Power chords, crashing drums, and ear-catching vocals form the basis of Mike Shinoda’s distorted and pulsating new single ‘Already Over’. That’s not surprising, given they’ve all been constants in his multi-decade-spanning career so far. Speaking to Junkee, the legendary songwriter/producer breaks down how a return to his roots has brought on new beginnings.
“As a reminder to myself, I like to go into projects looking for what I can learn, and to do something different and refreshing,” Mike Shinoda tells me over Zoom. He isn’t a stranger to new horizons, having explored everything from explosive nu-metal to eerie electronica as part of the marauding megaband Linkin Park. When he wasn’t busy sharing the gospel of metal with new audiences, he spent his free time as an alchemist of sounds, creating concoctions of hip-hop and pop throughout side projects like Fort Minor and solo albums like Post Traumatic.
After 20 years traversing sonic terrain, where do you go next? Back to where you started. See, ‘Already Over’, Mike’s latest single, isn’t about finding something new, but rediscovering a place he’s already been. We’re the lucky ones who get to come along for the ride.
Mike Shinoda: Refinding Routes
Since the release of Linkin Park’s first two albums, Mike Shinoda has been a master of speedy, straightforward rock music. But much like a food spot near where you grew up, or that after-school hangout where you used to loiter with your friends, it takes leaving something behind before you can really appreciate its beauty again. This feels like it applies for Mike’s ‘Already Over’, his “first rock song in like, forever”. It finds him stomping in the sludge of power chords, power walking to the bounce of crashing drums, and maniacally smiling as distortion catapults throughout the mix like mortars.
As listeners, we stand alongside him, also retreading the paths of our past (and, surely, regretting some haircuts). I reminisce on the brutal barrages of Linkin Park songs like ‘Lying From You’ that accompanied me through primary school. Others likely recall the similar shredding of bands like My Chemical Romance that soundtracked their Myspace pages. Mike too loved winding back the clock for this track. “As a songwriter, you go through different phases of inspiration, and I found that around late last year I was writing songs specifically with my own voice in mind,” Mike tells me. “I started writing this song with my Fender Strat in my lap, and this punk-rock, alternative style just really suited where I wanted to go, which became a way for me to get back to my roots.”
For Mike, the challenge of ‘Already Over’ was summoning past versions of himself to assist with the task. He called upon his younger self, who revelled in making bangers from his bedroom during Linkin Park’s formative years, and the DIY beatsmith he became while making his 2020 experimental album series Dropped Frames. He’s spent the last few years behind the board collaborating and producing for the likes of Demi Lovato, and tells me that writing and recording solo is now more of a summit to climb. “When you find yourself in the middle of creating something, it’s hard to know if it’s actually good,” he tells me.
The more he wrote leading into ‘Already Over’, the more it became clear that these production pursuits weren’t stifling him, but were his superpowers. He harkens back to times working with artists like Demi Lovato and fellow Linkin Park band member Chester Bennington, remembering that “they sometimes would suffer from anxiety, which could come from places like a fear of forgetting words or failing to perform, so as a producer it’s your job to guide them through that”. On this new song, he’s guiding himself, overcoming overthinking, approaching every aspect with a focus on his voice, and still harnessing the power of collaboration by getting feedback from people around him. “It took me speaking to friends, management, and label people to feel that encouragement.”
Mike Shinoda: Extending Branches
Mike joins me for this chat from Brisbane, which he’s visiting to attend the city’s annual music conference, BIGSOUND, where he’ll be speaking to emerging and established artists in Australia’s music scene. This year’s BIGSOUND saw performances from acts like Isaac Puerile and Zheani, artists that defy genre labels by mixing together raps, melodies, electronics, and dense live instrumentation in their studios/laboratories. “Looking at the schedule, there’s so much music here that it’s almost impossible to wrap your head around. It speaks to how much amazing stuff is going on in music right now,” he says.
BIGSOUND’s stacked schedule reflects just how crowded the music scene is right now. Spotify is stimulation overload, ostensibly providing you with personalised yet automated recommendations that often just leaves me overwhelmed. Personal playlists become a safe haven, providing a one-tap option for you to experience music you already know that you like, limiting your urge to seek out something new. This 2022 Guardian article reports that while 60,000 songs are uploaded to Spotify every day, around half the DSP’s album charts are still made up of Greatest Hits albums from the likes of Bob Marley and Oasis.
Mike, someone who rose to prominence in the days of CDs, and who’s still thriving in the digital age, believes that the power of music will prevail over any algorithm, we just need to do our bit by continuing to share our tastes with one another. It’s one of the main reasons he still finds himself at events like BIGSOUND. “Looking back when I was young, it was shocking how things still got to us, and in a sense, went viral,” he says. “We found the cheat codes to games, we traded demos, dubbed albums onto cassettes. Even now, when I gravitate to an artist, I go to their social media, and I tell my friends about it. Everything is different now, but that gives you the opportunity to readjust your approach to a song every time.”
Mike Shinoda: Beckoning New Beginnings
When the driving riffs of ‘Already Over’ begin, you go back in time. Old food spots, hangouts, or that emo phase — there’s nothing like reminscing on a simpler time. Good memories are like the power chords of this song; they may bring you back for a second, but they still hit in the present. It’s not the nostalgia driving that enjoyment, it’s just the fact that the things that make up these memories are really damn good. This was Mike’s intention in returning to his roots, exploring all the new branches that blossom throughout personal growth.
So if that old food spot isn’t hitting the same as it once was, use it as fuel to find a new place of love. If the old hangout spot is fenced off, frequent a new spot with the people you love. If you can’t find that old Myspace account, use your Instagram to gush about your latest music obsessions. And if you’re like me, save a couple of those grey hairs, because age gives us the ability to reflect and revisit the past to inform our next chapter and start anew. Take it from Mike: “This song has a little Linkin Park DNA, a little Fort Minor DNA, but it also marks the fact that I’m in a place now where I don’t have to revisit the past anymore.”
“Now, I feel equipped and ready to focus on the art in front of me and the path ahead.”
Henry Owens is a Melbourne-based writer dedicated to good bars and gargantuan breakdowns. You can find him trawling on Twitter and Instagram.
Image credit: Mike Miller