Inspired #0053 - Honey Montazemi
Following her debut track ‘Try To Love’, Honey Montazemi has released her second single ‘Ride’. An atmospheric, guitar driven track with a chilling vocal performance. She took a moment to talk to us about turning to poetry for inspiration and Tarantino films.
Who are you top three musical inspirations?
I’ve always turned to essays and poetry for inspiration. I was very moved by Emmerson’s ‘Self-Reliance’ and actually, I re-read it at least once a year. As far as musicians go, I remember hearing Nancy Sinatra’s ‘Bang Bang’ as a child and falling in love with its style and rawness. But I think I draw inspiration from the greats of each generation.. Johnny Cash, Donny Hathaway, Oasis.. you listen to the greats and you can’t help but feel a stirring.
Is there a certain film that inspires you?
Yes, I have always had an obsession with Tarantino movies and their soundtracks. The man is a genius. He has written and directed all of his own films, and so of course he is someone I draw inspiration from. It’s always been a dream of mine to hear my music in his films.
What city do you find the most inspiring?
I’d have to say London, and Soho in particular. When you’ve grown up in a somewhat nomadic way it’s important to have somewhere you can feel at home and still free, and Soho has always been that place for me. I seek refuge there whenever I’m feeling lost. The music, the people, even the smell of piss on the streets. I’m in love with the place.
Who is the most inspiring person to you?
I don’t have to look further than my mother to gain inspiration, and anyone who has ever met her will say the same. She is strong beyond comprehension, yet still possesses softness and warmth. To live around the world as a single mother, with a temperamental physical disability and to make herself a success in the way she has.. it’s beautiful to see. And I believe it’s her strong connection to spirituality that’s really been her source of energy. It’s so rare that I have a hard time wrapping my head around how she’s pulled through everything with such grace.
What were your inspirations when writing the track?
My writing is almost always autobiographical, so I draw from my own experiences. In the case of ‘Ride’ I was digging deep into my childhood to gain a better sense of self, in hope that I could start to shift some of the toxic patterns I was repeating. A lot of it came from the sense of abandonment that I felt as a child in regard to my father. Ride was me acting out some of my darker thoughts in order to release them for good and to move forward with patterns that would serve me better in the next chapters of my life.
How would you like to inspire people?
As with any poet, I think the idea is that you emotionally bleed onto paper, in the hope that others going through a similar feeling will come across your expression and find solace in your words and find beauty and growth in their own pain.
Personally, I’m devoted to creating a life for myself that is completely authentic and integral.
I want to live to express my truth and to give love freely and totally.