Hayden James

Hayden James

Photo: Cybele Malinowski

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Hayden James Dives Deep Into Debut Album, Feeling Inspired By Flume & Daft Punk

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"I wanted to keep it very true to what I do, which I think is very simple production but very powerful, very summery style beats as well," the Aussie singer/producer tells the Recording Academy about 'Between Us'
Ana Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Jun 19, 2019 - 11:01 am

Hayden James released his debut album, Between Us, on June 14. Featuring nine powerful vocalists across its 11 dreamy, chill-house tracks, it explores the different phases of romantic relationships in a story of like and love. But the Aussie singer/producer isn't the new kid in town. In fact, he's been putting out vibey, warm-weather jams for several summers now.

James first released his self-titled debut EP in 2013 on Aussie indie electronic label Future Classic, home to a small but mighty group of talent, including GRAMMY winner Flume. He followed with a trail of big singles, including "Something About You" in 2015, which put him on the map in both Australia and the U.S., with American dream-house duo ODESZA releasing a firery remix that same year.

Prior to dropping Between Us Stateside, we sat down with James to learn more about his vision for the project, what goes into choosing his collaborators, putting out an album versus a single, and how he gets the finished product to feel so fluid. James also talked about his biggest musical influences, which include his labelmates (Hi, Flume!), as well as the group that first caused him to fall in love with electronic music: GRAMMY winners and dance-music icons Daft Punk.

You're about to drop Between Us, your debut album. How are you feeling?

Great, amazing. It actually is out now in Australia. It hit midnight a couple of hours ago, tomorrow. I'm already getting some people commenting and going, "Oh, it's worth the wait." Because it's been six years since my first release and yeah, people have always just gone like, "We need more music," basically. So to be able to give them this, it feels incredible.

I don't think it's really hit me. It kind of did this morning; I've been up since 5:00 a.m. and through flying around a lot and the different time zones, but seeing it on Spotify for the first time and Apple Music, scrolling through I'm like, these aren't just demos on my phone anymore, people can actually actively listen to them now. It feels really cool.

What did you tweet earlier today, like, "I'm not crying, you're crying"?

Yeah. [Laughs.] I think I will later. Absolutely.

I bet it comes in waves, right?

Definitely. Yeah, for sure. And it's the first time I've ever had an album out, so, I'll let you know. [Laughs.]



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It’s finally here... my album, ‘Between Us’. I honestly didn’t think this day would come. It’s been a long journey to get here and I’m so proud of what I’ve created. ⁣ ⁣ Between Us is about those intimate moments in your life.. that energy you feel with someone. It’s a look at different stages of relationships - love, loss and everything in between. ⁣ ⁣ I dreamed of writing a record that you can press play on the first song and just let it play all the way through... no fillers - every song belonging, fitting into the story and meaning something special. I hope I’ve done this for you. ⁣ ⁣ To everyone that listens to my music, comes to my shows and supports me, thanks for waiting so long for this moment. I’m so excited to share this new music with you. ⁣ There’s so many people that helped me get here. To everyone involved in making this record with me, thank you from the bottom of my heart. You’ve helped me realise my dream. ⁣ This feels like just the beginning. ⁣ ⁣ Love, ⁣ Hayden James. ⁣

A post shared by Hayden James (@haydenjames) on

I'm sure it's a different feeling from putting a track out that people really vibe with.

Yeah, one song and it's like, cool. But this is a whole story and it makes sense together so it's definitely... It's like I'm writing a book. And yeah, it nearly killed me. [Laughs.]

"I wanted to keep it very true to what I do, which I think is very simple production but very powerful, very summery style beats as well."

Going into that process of starting your first album, what was the main sound or goal you had with the project?

So the main goal was to not only tell this story of mine, but to keep the production the same. You know when a band or a group, they'll write a couple of singles or whatever, then they'll go for the album or they'll do the second album and there will be a change. It'll be like, "You know we're trying something different." I hate that. The reason I'm a fan of you is how you do something.

I wanted to keep it very true to what I do, which I think is very simple production but very powerful, very summery style beats as well. I've worked with a bunch of amazing feature vocalists on this, people who I've worked with previously too, so it kind of felt right to tell this story together.

I started the process about two years [ago]. I always wanted to write an album, but I actively said, "Hey, I want to do an album." That was about maybe two and a half years ago, actually. After I had written maybe 30, 40 demos, I kind of dwindled it down into 11.

What was that process like, of having to put your babies away in the corner?

I've still got them. But yeah it feels good to just choose the strongest ones, the ones that make sense together. I really enjoyed picking the order of the tracks as well, that's a huge thing for me. One of the big goals of mine as well with an album is, and you can't do this with many albums I don't think, is to listen, like press play on the first track and just listen through. There tends to be a lot of other filler songs or stuff that just doesn't make sense to the listener, which I'm sure that that'll be the case with this for a lot of it, but to me it makes a lot of sense. It was a lot of fun figuring out how they all fit together too.

Did having that "just press play and listen" qualifier help you find the sound of the album or the path of the songs?

Yeah, absolutely. These all fit together not just through the story, but also sonically as well. And they all kind of came effortlessly in that every single that I've ever done, it's been quite quick. It's often taken months to produce and make it what I want, but the actual writing of the song has always been literally a day or less with that vocalist, so that's what these songs represent too.

Where do you start when you work on a song? Is it the beat, is it an idea?

