Coleman Hell shares mental health struggles

Coleman Hell didn’t think he’d feel so depressed when his career was going so well.

After two Juno Award nominations and with his banjoinfused electronic single “2 Heads” in heavy rotation on mainstream radio, it seemed like all of his dreams were coming true.

But as the party happened outside, the singer often found himself confined to his bedroom. It was like magnets were pulling him towards his mattress against his will, he said.

“It’s this weird middle ground where you want to move but you can’t,” the Thunder Bay, Ont., performer said of the experience, which he was in the throes of about a year ago.

“It’s something I’ve felt so many times: lying in my bed and feeling so low I can’t get up. I want to, but I can’t muster the strength.”

He describes his innermost experience on “Manic,” a new track he wrote in hopes of laying bare the ugliness of his bipolar disorder.

The song is both a confessional and a reconciliation with himself, in which he ultimately faces his imperfections. The 28-year-old musician was diagnosed many years ago, but had neglected coming to terms with its realities, he said.

“Manic” isn’t part of a new album launch — or even a song Hell planned to release — but he said the longer it sat with him, the more he felt there could be value in revealing his struggles.

“I hadn’t come across a lot of songs that described the experience in any visceral sort of way,” he said.

“I thought that might be something of use to someone. I know there’s a lot of songs that are maybe more hopeful, but this is a real depiction of how it feels.”