Oliver Sim – Hideous Bastard

Oliver Sim didn't actually have any desire to follow in the footsteps of his The xx bandmates Romy Madley Croft and Jamie Smith and start a solo project. Nor did he think he really had the courage to do so. However, when he was working with Jamie xx on a track called "Romance with a Memory," the latter said, "I think you should do a full record." And that was the beginning of the long and painful birth of "Hideous Bastard," Oliver Sim's solo debut album, which will be released on Young. "For almost three years I asked myself questions and was searching for answers while writing," Sim describes the process of creating the album.

The revelation of his HIV disease thematically follows the record, as it has always overshadowed his life. In that first song, "Hideous," Sim wonders if his disarming honesty will set him free. The hope and tension are reflected in the musical environment he has created with his friend Jamie xx. Oliver began writing and recording songs at home in London, inspired by his fondness for horror films and his own life, tackling themes of fear and shame through the lens of a queer man in his thirties.

A few months later, he returned to Jamie with a collection of demos, and the two began producing them together. He enlisted the help of his lifelong hero and now friend Jimmy Somerville, among others, to put the finishing touches on the album, and also spoke with Elton John about his music. Then it was up to French director Yann Gonzales to create a visual world with the short film "Hideous." The film will premiere at this year's Cannes Film Festival.

"Hideous Bastard" has become an audiovisual event, as Oliver Sim would never have thought himself capable of in the beginning, all the more impressive is now the result.