Ethan Bortnick
Showcases A Wondrous Display of Artistic Evolution With “prom”
By Jackie Procacci
INTERVIEW FEATURE
〰️
INTERVIEW FEATURE 〰️
Ethan Bortnick / Prom Cover Artwork
Ethan Bortnick is mastering the art of creating beautiful darkness through music. The 21-year-old has accumulated over 750,000 followers on TikTok, where he is showcasing his insane piano abilities and his authentic songwriting skills. He previously released “Cut My Fingers Off” which went viral on the platform as videos of him performing to strangers on omegle.com shocked teens worldwide. You can see the passion and emotion he pours into his music in each video he creates. His new single “Prom” has also, unsurprisingly, caught fire on TikTok; it starts out with a beautifully delicate piano melody that grows to become the rich and colorful chorus that will leave you listening on repeat. The honest and relatable lyrics create an emotional piece of music that touches listeners of all ages. Ethan is quickly growing as an artist and “Prom” is a wondrous display of his evolution as a musician. We spoke to him about his lastest single, this artistic journey, and more.
Hi Ethan, thank you for speaking with us today, and congratulations on your new single “Prom”! It’s such a powerful and emotive song. Can you take us through the writing process and your inspiration behind it?
Thank you so much! Since 2019 I've been writing and producing everything with my collaborator Dylan Edmunds, so "prom" was one of multiple songs we wrote after a long hiatus of not writing together because of quarantine. I had an idea initially to write a very intimate and tragic song but quickly the song just took a life of its own, as all the feelings and emotions I felt over the past 2 years came pouring out. I think a lot of kids my age can understand the feeling of missing out on some very important milestones in this crucial time in our lives, due to COVID, and so that's the inspiration of this song.
You mentioned in one of your many viral TikToks that “Prom” is about feeling like you’ve missed out during your teenage years. What advice would you give your 15-year-old self now given these feelings?
Well, I definitely wouldn't have changed anything. I missed out on a lot of high school because of the touring I was doing, but music is my passion and I wouldn't have changed that. However, I don't think any advice could prepare anyone for what we had coming to us in 2020. I remember spending my 20th birthday by myself and thinking: "I'm 20. I still haven't done all these things and I'm spending this big milestone alone in my room." That's where the idea for the song was initially born.
“Cut My Fingers Off” has amassed over 6 million streams on Spotify alone. How did you feel when this song started blowing up?
"Cut My Fingers Off" was an ironic moment for me. The song was about imposter syndrome and how I felt completely dropping my previous career and the journey to trying to prove myself as an artist. The fact that a song about that blew up for me was nuts. Also, I didn't think anyone would click with this weird blend of classical and dark pop so that was very gratifying and was the first moment where I knew I was on to something.
Music has been a part of your life since you were a toddler - you discovered you have perfect pitch at just 3 years old. What kind of musical influences did you have at that age?
At that age? The wiggles. I mean I was 3. Although at that time I was playing a lot of Mozart and Bach but I didn't really understand what the heck was going on I was just having a grand time playing back whatever music I heard on my little piano.
You became the youngest headliner ever in Las Vegas at just 10 years old. What was touring and performing like at such a young age?
Touring and performing are my bread and butter. The stage feels like the one place I feel the most comfortable. Ever since I was small I felt that way, I remember walking into the arena for the Miami Heat at 7 and turning to my parents and saying: "I thought there would be more people." Although, I love performing no matter how big or small the crowd size is. My previous shows have been tame, so I'm excited to see what happens when I start performing these songs. In almost every song I've worked on, there's gonna be an extended live version for me to absolutely shred on the piano and I find myself struggling to reserve some of that for the performances and leave the record as is.
What do your songwriting and composing processes look like? Do you initially reach for your piano or do you do something different every time?
I almost always reach for the piano. There's times when Dylan will grab a guitar or his bass and we'll initially start the songwriting process there but those are rare moments. We also tend to write the full song out first before touching production but sometimes songs call for a beat to be made first. That's also a rare occasion. Piano is my instrument and a part of the melody writing. I've got my vocals but piano is my first voice.
Which artists and/or what styles of music influence your sound when creating a new song?
I'm a music fanatic and I don't think there's a single genre that I don't listen to. Give me Debussy, give me Bill Evans, give me Little Richard, give me Radiohead, give me Wu-Tang, give me Johnny Cash, give me Funkadelic, give me Animals as Leaders, give me Death Grips, give me Elton John, give me Marvin Gaye, give me Nirvana, give me Faye Webster or Rosalia or 100 Gecs: I don't care. I love it all. My biggest influences are Chopin from a composition standpoint, Phoebe Bridgers and her songwriting, Kanye for his ingenuity and production, and Kendrick Lamar for his detailed artistry.
Now at 21 years old, you’ve had some experience under your belt. What are you looking forward to most this year?
I wanna release as much music as I can this year, but hands down I want to perform at some point. That's a must for me and I actually fear that I may have too much energy building up for that moment.
If you could pick anyone, who would your dream collaboration be with and why?
I think Tyler, the Creator, and it would be a really interesting mix. However, I wanna get in a room with Phoebe Bridgers and write a song one day.
What is something other than music that you are passionate about?
FOOD. I'm a very insecure person but there's nothing I'm more confident about than the fact that I could flame anyone in a cooking competition. I'm also a massive anime fan, love fashion, art, and film. Anything creative, except maybe dance which I'm not very good at but I'm open to it.
What kind of legacy do you want to leave as an artist?
There's nothing I want to do more than give people music that makes them feel just a tad bit better than how I've felt or what I've gone through. If I can help and connect with people in a way that only music can whether it be through performances or through a three or four-minute mp3 file, then I've made it.