It's always different. I play piano and guitar and saxophone, so I'll just play and see what happens. I'll listen to friends' stuff and be like, "Oh, that's cool." I'll listen to older stuff as well, older electronic stuff. Or I'll have 10 or 15 demos, when I'm like, "Oh, I'm with Boy Matthews tomorrow, I'm gonna write a bunch of stuff quickly now." With literally just a couple of core progressions and maybe some different beat ideas, we'll get together and just start going and then it just evolves like that.

I was impressed by how you have nine different collaborators on the album and, even with those different inputs in the way they sound and their style, it all flows well so together.

Yeah, I think that's because I'm the one telling the story and they're helping me do that.

How did you choose the collaborators?

A lot of them through my label Future Classic. I met Shungudzo at the Future Classic x Dropbox studio [in Los Angeles] last year. I met Boy Matthews from a friend of a friend in New York the year before. Elderbrook, I toured with in the States, so there's all these different connections. Nat Dunn, who sings with NAATIONS on "Nowhere To Go" and on "Favours," she's an Aussie as well, but we had never met and have mutual friends. So yeah, it's all different connections. Some people I just reached out to on their Instagram and said, "Hey let's do something."

Were there any chance encounters, like someone introduced you to someone, but it felt naturally once it happened?

Yeah, the last song I wrote on the record is "Lost to You" featuring Farr, and the guy who sings on it is Romero. So I was in L.A. in January and kind of finishing up the album, but I felt like I needed a couple of more songs to choose from. And he is a friend of my manager actually, they manage him too but he hasn't really put a lot of stuff out yet. We had a session, I was literally flying out back to Sydney that night and I had like three hours, and we had a session near the airport, and within half an hour I was like, "This has got to be on the record." It just makes sense to me. Yeah so, that was very chance it was just like, "What?" And out here, the right time, the right place.

"Just Friends" with Boy Matthews was a really big summer track last year. Did you guys go back in the studio together to work on "Hold Me Back," or what was the process for the second collab together?

We didn't actually, because I haven't been here in the States for a little while, so we did that one just over the net and FaceTime. So I would rent out a studio here, like a Future Classic studio, or there's another one called Westlake Studios, and kinda just be on the phone with him, guiding him through what I was feeling and all that kind of stuff, and we would write together that way, just on FaceTime. And just send stuff back and forth. I think it wouldn't have worked if we didn't collaborate before and knowing how we work together. Everyone else I was in the studio with, but yeah the fact that we knew each other from before that and had collaborated very closely in the studio made it easier.

What was your hope going into that second song together? Were you trying to create your next summer hit?

Boy and I together equal pop music. So it's like the brother or sister of "Just Friends," a little bit darker. The theme revolves around the fact that you want to let this person go, but they're not leaving. So it's a bit darker and a bit sadder then "Just Friends," but I love it.

You talked a bit about being part of Future Classic, but I'd like to know a little more about what it's like being part of such a powerhouse indie label.

Yeah, it feels like a major label because of the incredible artists on it. It's amazing because they're an Aussie label and they've only just recently come over to the States.

The L.A. studio, I don't think it's a year old, but yeah they've been here in that office for maybe two years I think. They're Sydney guys and I knew of them because of Flume, Touch Sensitive and a whole bunch of people like that. So it's an honor to be a part of a group of such amazing artists that I look up to, and it's also great representing Australian music too, with an Australian label.

They're great people. They're so dedicated to what they do and they just got this idea of where they want to take things.

Do you feel like it enhances you as an artist creatively, being a part of that crew?

Yeah, definitely. I think because the music's so cool that people release, you feel... Not pressure, but just like, "I need to step up too and make my mark." 

Like healthy sibling rivalry with your brother or sister.

Exactly, it's like "Oh that's good! All right, sh*t." I just heard Flume's song with London Grammar and was like, that's tight, I always wanted to collaborate with someone like her. It's great too because we're all actually friends. I think all of us kinda live over here [in L.A.] now, but, we all live really close to each other in Sydney. It's pretty wild. What So Not, Flume, Touch, RÜFÜS DU SOL, Flight Facilities, we're all within like 20 miles of each other.

Do you have a good summer barbecues together? 

Absolutely, I had the ODESZA guys around last summer and they were like, "We need to move here, this is wild, you guys all live here together." And we've all got studios so we can all just hang out, and we send each other music all the time and demos.

That's cool, that sounds like being in a really good school for music.

Yeah, it's fully open, everyone trusts each other, it's good just to share other music as well, because we DJ as well, and just sharing what we're into.

What sort of music did you listen to growing up, and who are your biggest influences now?

Growing up, it was whatever my parents and my older brother would listen to. So my parents used to listen to Queen, David Bowie, Lionel Richie, the Beach Boys. I love the Beach Boys because of their harmonies and that's how I kind of got into music. My brother used to listen to Nirvana and Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters, but then he brought home Daft Punk's "Around The World." When I heard that it just changed my whole perspective on music, and I just started getting into dance music from there.

About how old where you then?

Sh*t, like, 15, 14. From there I was the biggest Daft Punk fan, even still now. There's a couple songs on my record, there's one called "Feelin'" which I'm singing on and it's got that very Daft funky vibe. And it comes from my love of my favorite album, [Daft Punk's 2001 LP] Discovery. That's [almost] 20 years old, Discovery. It's wild, I still listen to it, I'm like, if this was released now I'd still be in love with it.

