PersOn404

Hello ! My name is Eric and the person behind the wild,unforgiving and emotional arts of PR4-Stargazzr/PersOn404. 

1.History

The idea of PersOn404 came to me randomly when I started my career on SoundCloud in 2024, choosing to keep most of my identity hidden. Before that, I had already been making music for around four years—learning, experimenting, and slowly building my experience in music production.

It all began with completely arbitrary projects, like creating a soundtrack for an entirely made-up movie about a classmate of mine, as well as a few songs for an unreleased video game that I never returned to once my career as PersOn404 started gaining momentum.

In 2024, I released “Dreams,” my debut EP. The project gradually grew in track count, mainly because I struggled at the time to get ideas flowing quickly. That’s why the EP took a few months to fully come together (you can stream it above on my socials).

Then came “YoU.”, which was more of a joke project. It was my way of poking fun at large trap brands and what I personally felt was the genre’s growing blandness. Hearing the same trap songs repeatedly on TikTok fueled my frustration and pushed me to do things my own way. That said, the project was never meant to target anyone directly—producers included—and if it came across as offensive in any way, I apologize.

The real turning point in my career was my first fully fleshed-out project, “Hardware Chapter 1.” With around 30 tracks, my idea was that showcasing a massive variety of genres would help me blow up. Unfortunately, looking back, it mostly embarrassed me—many of the tracks were, in my opinion, underproduced.

Now, as of January 23rd, with the release of “Hardware Chapter 2 – Never Even If I Tried,” my perspective on all my previous projects has changed. This album was designed with intention. Every EP and album—including the prequel—was recontextualized to connect seamlessly as part of a larger narrative.

While the release timeline may suggest otherwise, the intended order is:
Hardware Chapter 1 → Dreams → Hardware Chapter 2 → YoU.

2. My Passion and what i learned

Initially i saw music as a sort of videogame resource back in the day when i worked on games , but from the moment i made a certain promise to focus on it , my music wasn't a videogame resource anymore but a window into my psyche . Then i discovered xaev

Even without ever coming into direct contact, xaev ended up shaping my entire career in ways I couldn’t have predicted. The inspiration I drew from their music wasn’t just motivation—it became a kind of mission. Their work showed me what was possible emotionally, structurally, and creatively, and it pushed me to take music far more seriously than I ever had before.

At the same time, I was consciously aware of the line between inspiration and imitation. While I spent time studying their sound, I made a deliberate effort not to copy their brand or identity. I wanted to understand why their music worked, not simply recreate it. That internal balance—being inspired while still remaining original—became one of the defining challenges of my growth as an artist.

This is also why projects like HARDWARE ended up spanning such a wide range of genres. Instead of locking myself into a single sound, I chose experimentation as a way to discover my own voice. Each track became part of a broader search for identity, shaped by influence but ultimately driven by my own experiences, ideas, and emotions.

3. The meaning behind PersOn404

The meaning behind my music—and my alias—comes from personal experiences that I’ve chosen to keep partially hidden. PersOn404 acts as a metaphor: a missing identity, an unresolved version of myself. Most of my music is meant to be experienced individually, almost privately, rather than in social or party settings—unless the tone explicitly allows it, such as “Sunset Party,” which is designed for a more public, shared experience.

The HARDWARE saga as a whole tells a shortened, abstracted story of my school life—my struggles during middle school, emotional isolation, and the long-lasting effects of rejection. This is why YoU. carries a noticeably darker tone. What makes the story unique is that it’s told through the perspective of four overarching personalities: Evan, representing Hardware Chapter 1; Stargazzr, embodying most of Hardware Chapter 2 and the Dreams EP; and Markus, symbolizing the oppressive and destructive mindset present in YoU. Together, these identities form a fragmented narrative of growth, conflict, and self-understanding.

HARDWARE is also about giving a sonic structure to environments—turning places, lighting, and atmosphere into sound. Hardware Chapter 1 is divided into three subchapters—Summer, Autumn, and Winter—each representing a different emotional and environmental state. From there, Dreams focuses on the warmth of sodium street lights, capturing their quiet beauty and the comfort they bring during nighttime solitude.

Hardware Chapter 2 shifts that atmosphere by confronting the cold, intrusive nature of LED lighting—how oppressive and artificial it can feel—while still holding onto the faint hope of seeing a sodium light bulb in the distance. Finally, YoU. represents the psychological breaking point: a reflection of how deeply Markus was affected by these environments, showing just how far his mental state deteriorated under that relentless, unnatural light.

4. The future

Looking forward, from the moment that the HARDWARE saga has reached its conclusion, my focus shifts toward creating projects that exist outside of that narrative. These future works won’t be direct continuations, but they will remain loosely—sometimes ironically—canon to the larger universe I’ve built. Think of it like a tree: the HARDWARE saga forms the trunk, while new projects grow outward as separate branches, each exploring different ideas, sounds, and emotions. While independent in nature, they all stem from the same roots, shaped by the same experiences that defined everything before.