Aurealis
Aurealis returns with Cursed, a dark cinematic pop journey into fear, self-doubt, and fading hope. In this interview, the artist discusses the song’s emotional origins, haunting visuals, and creative vision.
1. “Cursed” explores hopelessness, inner shadows, and the fear that every dream is destined to fail. What inspired you to tackle these themes, and was there a particular experience or emotion that sparked the song?
“Cursed” comes from a very human place: that voice inside you that tries to convince you the ending has already been written. It is the part of the mind that turns fear into prophecy and tells you not to hope too much, because disappointment is inevitable.
The song has lived with me for a long time. It was written years ago and already existed as a fully formed song before the current tools were part of the process. It is one of the more personal Aurealis releases, not because it tells one literal story, but because it captures an emotional pattern I think many people know: wanting to believe in something while another part of you is already grieving its failure. I wanted to write about that moment when hope starts to disappear, but there is still a small part of you fighting to keep it alive.
2. The track blends dark cinematic pop, electronic elements, and synth-driven atmospheres. How did you approach creating the haunting sonic landscape that supports the song’s emotional weight?
I wanted the production to feel like being trapped inside a beautiful but unsettling room. The sound needed to be cinematic and electronic, but not cold. There had to be movement, tension, and atmosphere around the vocal, almost like the track itself was breathing with the character.
The synths and darker textures help create that sense of internal pressure, while the melodic structure keeps the song connected to pop emotion. For Aurealis, the production is never just decoration. It is part of the storytelling. With “Cursed,” every shadowy sound, every lift, and every moment of restraint was meant to support the feeling of someone wrestling with their own reflection.
3. A recurring theme in your work is immersive emotional storytelling. What makes “Cursed” a unique chapter in your artistic journey, and how does it build upon your previous releases?
Each Aurealis release opens a different door into the same larger world. “Shadow of a Doubt” explored uncertainty and the pull between fear and belief. “Fire in Rain” was about holding onto the spark inside you even when time, pressure, and change try to extinguish it. “Cursed” goes darker and more inward.
What makes this chapter unique is that the conflict is not only around the character; it is inside them. The villain is not a person or a circumstance. It is the voice that says, “This will never work. You are already doomed.” That made “Cursed” feel more psychological, more intimate, and more haunting than some of the earlier releases.
It also expands the Aurealis world visually. The mirrors, shadows, confined spaces, and dreamlike nighttime imagery all become part of the same emotional language.
4. The music video plays a central role in the “Cursed” experience, featuring mirrors, shadows, and a mysterious presence. Can you tell us more about the symbolism behind these visual elements and how they connect to the song’s message?
The video is very important to the full “Cursed” experience. The mirrors represent self-confrontation – the moment when you cannot outrun what is happening inside you anymore. The shadow figure is not simply an outside force. It is the inner voice made visible: the doubt, the fear, the fatalism, the part of yourself that tries to step out of the mirror and take control.
The mysterious presence in the video is meant to feel familiar and unsettling at the same time. It is not a monster in the traditional sense. It is something closer to your own reflection turning against you. That is why the mirror imagery matters so much. “Cursed” is about the fear that the thing haunting you may not be separate from you at all.
5. You describe “Cursed” as portraying the moment when hope begins to disappear, while still fighting to keep it alive. What do you hope listeners take away from the song after experiencing both the music and the visuals?
I hope listeners feel seen, especially if they have ever had that private battle with hopelessness. “Cursed” does not pretend that fear disappears easily. It sits inside that feeling honestly. But I also do not see the song as giving up. Even in its darkness, there is still a pulse, still movement, still a voice trying to sing through it.
After experiencing both the song and the video, I hope people take away the idea that naming the shadow is not the same as surrendering to it. Sometimes the first act of resistance is simply recognizing the voice that has been telling you that you are doomed – and realizing it does not get to write the ending.
6. “Cursed” was created through a human-led creative process that incorporates AI-assisted production and visual tools. How do you balance technology and personal artistic expression to ensure the final work remains authentic to your vision?
For me, the balance comes from knowing what belongs to the human side of the work. The lyrics, melody, emotional concept, and song structure begin with Aurealis. “Cursed” was actually written years ago and existed as a fully formed song before the final production and visuals took shape. Modern tools helped me fully realize the version it was always meant to become, but they did not decide what the song was about.
I see AI-assisted production and visual tools as part of the creative toolkit, not a replacement for authorship. The process is still about direction, taste, revision, and emotional truth. I am constantly making choices: what feels authentic, what does not, what supports the story, and what pulls it away from the intended vision.
The goal of Aurealis has always been to use technology in service of something human – to help realize a human-crafted vision. With “Cursed,” the deeply emotional core of the song was already intact, and the tools helped bring the mirror/shadow world to life.