It feels really classic without feeling super vintage.

Exactly. It's not so much the fact of they're telling story through their songs, but they're not relying on production of the time, which is what I try and do as well. If you can listen to a song that's five years old that you still love, that's great, it's a good song. I think for me it's important to be able to play a song on the guitar around a campfire, it doesn't have to be the electronic version of it. It's about writing songs first for me then producing at some point.

And you mentioned that the production part tends to be the longest part of the process for you. Are you kind of your own worst critic?

That's why it's taking me so long, yeah. Well, that's kind of the how of telling the story, we've got the why, with what the song is, and the how is that, well you can tell it any way you want, and that's the most difficult thing. I could've released this two years ago, but it just wouldn't have been anything like what it is now for me. So it's really important for me to be able to find that voice and get it right, through the production.

What do you think makes a good dance track? What about a good summer jam?

I mean, I love FISHER. I love just all that kind of massive builds into really simple drops. I don't write dance music really, but I love DJing so, yeah, lots of different dance music on my USB too, other than FISHER.

It's just all FISHER.

[Laughs.] It's all FISHER. But yeah totally different to writing songs, and summer songs.

For me it's like, there's a saying people say, "Don't bore us, get to the chorus." So it's just like, if there's a hook or something, I don't want eight bars of something before the first verse, it's like, let's go. I guess that's what pop music is for me as well, it's pretty immediate. And that's kind of what I figured out, when I wrote "Just Friends" and "Something About You" especially it's like, you are straight in, within the first five seconds, you're into the track you know what's going on immediately.

It takes a while to figure out, okay, why is this song so popular, what have they done? And a lot of people try and emulate that, unsuccessfully. And it's just about being unique but also figuring out, there are little things you can do, it's not a formula, it's a feeling. And the better you are at it the more you'll make it your own. So I feel like I've made a certain thing work for me.

It's kinda like your thesis statement as an artist, it can adapt and evolve but if you know, sort of the way you're going to go it makes more sense to the listener.

And it's got your DNA on it because you're writing it. And that's why there's a lot of other big pop stars out there that have people write their music for them, and you can kind of tell because it just doesn't feel right, it doesn't feel the same as what their earlier stuff felt like.

You have a big tour coming up: You're going to hit up Australia first, and then the U.S. in the fall. What are you most looking forward to about touring this time around?

Playing all the new music. When I was touring the last couple of years, it was off singles, and so what else do I play? Because when I played my live show I don't want to play anyone else's music, I like playing only stuff I've touched, so it's like remixes, edits of things. For years I've played demos of some of the songs that were on the album, I would just say "Hey, here's something new" and just see what the crowd reaction was. But now that I have an album that's probably the most exciting thing, I'm pumped about playing that live, but also bringing it to so many different cities in a new way as well. It's a new show, so I'm really excited about it.

When you would play demos and stuff did that sort of affect your creative process or editing process?

Definitely. I remember before "Better Together" was released with Running Touch I would structure it a bit differently live to make it build a bit longer and play some base notes on the SPD a little bit differently, and I'm like, "Actually, that's really hot, that's gotta be in the track." So yeah, playing something live changed a few things for me for sure.

Any hints you want to give to fans about the tour? What to expect, any special guests?

Yeah so I've got a couple of people. Especially on the West Coast I've got a whole bunch of people from the record. They're actually going to come and sing at the shows, which is cool. I love that, when I go and see a group and they've got the singers that actually perform on the track come out. So that's really fun. Brand-new production as well, the lighting thing that we've been working on with my Aussie guys for like six months.

What are you most excited about for next year?

I'm pumped for the album but I feel like there's a huge weight that's been lifted off me now. That's done and it's so exciting, and I feel way more confident.

I think that's one of the big things for me is, when you release something, there are people out there on the internet that will just shade you, and you're just like, "Aw, I feel horrible." Which is tough, and you've gotta learn just to say, "F*** off." Like, who are these people? So releasing the album, now I feel really confident because I'm so proud of it, no matter what anyone says or thinks about it, to be honest.

I'm just using that energy and writing a whole lot more. I'd love to do a couple of collaborations, first up. I want to release another two singles this year after the album. I've been speaking with the Gorgon City guys, the ODESZA guys. I have a whole bunch of stuff in the works already.

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Nick Murphy

Nick Murphy

Photo: Willy Lukatis

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Nick Murphy Talks New Album, Touring Again & Taking Rick Rubin's Advice

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The Aussie crooner formerly known as Chet Faker dropped his first LP in five years today, 'Run Fast Sleep Naked'—we caught up with him for backstory
Ana Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Apr 26, 2019 - 6:00 pm

Today, Australian singer/producer Nick Murphy, who the world used to know as Chet Faker, released his long-awaited sophomore album, Run Fast Sleep Naked.

He put out his first EP, Thinking In Textures, in 2012 as Chet Faker, followed by a collab EP with fellow Aussie (and GRAMMY winning electronic artist) Flume in 2013. In 2014 he released his debut studio album, Built On Glass, fully introducing the world to his smooth vocals and equally luscious beats. While it may have been five years since his last LP, he did release a handful of tracks sporadically since then, including "Fear Less" in 2016, the first one released as Murphy.

