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- Hi guys, welcome to VENTS! How have you been?
Thanks for having me! Well… this year has been a fucking rollercoaster. There have been more downs than ups, but I’m in the process of building myself back up again. The new album was a huge part of that, so I’m really looking forward to the release of Follow the White Rabbit.
- “IVORY” feels like the beginning of a new chapter for the band, while the idea of things needing to end before they can begin again suggests a major transformation. What needed to end for this new era to begin?
It was something that just happened, nothing I initiated. Basically everything that meant something to me slowly fell apart between September 2025 and the middle of 2026, while I was working on this album. Music was everything I had left. The album became even more special to me afterwards because it already foreshadowed so many things without me realizing it. During the writing process, I was lonely and depressed most of the time, dealing with a lot of anxiety and carrying a lot of things I needed to get off my chest. Everything somehow fell into place. Even though it was the most painful time, it was also a time when I had no other choice than to focus on myself. So basically my old life just ended, and this album marks a new beginning—not only for GHØSTKID, but even more for Sebastian. I’m still in that process.
- The album is described as “a journey through the darkness of the human mind.” What were some of the darker corners of your own mind that you found yourself exploring while creating FOLLOW THE WHITE RABBIT?
There was a lot… Almost every track is about a specific situation I was facing while trying to make it through that difficult time. Each song describes a different moment. Even though there are some older tracks on the record, they became meaningful again because similar situations repeated themselves. It wasn’t just a few darker corners…my whole world became a dark place. Even though I’m doing better now, I’m still trying to process everything. If I had to break it down to the most intense feeling from that time, it was probably extreme loneliness. I was dealing with a lot of scary thoughts and it felt like nobody could really help me. It was like being stuck in a nightmare created by myself.
- What can you tell us about the “white rabbit” at the center of this new era? Is it something the listener is meant to follow toward salvation, deeper darkness, or perhaps something entirely different?
The whole White Rabbit concept is an homage to Alice in Wonderland or, more specifically, American McGee’s Alice. When you’re confronted with too many things at once, your whole world becomes a different place. Being depressed can mean being trapped inside your own confusing world, like a dark Wonderland . It looks different for every single one of us. Even if you know that world isn’t real, you still try to find a way out. At some point during the writing process, I really felt like I was losing my mind. I was constantly shifting between being motivated and not giving a fuck, and then being completely burned out and sad. That was the moment when I thought: I feel like Alice in Wonderland, but in a negative way. That’s when the title Follow the White Rabbit came to my mind.
There’s no happy ending for the listener and no deeper hidden meaning. It’s basically just a deep dive into my mind at that time.
- “IVORY” gives us our first taste of the album. Why did this particular song feel like the right introduction to FOLLOW THE WHITE RABBIT?
That was mainly an artistic decision. We listened to the whole record and tried to find the best song to introduce this new chapter. I think “IVORY” is the perfect track because of its raw energy and the blend between the old and new GHØSTKID sound. It feels familiar and fresh at the same time.
- GHØSTKID has always embraced darkness, intensity, and theatricality. How did you push those elements further on this album while still finding new territory for the project to explore?
I wouldn’t say that I intentionally pushed the project in one specific direction. The biggest difference on this record is that there’s probably no distance at all between me and the stories or messages behind the tracks. Even when I write about things metaphorically, it feels much more raw this time. My music has always been personal, but in the past I wrote more about things that made me think or resonated with me in a certain way. I always said that “Heavy Rain” was the most intense track for me to write because it was about myself and a painful experience. This record is basically full of “Heavy Rain” moments.
- There’s something inherently intriguing about pairing such a bleak concept with the idea of rebirth and starting again. Do you see FOLLOW THE WHITE RABBIT as ultimately a dark record, or is there hope hiding somewhere within all that darkness?
Well… I think it’s simply a dark record, with some chaos and irony here and there. Overall, though, it’s pretty dark. This record is more about facing your inner demons and self-reflection. I think the positive side of it for listeners is that, if you’re dealing with difficult things yourself, it can show you that you’re not alone. Music doesn’t always need to be positive. Sometimes it helps you heal simply because a track is there by your side and helps you understand yourself a little better.
- You announced the European and UK tour before revealing the album, giving fans plenty of time to speculate about what was coming. How much fun has it been watching people try to decode the clues and teasers you’ve been dropping?
Haha, well… I just wanted to keep everything a bit more cryptic. But honestly, most of it came out of nowhere because I wasn’t functioning properly at a certain point. Then I realized that the concept was already there, because the whole record is basically about me. It can be chaotic and confusing because that’s how my life looks right now. There were a lot of situations where I just followed my instincts. For example, I suddenly painted all the walls in my office. I wasn’t even thinking about whether it would look cool or not, I just did it. Dealing with anxiety most of the time created a lot of self-doubt in my art and in myself. Just doing things without overthinking really helped me reconnect with myself.
- GHØSTKID has developed a very distinctive visual identity alongside its music. How important was the visual world of FOLLOW THE WHITE RABBIT in shaping the album itself, and did any of the music inspire the imagery in return?
For me it has always gone hand in hand. I’m not only a musician, and I think the visual aesthetic is another way to communicate. I always say that watching a movie without music would be fucking boring. Music feels different when you combine it with visuals and specific colors. Even when I’m writing music, I see colors and storylines. There is absolutely a symbiosis between art and music. Sometimes I watch a movie or see a painting, and it inspires me to write a soundtrack that eventually becomes a GHØSTKID track.
- After everything you’ve explored with GHØSTKID so far, what did you want to do on this album that you hadn’t been able to do before?
That’s a tough question. I think what really changed was the songwriting in general. This time, it was much more focused on what I was feeling in the moment, rather than on what I thought it should sound like. I tend to overthink a lot and get lost in the writing process. This time, there was simply a feeling and I just had to find the perfect sound to express it. Or I would just start writing something and then the feeling would kick in and reveal what the track was really about. That helped me improve my songwriting, because when you create something that you genuinely like, the most important part is already there. You just have to let the magic happen.
- Finally, when listeners finish FOLLOW THE WHITE RABBIT for the first time, what do you hope they’re left feeling — and what do you hope they discover by following the rabbit all the way to the end?
My biggest wish is that they feel this is so much more than just an album ; something that becomes as special to them as it is to me. I hope I can help some people out there make it through rough times, or that they simply enjoy what they hear. As long as they connect with what they hear or see, I’m more than grateful, because every track is a little part of Sebastian..
