Ethan Hooley is a 15-year-old singer-songwriter from South Ham using his music to address youth mental health. Recording under the name TAXES, he creates songs that detail his struggles with severe anxiety.
The Roots of His Advocacy
Hooley faced significant challenges while attending secondary school, where he experienced severe classroom anxiety. He felt the school environment ignored his needs, which led him to move to a homeschooling arrangement starting in Year 7. This change allowed him the space to process his feelings away from a traditional classroom.
Songwriting became his primary outlet when he could not articulate his distress to teachers or peers. He found that music provided a medium to convey feelings that were otherwise difficult to explain. His work draws from personal experience and reflects a desire to open up conversations about mental health issues among young people. He specifically notes that the pressure to conform to a traditional educational setting created a barrier to his well-being that he now wants others to understand.
Translating Experience into Sound
His track titled Pseudonymous provides a clear example of his creative approach. In this song, he includes the lyric, "Put me on the spot and I’ll become candescent," which refers to a moment in class where he felt overwhelmed to the point of crying. Hooley identifies this as a humiliating experience that highlights why more open dialogue is necessary in schools and among young adults.
Hooley takes inspiration from artists such as Ren and YUNGBLUD who are known for their raw, honest lyrical content. He produces his music on a home computer using a gaming microphone and manages the costs of beat licensing himself. This independent approach means he controls his message entirely. His family provides the support system that keeps him focused on his craft.
Industry Context and Future Outlook
Young musicians often face hurdles in production and promotion when they lack the backing of a large studio. Hooley’s story reflects a broader trend of independent artists using digital platforms to bypass traditional gatekeepers. By addressing mental health directly, he joins a growing cohort of Gen Z creators who prioritize personal narrative in their work.
His case demonstrates that personal advocacy can begin at a local level. Whether this leads to wider recognition for his project TAXES remains to be seen, but his output signals a commitment to using creative expression as a tool for awareness. Readers can find his music on Spotify as he continues to work on new tracks.