Often times, an artist's winding journey gets boiled down to a simple sentence or equation even, with the time between albums or tours effectively erased in the social conscious. But every song has a story behind it, an experience that drew out those emotions. We sat down with Murphy last week, ahead of his sophomore album drop and upcoming world tour, to hear the story behind the tracks, and in the spaces between.

So Run Fast Sleep Naked, your five-years-later sophomore album drops soon. How are you feeling about sharing it with the world? Did you feel different pressure with this release?

I'm feeling good about it, I guess. I'm partly nervous about starting touring again because I only have one memory of doing this before and it was pretty intense. So I'm worried of it getting away from me again.

But I feel really good about the record. I wasn't nervous about it. Honestly, the Missing Link EP that I put out [in 2017], purged any nervousness out. It was almost deliberately challenging for everyone, so I could remove any sense of having to fulfill expectations for other people. I think that's what that whole earlier period was about. So it paved this blank canvas for this record, for me to just come in and not think about it, to just do what I want to do. I'm excited, actually. I'm really looking forward to it being out.

Yeah, it's not like you disappeared for five years…

No, I decompressed it. It's like there was a whole lot of tension built up. I got really big really fast and it was kind of just letting some air out of the tires, you know? And then I definitely after that did sort of go quiet for a while, but I felt like that was necessary. You can get sick of yourself, let alone the fans get like, "Oh, okay," you know? So, I took a year off of social media and just chilled out and finished the record.

But, this record has a deeper meaning to me than some of the other stuff I've put out. It's somewhat spiritual and it has some mantras and answers that I was looking for, so it's something that I feel like is worth sharing. It's not just like, "Oh, this is cool," there's a message here.

With this album you were traveling the world with a microphone, right?

Kind of, yeah.

Did you go out being like, "I need to do things differently to make this record," or was it more, "I need to get away and maybe I'll bring a mic just in case"?

It wasn't separate, those two. Honestly, as I've gotten older and done this more it's like the same, it's like neither living nor making the art comes first, they're the same thing

I didn't go and do stuff to finish the record, you know what I mean? I just knew I had to travel because I realized that if I stayed still for too long in a place I would sink into this slump, and I didn't know how to get out of that slump. And every time I've traveled I've noticed I got out and I was moving. I just didn't want to fall back into that slump, so I just kept moving. And the more I did that the more I noticed that it also had a creative echo. So I would move and then songs would fall out.

I would kind of write stories in my head, mini stories, and then I would go and live that story. So I went to Morocco, into the northern Sahara, nine hours out of Marrakesh for three nights and stayed in the desert and that's where I shot the record cover. So I just had that idea and then I'd go and do it and live it, and I just made sure I always had stuff to document what was going on.

So did you always have a notebook and a mic?

Yeah, always. That's what my bag is, just filled with sh*t. A friend of mine once told me that art is just documenting a life worth living and that stuck with me. Like you don't try and make art, you just have to live properly and honestly, and then just make sure you're paying attention and then documenting. Because when you're having a good time it's really easy to be like, "Ah, f*** it."

That's the really hard part about being an artist. You have to be diligent, but you also have to kind of be a child at the same time. You have to feel joy and enjoy things and truthfully connect, but then be an adult and be diligent about capturing and documenting it.

Do you want to tell one or two of the back stories for specific songs on the album? What about the lead single, "Sanity?"

"Sanity." That one was interesting. That's the oldest song on the record. That one I had written for years as a voice memo. About three years ago, maybe, two and a half years.

I was in Japan, in Koyasan, which is a mountain village four hours on a bullet train out of Tokyo. It is where Buddhism was started in Japan; obviously, it came from China, but that's where they started it. I went there a couple years ago and turned the internet off my phone for a week. I'd take walks around the forest, mountains, and that song just popped into my head. One of the fully formed ones. So, that was that one, but that's not actually part of the year where I was traveling. I also did one in my grandma's living room while she was away at like 1:00 a.m. in Melbourne. That was pretty funny.

How did you tie all the stories and songs together cohesively as an album?

I mean that's the hard work. That took a long time. I worked with Dave Harrington from Darkside, he co-produced this record. And Phil Weinrobe, who was an engineer, but also kind of like a third producer. Basically, the three of us formed this trio where, I don't know, it was crazy. It was the most rewarding creative work I've ever done with other people, just trying to piece this sh*t together. It was like a massive jigsaw puzzle and it started to show itself.

Actually, all the songs were finished and there were two songs that got cut at the end, so there's two other finished tracks. Well, I cut them, they didn't want to cut them. It took me six months to come up a track list, then I just left it and sat with it for six months and then came back and was like, "What should be first?" I'm not sure how to tell you how I did it, we just did it. [laughs.]

I think, when we actually finished it, for three weeks straight, I didn't leave the studio building and just slept on the couch and worked there. I went a little crazy.

Did you feel like you just couldn't really rest until it was done?

Yeah, just like going in a cave and I'm not coming out until this is done.

That's such a juxtaposition of emotions from when you were traveling.

Well, that's the writing, and then there's the end. So, yeah, sometimes a part is also knowing when to pressure cook yourself and when to let go, compressions and decompressions. I honestly think that's the hardest part about being a creative, is just knowing when, "Okay, this is too much" or "This isn't enough." I think there are a lot of people who try to pressure cook everything and there are a lot of people who try to do the opposite and they won't even touch an instrument unless they're feeling it. There's a balance.

What are you looking most forward to with this tour? And what are you most nervous about being back on the road again?

