Soldier Of Sound: Hilmy Amim

An interview with Hilmy Amim, a guitarist with a unique style and personality. He plays for three rock bands and still finds time for work and family.

What projects are you currently involved in?
I play guitar for The Propositions, Kathrika, and The Pale Ones.

How do you juggle between work and music?
My job involves random hours and being on call most of the time. Whenever I can find some downtime, I'll try to fill those hours with music, whether playing or listening.

What's your inspiration behind The Pale Ones' music? 
I've always been fascinated by historical accounts of the paranormal. So I think the horror aspects of history, folklore, and religion, whether fictional or not, play a big part when I write music for The Pale Ones. The main challenge is trying to convey a myriad of feelings involved with those subjects without the use of words.



How's your writing process like? 
I always try to write with a three-piece setup in mind. With those limitations, it forces me to get creative in other ways. The writing process usually starts with a melody or chord progression, and I'd write the other parts around that. Then I would record the demos at home, lay them down track by track, and share them with the rest of the band when we need to play them live.

Any plans for an EP or album? 
I have a list of brand new material and a title for a future EP, now it's just a matter of actually recording them whenever I have the time and means to do so. Musically, it's something much heavier and involves more time signature changes...I'd like to challenge myself, and probably frustrate the rest of the band. *laughs*

What are your main musical influences?
Bands like The National, Mew, Deftones, Dir En Grey, Radiohead, Placebo, Kings of Leon, Wolf Alice, Coheed & Cambria, and Chelsea Wolfe.

What are your weapons of choice?
For my live setup, my main guitar right now is my Korean-made Epiphone Les Paul Custom, a pretty beat up second-hand model I got from Japan. And of course my Boss RC-30 looper (for samples and live looping) and Zoom G5. For my home recording rig, I go with my Japanese Fender Jaguar JGS, Epiphone Thunderbird Pro, and a Zoom G5n.

If you had a chance to either perform or record with one of your idols, who would it be? 
Chelsea Wolfe, definitely.

What's your message to young aspiring musicians?
Don't ape your idols. Just experiment and have fun. If you don't love what you play, then what's the point right?