Nottingham-based progressive rock/metal band HydroGene is kicking off their journey with a bold concept. On December 18, 2024, they launched their self-titled debut EP, introducing listeners to the story of Gene Carlsen—a character whose struggles with ambition, failure, and transformation are central to the project.
What makes HydroGene stand out isn’t just their music but the way they’ve incorporated storytelling into their work. With a comic-book-style film accompanying the EP, the band takes their audience beyond sound, creating a world where visuals and music come together to tell a compelling story.
In this interview, the band talks about how the project came together, their influences from Nottingham’s legendary rock scene, and what’s next for HydroGene as they continue to build on this ambitious start.
What inspired you to craft HydroGene as not just a band but a multi-dimensional concept that includes a character and a comic-book-style film?
As a band we’ve been together in various formats for many years but like for many, the lockdown years during Covid put a hold on things so we regularly kept in touch online and were inspired to keep writing. A couple of strong songs began to emerge as we progressed and it quickly became clear that a theme was presenting itself; that of a concept, a story, an entity. As we explored this idea further we realized that HydroGene was being born and that his story was more than just about the music, so we meticulously created a storyboard made up of comic-book-style images to summarize his story in a visual format that we felt was right for him.
Gene Carlsen’s story seems central to the project. Can you share more about his journey and how it parallels the themes of aspiration, failure, and rebirth explored in the EP?
The story goes that Gene Carlsen is a regular but proud guy who wants nothing more than to be successful in life and provide for his family. When things go deeply wrong, he falls into bad times, loses his wife and family and everything rapidly takes a very dark and downward turn for him. Without giving too much away (please watch the film for the conclusion…), this culminates in an accident that leaves him ‘changed forever’. Although he doesn’t understand what is happening to him, why or how, he arrives at the ultimate point of desperation and it’s at that moment that the story really begins… Perhaps there’s a little bit of Gene Carlsen in all of us…
The Nottingham rock scene of the 1990s clearly left a mark on your musical DNA. How has this legacy shaped the sound and vision of HydroGene?
Rock City in Nottingham is a legendary night club and music venue and has been for a number of decades. For those who were a regular part of the scene at that time, it was a breeding ground for musicians and like-minded individuals to get together, form bands and express musical creativity. Since the 1980s, pretty much every up and coming rock band from around the globe that you can think of has played there because of its importance on the circuit. As it grew, we were all lucky enough to see some of, what are now, the world’s biggest bands in that relatively small club and across genres that include rock, metal, grunge, prog, industrial and many more, all of which continue to influence us today.
HydroGene is a collaboration of seasoned musicians and audio professionals. How do your individual experiences and influences converge to create the project’s unique sound?
We’ve been musicians pretty much all of our lives, with a history of playing in bands such as Geneva, Parnham and Bangkok Shakes, as well as having session players and members of the audio engineering industry in the band. This level of creative musicianship and pro-audio background has enabled us to write, record, engineer and self-produce our music, and in such a way that we hope it will give the audience a unique and exhilarating experience.
Each track on the EP tells its own story, from the hard-hitting energy of “Storm” to the introspection of “Sunset.” Can you talk about the creative process behind sequencing these tracks and the emotional arc they form?
Once we had created the HydroGene story, it led us down a path where the sequence of events in Gene Carlsen’s life pretty much governed the route that the music took. Everyday human experiences of aspiration, success, failure, persistence, loss and reinvention are central, and some of which are drawn from the personal experiences of the band itself. They are all themes that are relatable by almost everyone at some time in their lives and we hope give the music and story a depth of authenticity on behalf of the musicians, to the listener.
“L’appel Du Vide” is an especially enigmatic and intense piece. What inspired its creation, and what do you hope listeners take away from it?
“L’appel Du Vide” (call of the void) depicts Gene at his lowest point. It is representative of deep inner turmoil, exploring themes surrounding mental health, personal pride, perceived failure, self-identity and purpose and self-esteem, whilst not losing sight of the human spirit and instinct for survival. It is meant to portray feelings of desperation and fear whilst ultimately offering a sense of redemption, hope, resilience, inner strength and new beginning.
The EP’s themes of transformation and rebirth culminate in the titular track, “HydroGene.” How does this song encapsulate the spirit of the project?
“HydroGene” demonstrates that against all the odds, literally anything is possible. It tracks the next part of Gene’s life-journey and leads to a point where far from being the end, perhaps the story truly begins…
Integrating a comic-book-style film into your project is a bold and unique choice. What role does visual storytelling play in enhancing the music and its themes?
As we were writing the songs and developing the storyline, it became clear that the next and natural evolutionary step was to create a visual piece to accompany the music and offer context. We felt that the story potentially had a universal appeal on many levels, and so wanted to make it as accessible as possible to the widest possible audience. We know that some people will prefer the music and others may appreciate the imagery more, but that the HydroGene story itself has a depth and resonance of its own which we felt compelled to convey in multiple formats.
With such a diverse range of sounds and emotions on the EP, how do you approach translating this complexity into a live performance?
Since this is a brand new release, we are yet to take HydroGene on the road but as seasoned live performers, this is very much in the offing whilst currently in the planning stages, and we would say ‘watch this space’ in 2025…
HydroGene’s blend of vulnerability, intensity, and celebration resonates deeply. How do you hope your listeners connect with these themes in their own lives?
It’s a great question and one where perhaps the answer lies within it, since as alluded to previously, the themes are all driven by those very emotions and experiences, all of which all humans are more than capable of experiencing. Ultimately we hope that listeners will sense and feel this authenticity coming through the music and visuals, but whatever they get out of it, we just hope they enjoy the ride!
As a collective of accomplished musicians and producers, what challenges and opportunities arose from working together on this ambitious project?
Without doubt our biggest challenge has been time! We all have busy lives and so opportunities to get together as a band are not as frequent as we’d like but we’re hoping to address this going forward as we continue to write. That said, the opportunity to develop as a collective and a group of like-minded individuals has been incredibly rewarding for us all and we’re very much looking forward to bigger and better things!
What’s next for HydroGene? Are there plans for a full-length album, additional visual content, or other ways to expand the story of Gene Carlsen?
Yes! No spoilers but we’re already writing new HydroGene chapters and there are so many potential areas of Gene’s life that we could tell you about… But again, watch this space…
Check out HydroGene’s self-titled EP on Bandcamp. Follow them on Instagram and Facebook.
