Kiril Hadjipetkov is one of Mendham’s premier artistic talents, performing live and recorded music for the community. The junior’s music is well known throughout the school and is respected by his friends and peers. I wanted to know more information regarding Kiril’s talent so we arranged an interview to explore my questions. It provides an in-depth look into his earlier musical career and some of the inspirations behind his passion.

Kiril identifies his music as a mix of indie and alternative rock, “with a little bit of surf rock too.” For many musicians, interests in music arose at a young age. Exposure to rock bands through his child culminated in a style influenced by some notable performers of the genre. When asked specifically on who he calls his main influences, the junior responded, “ I grew up listening to bands like Nirvana, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, so I try to have their energy and catchiness, and nowadays I have been listening to a lot of more alt bands like The Growlers, and Together PANGEA. I also like rap, and I sometimes try to make trap style beats or instrumentals for songs…” The attractiveness of performing as a rock artist captured Kiril from a young age. In sixth grade, Kiril first began on the guitar, solely because “it looked dope to play, and then I just stuck with it.” Two years later he experimented with his first songs and developed the hobby until becoming a practiced songwriter, culminating in the formation of a band between his friends during high school, called the “The Rocky Coasts.” The group recently released two demos that can be found on their SoundCloud account, or at the link on their Instagram page, @therockycoasts.

I wanted to explore the motivations behind his passion. Music has the ability to offer itself as an outlet to release certain emotions that empower those performing. “Music does a lot for me, it definitely energizes me and hypes me up, and I mainly just think it’s one of the coolest things humans have invented,” Kiril stated on why he still carries this passion. “I’m drawn to making it because I really want to do the same thing to other people and have them enjoy something I create. Also, I really want to start playing some live shows even at parties because the energy is really one of the best things about music.”

Lastly, I wondered if Kiril had a particular song he appreciated more than the others he has done. If this was the case, for what reason? He responded, “I guess my favorite song I wrote so far is called Only One, and the reason I like it so much is because when I was writing it, I wrote about an important subject to me, about a friend that was going through a lot, and when I wrote it, it was one of the first times I actually really liked what I did. Also, when I showed it to my band, the other guitarist/singer Rhys (Heraghty) immediately came up with a fire guitar part that I think really made the song come together.”

Thank you to Kiril for taking the time to sit with us and discuss his musical passion.