I'm looking forward to playing new music, the whole new album, because I've always just added EPs and stuff along the way. People don't pay as much attention to an EP. You know, a lot of the time it's been festivals so it's like an hour set, so it was really kind of the same thing. So I'm pretty psyched to play new music.

I'm also both nervous and excited to try and shape touring into something, because I have this life goal to make touring fun and enjoyable, like it should be.

Everyone has this idea that it's fun. But what they don't understand is it's kind of a form of sleep-deprived torture. It's this weird thing where it's like, "Hey, do you want to do the most amazing thing in front of thousands of people at the most amazing place?" But you'll be on two hours sleep. Like five days in a row."

Adrenaline is all you got going. Adrenaline and caffeine.

Yeah, seriously. My body's been trained now for adrenaline after like six years of it. Sometimes at 8:00 p.m. on a regular night I just have to go to the gym. But yeah, I'm looking forward to it. There's a lot of noise that comes with it all. I'm probably more of an introvert than an extrovert. So, that's always a thing. I want to do this for a job and I really like sharing music, but I don't always get a lot of energy off all the noise and the attention.

Putting music out is always a bit weird because when you put music out, you enter the collective consciousness and you kind of step up in people's heads, even friends. Four months ago I'd wake up with no texts, maybe one text. But now I've got literally, like 29 right now, just from friends. Like "Hey, what's up? We miss you." And I'm like, I'm kind of really busy right now. It's nice that you want to catch up but this, now is not the time. The irony is that you don't have time because you're doing this thing. It's a whole thing. But it's nice. It comes from a place of love.

You stopped using the pseudonym Chet Faker in 2016. Where did that decision come from and is there a significance for you releasing this album under your own name?

Yeah, absolutely. I can't easily explain the decision and that's actually why I had to do it. Because if I could explain the problem then I wouldn't have to change the name. It was kind of a psychological hiccup or something. The only thing I would say to a lot of people when they're like, "What's the big deal? Why did you do it?" I would encourage them to try introducing themselves as a different name and see how long they last before they start to realize that it does affect you in a lot of ways. I never thought that it would go for so long. I had the idea probably since I started because Chet Faker was just a thing.

There was another Nick Murphy. I was 22 and he had like three albums out. I didn't know anything about music. A few people came to my shows thinking they were going to his shows. Like tiny, they weren't even shows. Like a gig or whatever.

Hey, you were playing music and people showed up.

Yeah, exactly. Like "that's kind of good but that's not the guy." Now I don't think I have to worry about that. You know, Rick Rubin asked me if I'd ever consider putting music out under my name. When someone like Rick says that I'm like, huh. It gave me a bit more confidence because I had wanted to do it. It's kind of crazy, like setting the house on fire that you bought with all your winnings.

But it was really freeing. It was a good way for me to prove to myself because when you get a lot of success, but you say you don't do it for success but you have all the winnings so you start to question yourself. I think that was kind of the thing for me. I need to set this on fire a little bit and step back just so I know. I did it and I was like, "cool, now I know, I'm in control and this is about the art."

I still really love the Flume collab EP that you guys put out in 2013. Do you think you would ever work with him again, or are there any artists that you would love to collab with that you haven't worked with?

Good question. With Flume, when we first worked together, everything was kind of new. That electronic stuff that I was doing, as well as he was, no one was doing it.

I'm more into jazz. I listen to Pauline Oliveros and free jazz and [John] Coltrane. That's why I worked with Dave Harrington on this record because he's part of the New York forward psych weird jazz scene. I'd love to work with Rick again in the future because we kind of worked for a little bit on this record but we didn't fully get together. And I've been kind of like loosely flirting, or whatever you want to call it, with Nigel Godrich about working with him. He's done Radiohead and Atoms For Peace and stuff. That's on my bucket list as well.

So I think it's more traditional producers than electronic producers. It's kind of fun. For me, creatively, the whole point of doing music is always doing new things. So for me doing collabs, it would have to be the right time and make sense. If it's just to do the thing again, that's not the point.

What music have you been jamming out to lately?

I've been on a weird disco tip actually, which is cool. Like old school disco jams. A little bit of Bee Gees and The Emotions. This morning I listened to Earth, Wind & Fire, which is fun for me. I've been through a phase like this once before. Usually I'm like, oh, disco is kind of cheesy. But when it's right, it's right. Probably because it's spring.

And then I've been listening to a lot of Pauline Oliveros who's like, my queen. She's a pioneering, experimental artist; Avant-garde. I keep listening to these female artists that I didn't even know they were female artists, like Pauline Oliveros and Laurie Spiegel. I seem to have subconsciously tapped into these amazing female experimental, electronic artists. Laurie Spiegel is one I've been listening to a lot recently too.

Justin Jay On The Joy Of DJing, Expanding His Horizons, And How Fans Think He's Still A College Freshman

Justin Jay

Justin Jay

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Justin Jay On The Joy Of DJing, Expanding His Horizons, And How Fans Think He's Still A College Freshman

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"I think DJing is beautiful because you can just wing it and be in the moment; be present, go with the vibe," the Los Angeles native DJ/producer told the Recording Academy in an exclusive interview
Ana Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Apr 23, 2019 - 11:11 am

Los Angeles native DJ/producer/singer Justin Jay is all about expanding dancefloor horizons. Specializing in joyful, melodic house music, often with live instruments, he first appeared on Claude VonStroke's hugely popular Dirtybird label in 2011, when he was just a freshman at USC, and has since started his own label, Fantastic Voyage.

