Following the release of Emilee: Act I earlier this summer, Australian artist, producer, and one-to-watch Hauskey reveals the second act of his three-part mixtape project entitled Heartache & LSD: Act II, out via slowplay/Republic Records on August 12th—listen HERE. Exploring the highs and lows of Hauskey’s mental health journey over the past two years, the psychedelic Act II finds him attempting to break free from his depression (“Emilee”) and confronting his mental health and sense of self.
Hauskey says, “In Act II, Heartache & LSD, the struggle begins. I start to break away from Emilee and wrestle my sense of self and mental health back. I deal with that all important first LSD trip in the title track, my struggles with body image and self-love in ‘Love Me’, my innate habit to doubt myself in ‘Second Guess’, and reflecting on a childhood that wasn’t so drowned in anxiety in ‘Head In The Clouds’.”
All songs in the mixtape series were written, produced, performed, and mixed by Hauskey. Praising Act I, Notion described the second and third acts as “a trippy re-examination of self and the well-earned resolution in which he now resides.”
He previously shared the meaning behind Emilee, saying, “I really wanted to name my depression and make it a character in the story. I landed on singing names ending with ‘e’ by chance, googled a few ideas and found Emilee means ‘rival, laborious’ and figured that fit pretty damn well. With my nemesis named, the song may as well have written itself.”
Hauskey first debuted in 2020 with his breakout hit “Slow.” The sunshine bop was followed by a slew of fan favorite singles, like “Somewhere” and “Silver Lining,” and his critically acclaimed debut EP, Slow. In 2021, Hauskey followed up this early success with “Go Wrong,” “Cream Shirt,” and his first collaboration, “One Minute” featuring Hope Tala, along with sold out headline shows across Australia. Along the way, he confirmed himself as an artist to watch—receiving international support from triple j and BBC Radio 1, as well as praise from press around the globe, including NPR, Billboard, MTV News, SPIN, NME, Clash, The Line Of Best Fit, Notion, DIY, Dork, Coup De Main, Ones To Watch, and many more. Not to mention, during a very special live performance at the 2021 APRA Music Awards, Hauskey teamed up with Sycco and Stevan for a cover of Tame Impala’s “Lost In Yesterday,” bringing Kevin Parker and his family to tears—watch the performance HERE.
Stay tuned for Act III to come from Hauskey this fall.
HEARTACHE & LSD: ACT IITRACKLIST
- “Heartache & LSD”
- “Love Me”
- “Head In The Clouds”
- “Second Guess”
ABOUT HAUSKEY
2020 and 2021 proved to be landmark years for Australian artist and producer Hauskey. He introduced himself to the world with his breakout single “Slow,” released his debut EP of the same name, sold out dates across Sydney and Melbourne, and dropped fan favorite singles “Go Wrong,” “Cream Shirt,” and more, tallying millions of streams along the way. He also incited widespread critical applause from NME, Clash, The Line of Best Fit, Notion, DIY Magazine, DORK Magazine, Billboard, Coup De Main, and Ones To Watch, to name a few. Last year, Hauskey graced the stage of the APRA Music Awards for a seismic rendition of Tame Impala’s “Lost In Yesterday” with Sycco and Stevan, which left frontman Kevin Parker and his family in tears of joy. However, Hauskey only parlayed this momentum into his most ambitious creative output to date, the three-act mixtape Emilee, Act 1, Act 2, and Act 3. The ebb and flow of the first installment, Act 1, sets the stage for an honest, yet hard-hitting and heartfelt exploration of mental health struggles in one of the darkest periods of Hauskey’s life. He explains, “The project follows my mental health journey from low to high—from being suicidal to loving life again. There’s a song for every stage; from utter depression, to getting help, to dealing with my self-worth and body image, to seeing how things might be brighter.”
