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If you gravitate toward ambitious sounds that lure you in with chords of familiarity before quickly pivoting to a genre-bending sample, time shift, or blunted soundscape, then Clothesline From Hell is for you. Hailing from Toronto, this sonic provocateur has a deviating beauty in his music that we haven’t been struck by in some time. Ever mysterious in his moniker, song titles, and lyrics we reached out to dig more into Clotheline’s influences, Toronto food recs, and what else is in store for this promising artist following the release of his EP, Soon We’ll All Be Smoking.

OnesToWatch: Did you get in a fight with some laundry? Who is Clothesline From Hell?  

Clothesline From Hell: It’s a solo project. The name comes from taking a forearm to the neck, nothing to do with laundry. 

What is Soon We’ll All Be Smoking all about? 

This EP feels like a true debut. Everything else I’ve put out under the CFH moniker has essentially been a glorified demo recorded on my iPhone. At the time, I was into keeping the recording process very economic and wanted to share my songwriting in the most direct way possible. Now, I’m more interested in letting the songs grow in the studio until they might create and inhabit worlds unto themselves. These four songs are a bit like a mission statement in that way. 

How’d you come up with the EP name?  

I actually stole it from season two of The Bear. I only saw the scene once but if I remember correctly, the staff is getting overwhelmed by a dinner rush or whatever and someone shouts something to the effect of “don’t worry, soon we’ll all be smoking.” It struck me immediately and I started thinking about the trickiness of living oriented toward rewards. It’s always like, “Once I do this, then I’ll have this,” and a lot of the time, the reward is the least interesting part. Something as banal as a cigarette; something as toxic as a cigarette. I feel like not getting caught in this loop is the whole battle of living. But, I’d be lying if I didn’t acknowledge that I probably named this EP after that line as a way of promising myself and those close to me that if we get this done, rock stardom awaits us. I’m still daydreaming about that sort of thing and smoking sometimes even though I know it’s bad for me. 

Any collaborations or features? Who produced the EP? 

“Open Up!” is co-produced by Matthew Tavares, the three other songs are all co-produced by Josh Mcintyre and Nate Burley. 

Do you listen to a lot of '90s & '00s music? You have a very nostalgic sound.

I think everyone says this, but I truly listen to all kinds of music from all eras. That being said, I do have a soft spot for the stuff I grew up listening to, which was a lot of '90s guitar-based music. 

Can we expect more of this style in the future? 

I haven’t really tried to maintain any sort of cohesive sound for this project or made any goals like that, but I would imagine there’s still more to explore within the sonic palette represented by these songs, as well as many other things I’d like to try that are quite different. 

Besides this excellent EP, what else should we be on the lookout for? 

I have a follow-up EP mostly finished recording and a third one written. I see these three EPs as an introductory trilogy, after that I’ll begin thinking about a real record. 

What's inspiring you right now outside of music?

The people in my life bring the most important inspiration to me but that’s kind of hard to talk about in this format. Movies have always been just as (if not more) important to me than music, so watching something just about daily is an important part of my routine.  

Best place to eat in Toronto while listening to your tunes? 

I haven’t tested my music in many public spots yet, but for the sake of naming a few good spots to eat... The Old York Tavern, Le Swan, Guu Izakaya?  

Who are your OnesToWatch? 

Everyone should already know that the Cindy Lee and Mk.gee records released this year might very well have saved music. Period.