Nowadays he's been busy touring across the U.S. since January and will drop his latest album, Everything Will Come Together Pt. 1, on May 17. With his most recent show at Coachella's Do LaB stage during Weekend 2, we caught up with the West Coast DJ on the ground in Indio to talk about what the fest means to him as a Californian and an artist, coming of age in the L.A. dance scene and more. 

You'll be playing the Do LaB stage here [on April 20]. What are you most looking forward to about playing at Coachella, at Do LaB?

Being from L.A., Coachella is something that you grow up with. I also went to college in L.A., at USC so, independent of playing, Coachella is a festival that I love attending.

I've been for my fair share of years, and the curation of the lineup is just always amazing. You can see so many amazing acts that you would never see in one place, and that's the best part. That in combination with all the homies, because I still have a lot of friends who live in L.A. and a lot of friends who come back for Coachella. Friends and music, that's all you need, right?

What has been your favorite part of this weekend so far? Anyone you're super excited to scope out?

My two must-see acts are actually both playing right now, Mac DeMarco and DJ Seinfeld. I really love both of them. I got to see Mac on Wednesday at the Echo [in L.A.], it was one of the best shows I've ever seen. It sold out immediately. I set an alarm when the tickets went on sale, sniped 'em.

DJ Seinfeld is also awesome. He did a show a couple weeks ago that I was at, and we got late night dinner afterwards and became friends, I really like him and I like his music. Those two are up there for sure.

But a lot of my favorite moments are just…[the discovery]. A lot of my friends have very strong music tastes and a lot of conviction behind the artists they want to see. I'm kind of an easygoing homie who gets dragged along to stuff I've never heard of and am just, "Oh, my god! This is amazing."

Can you speak to what Do LaB means to you as an artist and how it plays into Coachella as a larger curated event?

I haven't been to the Do LaB yet this year, but throughout my times here at Coachella, even as the stage has evolved, the Do LaB has always been one of my favorite parts of Coachella. And my senior year of college, I played the Do LaB and, dude, I had friends on stage with water guns and, a chunk of high school friends here and chunk of college friends here, and it just felt like I was surrounded by homies. I'm just excited to be back in that environment, and the artists they curate; it's just a great experience.

It's just a great, great time, you know? Water guns, bubbles…

It's like you're playing a party for your best friends, but also a ton of other people are there and vibing out with you.

Yeah. And you're like, "Ah, we can be friends too." That's cool. [Laughs.]

Are all your friends going to come out for your show next weekend?

You know, we're a little bit older, so it's probably not going be as filled with friends. [Pauses.] It's funny. I have a lot more appreciation for the friends who still come out to festivals and stuff. Not even if it's for my music, just in general. I'm like, "Dude, you still can put up with the heat and the schlepping and all that stuff for the music?" And that makes me really happy.

What's also cool is, I feel like having been touring and putting out music for a while, I feel like I've become friends with a lot of people who I met through the music itself, you know? As opposed to school, or whatever. So I really love that too. In that way, maybe I'll have more friends because of all the people that I've met who, you know, say, "Dude, I saw you in this place and we're coming to Coachella." 

Speaking of friends, what does being a part of the Dirtybird label mean to you? What was the shift like for you, going from college-dorm producing to being part of that family?

So, it was crazy. Eight years ago, my first week of college, I'd just moved into my dorm—we're talking like day three—I got an email back from Claude VonStroke on a demo I'd sent over on SoundCloud. It was the most surreal moment of my life, I did a lap around my dorm.

How fast did he respond after you sent it?

Maybe a couple months? I had sent demos and demos and demos, it just takes time. He's touring, you know, but he does listen to everything. I never imagined that I'd hear back on anything and he hit me up. I ended up putting that song out maybe a month or two later, and slowly but surely began doing shows with the Dirtybird guys.

So it was released on Dirtybird?

Yeah, back in 2011. Good year. So that was my freshman year and no one liked house music around me. Everyone was just getting into EDM, which was awesome, because honestly, it was a pivotal year. I grew up DJing high school parties before then, and I would have to trick people to dance to anything that didn't have rapping or singing.

People want vocals, or they think they want vocals, right?

That's what was significant about EDM is that, when it got into the college culture, it felt like there was this new openness to stuff that wasn't pop or wasn't rap. A lot of EDM songs that people liked didn't have any singing, you know? Like [Avicii's 2011 hit] "Levels." You know, it has, [singing] "ohh, sometimes," but the part that everyone dances to doesn't have singing, doesn't have lyrics.

That was a defining shift, at least being in L.A., because prior to that, people we're like, "This is boring." Like, "This doesn't have words," you know? That was a big thing, at least for me, when I was in high school and I had to trick people into dancing to dance music. But regardless, by the time I was in college, I was really into house music and techno and Dirtybird, stuff that was emblematic of underground dance music at the time.

Related: Elderbook, Dance Spirit, KMLN & Justin Jay Discuss The Magic Of The Do LaB At Coachella

Were you tapped into those communities in L.A. then?

I was starting to go to warehouse parties. I was seeing Ian Pooley and Jimpster, and guys from Europe who are into deep house and techno guys, too. I saw Marcel Dettmann and Ben Klock when I was underage, and it was super fun. But what was so dope and what's so interesting is between then and now, even by the time I was a senior in college, people were starting to get into house music.

