Hollow River updates the protest record with his new multi-media project Quarantine Mixtape — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
Crossing a concept EP about the pandemic with a lyric-video trilogy — and walking a fine line between the personal and the political — the Quarantine Mixtape project finds art imitating life for the pop-punk rapper, who divides his time between Boston and Toronto.
“I was stuck in my apartment, still taking classes at Berklee, and needing to keep up with a pretty heavy load from my songwriting classes,” says Hollow River (real name: Mark MacDonald). “But all I could think about was the lockdown, and I couldn’t stop watching the news. I ended up writing about that for my classes just to get through some assignments, but my classmates and teachers encouraged me to see the project through to the end.
“This revisits those first days of quarantine and the feelings of helplessness and isolation many felt during that period. There were a number of times over the last few months I almost axed it altogether but, unfortunately, it’s now fall and the coronavirus is more topical than ever … Wash your hands and wear a mask.”
Hollow River began his career interning at Hamilton’s legendary Grant Avenue Studio (Daniel Lanois) before heading to Boston’s Berklee College of Music to pursue a double major in music production and engineering / songwriting. Time not spent studying revolves around furthering his craft, including freelance production and mix work with a variety of artists, along with songwriting and arrangement consulting.
Watch the Quarantine Mixtape videos above, listen to the EP below, read Hollow River’s answers to my 20 Questions HERE, and keep up with him on his website, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
