Interview: Haiden – “I Embraced The Brutal Honesty Of What I Was Going Through”

Following the release of his latest single, “flight attendant,” Recordspin caught up with Los Angeles-based indie pop artist Haiden.

Haiden is an emerging indie pop artist hailing from Los Angeles. Despite only pivoting his career from aerospace engineering to music a couple of years ago, Haiden has already made a notable impact on the scene. He gained attention with his viral hit “Sorry to Your Next Ex,” which has now amassed over 15 million streams globally. Haiden’s debut EP, “Good Grief!,” released in 2022, showcases his witty lyricism and candid expression, and features seven tracks that center around his personal struggles with trust and intimacy. Co-written by Dan Swank (All Time Low, New Rules) and co-produced alongside frequent collaborator Barry Fowler, “flight attendant” serves as the closing chapter to the relationship that inspired his 2022 release.

Recordspin caught up with Haiden via email to discuss his latest single, “flight attendant,” and what else lies ahead in 2023. Here’s what they had to say.

“flight attendant” marks the beginning of a new era in your music career. What was it about this song that signaled it to be the lead track from the upcoming EP?

I actually thought that “flight attendant” was gonna be a bonus track on my last project because narratively, it closes the door on the relationship that inspired the rest of that EP. After sitting with it though, I decided that it’d be better suited as a bridge between eras so it actually won’t be attached to any project for that reason.

You co-wrote “flight attendant” with Dan Swank and co-produced it with Barry Fowler. What was that collaboration process like and how did they influence the creation process?

I wrote the first verse on the front porch of my manager’s house in Nashville after watching a Benny Blanco interview where he talks about his fear of flying. Pretty much all of my songs begin with me sitting alone with a guitar, thinking about the emotions I have yet to process. I brought that verse and the chorus melody into my session with Dan later that day, and we wrote the rest of the story together. I think being in Nashville and writing with Dan pushed me to make this song more cinematic than my past stuff, and I took that feeling home with me to LA where Barry and I produced it. We wanted the choruses to sound like the front lines of a battlefield with bombs dropping and bullets whizzing by in a sea dark yet warm soundscape.

Watch “flight attendant” below

How did this EP creative process differ compared to your previous record, “Good Grief!,” and what can fans expect from your upcoming release?

On paper, not much changed in the making of “flight attendant” versus the songs on my last project, which is another reason why it could have potentially been on that last EP. I think the reason that it feels so different though is because I was actually feeling the emotions that I was writing about in real time. In the past, my songs have come from a place of separation and understanding, like I needed a bird’s eye view in order to turn my experiences into something witty. This time, I embraced the brutal honesty of what I was going through instead of trying to outthink it.

For more information or to see any upcoming tour dates, visit Haiden’s website here.