And now, Fisher, I feel like, has the same sort of cultural weight among college kids that Skrillex and Avicii had when I was in college. It's just a cool time to be into music, you know?

Are you close with Claude [VonStroke] now? What's your relationship like with Dirtybird?

You know, I was so awkward for so many years being like, "I am such a huge fan." I could not even say a word. I feel like he's been really supportive, especially of the stuff I've been doing that's not Dirtybird. For instance, I started a label a couple years ago called Fantastic Voyage. The main concept with it was I had a bunch of friends that we were making music together, and I wanted a sort of Dirtybird community, where it was a bunch of DJ artist guys, except for us, we could all play as a band together.

Last year at the Dirtybird Campout, Claude let me have about four hours for a takeover where I got to curate the lineup. And I began with my DJ set, and then other people's live shows, and then it all culminated with a big band show at the end. And I really appreciate that because dude, there's guitars, there's live drums, there's lots of singing. And that's not indicative of a lot of the music people expect when they come to the Dirtybird Campout. The crowd was super receptive, with people singing along and stuff. I'm just so grateful that I could take those kind of risks and do that with the support of someone like Claude, you know?

There was a very deep moment of affirmation where, at the Campout last year, there was a press Q&A thing and Claude was introducing a bunch of artists who are on the label. And he was giving out, off the cuff, these superlatives. He was like, "Ah, this is Justin Martin; he's the happiest dude. And these are Walker & Royce; they're making the craziest music." He was just saying nice things and then, when he got to me, he was like, "This is Justin; he's the most creative." I was like, "What?!" [Laughs.] I was like, "Dude, get out of here, man!"

Are you still the youngest on the label?

People always think that, but nope. Dude, people are still like, "Oh, are you still 18?" No, I'm definitely not the youngest, but yeah, I feel like there's this ongoing thing with musicians where it's like, I don't know. For me, when I was in college, I actually took a lot of my career stuff very seriously because being into house music 10 years ago, everyone in L.A. who liked house music was late 20s, early 30s, and I was 19.

I'm 26 now, and it's weird because I'd be on YouTube hearing interviews with my favorite DJs, and they would say, "You gotta pay your dues, you gotta know your records." All of my favorite DJs were late 30s, early 40s, double my age. And so, I was very uptight, no drinking, just very professional. And then ironically, after I graduated, I started loosening up a bit more, just feeling like, "Oh, I guess I don't have to be so serious."

I still don't really party, but I don't think that's what's important. I think it's just being able to have fun with it. The reason why I brought all of this up is because I feel like this is kind of a "Benjamin Button" situation, where it's like, the older you get, the more in touch you get with [your inner] little kid. I see that in Claude sometimes where I'm like, "That dude's like an eight-year-old in a dad bod," but in a great way. I mean that as a compliment.

What do you think makes a good DJ set? 

You know, it's funny. I think, in terms of a set, [pauses] the real magic is kind of this elusive lightning in a bottle sort of thing. Pun, because of Do LaB. But for real, I think DJing is beautiful because you can just wing it and be in the moment; be present, go with the vibe.

"I feel like that's one of my favorite principles of DJing, that sort of tricking people to like stuff."

It's like no one's expecting that you have to play that one thing, right?

Yeah, not for me, thankfully. Other people, I don't know. That doesn't sound too fun. You just get to be present and hopefully trick people to like some stuff they haven't heard before, whether it's old music or new music that hasn't been released, or stuff that's outside of people's tastes. I feel like that's one of my favorite principles of DJing, that sort of tricking people to like stuff. And I feel like that's kind of me with the band, right? It's people thinking, "Oh, house music," and then there's drums and guitars and singer-songwriter moments and stuff.

Kind of surprising people, right?

But not just surprising people. You know when you're having a good time on the dance floor and you stop thinking, you're just having fun? That's the moment where the DJ might put on some song that you, if you heard the same exact song eight hours earlier as you were waking up, you would be like, "This is weird; I don't like this." But when you get caught up in the fun of the party and you're with your friends, it's just a good time. Those are the moments where you can get tricked into being exposed to something new that you end up falling in love with.

So, for you as an artist, it's important to you open people's minds a little bit each time?

It's like pushing people a little outside of their comfort zones but still having a great time. That's the balance, right?

Jan Blomqvist Talks Playing Coachella, Berlin Techno & Covering The Rolling Stones

Jan Blomqvist

Jan Blomqvist

Photo: Christian Dammann

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Jan Blomqvist Talks Playing Coachella, Berlin Techno & Covering The Rolling Stones

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The German electronic artist, who made his debut in the festival's Yuma tent this Sunday, gets deep into Berlin's club scene, his desire to bring joy to the dance floor, the story behind his latest album, 'Disconnected,' and more
Ana Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Apr 17, 2019 - 4:13 pm

German singer/producer Jan Blomqvist makes ethereal house music with the intention not only to get people dancing, but also feeling and perhaps thinking. His latest album, 2018's Disconnected, which is inspired by his time spent at Burning Man, is based around the idea that in order to stay focused and healthy sometimes we need to remove all distractions.

Since November, he has been touring across Europe and the U.S. in support of the album, along with his live band on most dates. After he wraps up his second weekend playing Coachella, the band will join him for three dates in Mexico, after which they'll offer support to RÜFÜS DU SOL on several of their U.S. tour dates.

