamy arrangements and hazy bedroom hip-hop. Droplets of soul-tinged guitars, gated percussion, and effortless vocals build the casing for the record, as Nathan’s multi-instrumentalist abilities bring out extra details of bass, strings, and percussion throughout the record. 

For THREEZERO, his experience is both deeply personal and widely relatable: feeling stuck in isolation on “The Tower”; to fighting against oneself on “Falling” and “Signs”; celebrating the highs in life on “Seeing Double”; and feeling connected to the world on “Dreams”. Despite its length, there is a lot to unpack on SEEING DOUBLE, and at the same time, that is one of its many strengths. Revisiting it is easy, quick, and enjoyable, reiterating the idea that “great things come in small packages”. 

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