Cheat Codes Come to Life on Debut Full-Length, "Hellraisers Pt.1"

Prolific hit-making trio Cheat Codes, popularly known for their smash single “No Promises” (feat. Demi Lovato), has released the first part of their wildly anticipated three-part debut album, Hellraisers Pt. 1, available now on all DSPs and streaming services HERE. The groundbreaking eleven track project is highlighted by standout single “Lean On Me (feat. Tinashe)” out today.

Hellraisers, Pt. 1 sees the multi-platinum group uniting with an eclectic cast of fellow artists, including Pop superstar Tinashe and Spanish alt-pop singer-songwriter Au/Ra. In addition, the album includes recently released tracks such as “On My Life,” “Heaven,” “Between Our Hearts (feat. CXLOE),” “Stay (feat. Bryce Vine),” “Washed Up,” “Do It All Over (feat. Marc E. Bassy),” “No Chill (feat. Lil Xxel),” and “Hate You + Love You (feat. AJ Mitchell).”

The name of the album, “Hellraisers,” was the nickname given to the group by their late manager, Michael Theanne, who passed away just over a year ago, describing their playful and adventurous lifestyle. The album itself has three parts - each part has a distinct sound influenced by each member. This first part is focused on Trevor’s pop-leaning sound, while the second part will be focused on KEVI’s hip-hop flavor, and the third part will be focused on Matthew’s dance-influenced sound.

I had the chance to sit down with Matt, Kevi and Trevor, for an intriguing and insightful interview you can dive right into below. Happy release day!

Listen to "Hellraisers Pt.1 . :

https://dashgo.co/hellraisersp...

With your new record “Hellraisers Pt. 1," When writing new tracks overall, what was your inspiration behind them? What drives you musically?

KEVI: What I have to say is good energy and good vibes, it has to be about peace, love, and unity at the end of the day. And whoever we are collaborating with they have to have that same energy and vibe and feelings towards the song.

When creating and penning your latest songs, what artists or influences did you channel?

Trevor: We don’t like to overthink it, as far as trying to sound like anybody else. We just like to make music that we like making. We like to try to create something different and do whatever feels good to us. I mean obviously influences make their way into our music. And I’m sure subconsciously things happen. But we don’t really set out to do that. I listen to many different genres and I don’t have a specific thing I only listen to. I like the idea of being able to pull a little bit from everything to make something that songs unique.

You seem to be very hands on in the process of your music and songwriting which is GREAT! Can you walk us through the process for the latest record?

Matt: We basically did 60 songs and narrowed it down, but originally we were going to do one album. We had so many songs that fit in different genres so we decided to make a three-part album. We came up with a bunch of ideas and narrowed it down to our favorites. We did a lot of rewrites, updated production, updated mixes. It comes down if we have an idea then we send it to someone like Tinashe and see if she vibes with it to see what they can bring to the table. She then wrote some of the lyrics and after we had her vocals then Trevor added his vocals. So, it’s kinda little bits at a time.

Trevor: I would say every process is different, we don’t have our go-to strict way of making it, there’s a million ways to make a good song. Whether it starts with a vocal or drum beat or playing the keyboard. Just for us, it’s whatever keeps the vibe going. It’s all about feeling it out and being able to build off that momentum and keep going until there is something tangible.

Matt: As far as the album goes, what’s definitely different with this than other songs was we wanted to make the production cohesive. Even though it was different songs and collaborators, we spent a lot of extra time making sonically the production elements flow together.

Trevor: This time we did things differently than we usually have done in the past. We usually look at one song at a time and have it be its own thing. So when we have our own EP, we kind of think of it cohesively but not too much. You have to find that balance of creating something unique with every single song, but also something that’s nice together. Something that people could sink their teeth into. That was a whole different process this time around. It was a cool challenge for us and we had a good time with it.

When you have a concept for a song, how do you execute it? What comes first?

Trevor: It kinda goes back to what I was saying. It’s different every time, if you start with a vocal you really like it's about picturing what's best for that specific element or if it's a vocal we’re starting with. What does is this vocal calling for. Is it calling for us to have big production, minimal production, somewhere in the middle. Is it going to be disco, hip-hop, old school. What kind of vibe are we going for? It’s all just a matter of what’s best for the vocals. Same thing if you're going to start with an instrument, it’s a matter of crafting everything in your head of what everything’s going to do to build off of that.

Matt: If you're asking specifically if you have a cool concept for a song and where do you go from there. I kind of treat it like how do you summarize that concept in a few words. And how do you repeat that in a hook and then the versus and pre chorus and all that will come a lot easier because you can get a lot detailed with lyrics after that. All the music just has to support the vocal like Trevor was saying.

Trevor: if we have a concept that we like or something we want to base the song around. If we just talk about that concept and talk about that word. A lot the time the things that we’re saying in just conversation turn out to be great lyrics. The things that people are saying when they’re not thinking and just talking about something and they’re letting their words flow freely. Those words end up becoming good lyrics. If we’re talking about an artist or someone going through something. A lot of the time while they’re saying something I’ll type out key words of words they are saying as it will inspire them because they are talking about the concept. Something people can start doing without thinking about it too much

For the record, your debut, can you give us any hints on collaborations with might find on the record? If so, how did they come about?

Matt: I would say that the Bryce Vine collaboration is the kind of cool story because Bryce and JP (our friend) were doing a session in Miami. They were really inspired because they had to fly out the next day and fly out to LA. They were like I don’t really want to leave, I just want to stay so they pushed back their flight to finish their concept. They had the song for almost a year before they sent it to us and it was a completely different structure as it wasn't a dance song. It was more lay back. A great example about being inspired.

Trevor: Just living it and writing about it!

With the new music in tow, how does the songs differ from your prior work? Or does it feed into a new realm for you as artists?

Trevor: It still sounds like Cheat Codes but it's the whole next level of Cheat Codes. Our group has evolved into something very special. I think Pt.1 is something people can sink their teeth into and listen from front to back. It really vibes out the entire way through and it feels like a story. It feels good!

As 2021 is now kickstarted what surprises do you have up your sleeve in terms of music, videos, and additional releases this year; especially in the current realm of things?

Trevor: We will be releasing part 2 and part 3 which is more music than we ever released in a year. It’s going to be a total of 30 or more songs. It was a big undertaking for us and a big accomplishment.

There’s not anyone else doing that this year.I don’t know any other DJ or pop artist that’s releasing that much music this year. I think we’re trying to break some barriers and push the envelope and make a splash.

Matt: New video coming out with Tinashe, “Lean On Me” - we just shot it. New Merch, new tour beginning of 2022 for the album. We’re releasing all 3 parts by the end of 2021.

Trevor: We’re playing Vegas this year so a lot of cool stuff.

KEVI: I’ve also been working on some magic tricks….stay tuned.

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