We caught up with Blomqvist from on the ground at Coachella 2019, not long after he played his one-man-show Sunday afternoon in the Yuma tent, the fest's well-loved house and techno stage.

You performed here at Coachella in the Yuma earlier today. How was it? How are you feeling?

Honestly, it was pretty difficult today because my moog was totally out of tune. If you know what a moog does, that's what they do. They just get out of tune and f*** you at the worst moment, and I tried to figure out and then I was so focused on retuning the synthesizer that I made so many mistakes on the right hand with the other instrument. It was really exhausting for me, but I think my friends here liked it, and the people in the audience which came later, were happy, so I'm happy as well, but a bit disappointed because I could have played better.

Did you realize it was out of tune when you started playing?

It was not out of tune in the beginning. This is the mystery about the moog. Nobody knows why they do it. You can use all other synthesizers, doesn't have this feature. I think they make it to sound more vintage, like in the '70s. And so that was my problem today, and I think I made it okay, but I'm looking very forward to next Sunday, to make it a 100% performance.

That's true, you have round two. Was it your first time performing at Coachella?

I've played at Do LaB before, but some people told me it doesn't count.

It definitely counts. When did you play at Do LaB?

I think so too. At night, two years ago. It was packed, like 600 people or something. It was cool.

So this was your first year on the main Coachella lineup. Well you have next weekend too, and at least no one knew that it was out of tune.

I hope so. I heard it immediately, and so, yeah, that's what I got stressed, and it's never good to be stressed on stage. That was my disappointing point of the day, but in the end it was still a good show, though, and it was a good energy. And as long as it's not totally failing, it always brings you further.

Have you been able to check out any other music at the fest? Is there anyone you're looking forward to seeing tonight?

Yesterday I wanted to see Billie Eilish and Bob Moses, but I worked way too late.

You get smarter when you getting older, so next time I have one week free before Coachella, also before Burning Man and then I'll have time to check out stuff. This time I played three shows and was in four cities. Yeah, it was stupid. I was traveling five days a row. It doesn't make sense. If you do Coachella or any big festival then you should focus on that and the other gigs can wait, honestly.

And DJs are humans, too. They need to have fun, right?

Yeah, but officially not.

Who are your biggest musical influences? What kind of music did you grow up listening to and what are you listening to these days?

I grew up with vinyls, with Bob Dylan, Rolling Stones and Mick Jagger. I think that's normal in our generation. Our parents had vinyls and we just played them. I'm still a huge Bob Dylan fan. I don't like Rolling Stones as much anymore, but I like Mick Jagger's solo project. It's still pretty amazing. He's old and has so much energy. He's kind of an idol. If I'm 75, I want be like this. And later on, of course, I got into normal things like Blur, Radiohead, Nirvana, Björk. I went through all this rock, hip-hop things, and then I moved to Berlin, and suddenly I was totally a techno addict.

What year did you move to Berlin? Was it at the beginning of the techno scene there?

In 2002. Everything was there. It was just a bit more underground than now. All the clubs are really set up in Berlin right now are exactly the same age, 17 years.

Which club is your favorite? I know, it's a hotly debated topic.

It depends on the day, really. On Sundays in Berlin it's the best; Sunday evening in Berghain is amazing. Monday in Sisyphos, Sunday at Kater Blau, Wednesday at Watergate, and it also depends on who's playing.

Berghain can be really amazing but can also be a sh*t show, and I don't want to talk bad about any DJs, but sometimes, in my opinion, it's really good and sometimes it's really bad, but the club's unbelievable. I have never seen any comparable club in the world. It's like made of a Tarantino movie. You come there and you feel like you'll get bitten by a vampire. I've been there, I don't know, 100 times, and still when I'm coming there I'm still like, "What the f*** did you build here?"

Do you feel like it's the same as when you first moved there? What about the techno and house scene has shifted in Berlin as it's become more of a destination?

It's definitely shifted. In the beginning, it was minimal only. It was super hard for me to get gigs, and the clubs even told me like, "Yeah, your music is nice, but nobody wants to hear this piano sh*t."

It was more like trance kind of minimal?

No, it's just minimal. I mean, Richie Hawtin did it in a really good way, and there were many people that tried to copy him and failed totally, that makes it really boring.

Berlin is changing all the time. That's what I love in that city. Since 2010 the music is super open and you can play everything, and I like that. It was really hard for me, the years between 2002 and 2006 or 2007. It was like every club played exactly the same music for like five years, and I was like, "What the f*** did you do to your DJs?" DJs should be free, right?

Why do you think it was kind of like restricted like that, and what do you think made it change to more open again?

I have no idea. I ask myself this question still.

So were you just trying to do your own thing? Did it make you want make even more different music?

I tried to break this because I think musicians should be free and you should give them a chance and a stage and just to make them play and I try to convince other musicians to not do just only one kind of music. I mean, the city is big. I cannot imagine that for four million people, everybody wants to listen to the same music. It's bullsh*t.

So, I tried to work harder and to get the gigs, and then finally it worked. Nicolas Jaar came and he was, I think, 17, and then everybody was like, "Whoa, he's 17 and he plays such good music." And then suddenly everybody was like, "Oh, we want piano in the club. Oh, what about vocals?" And then suddenly everything worked, and now Berlin is pretty open-minded when it comes to music, it's generally an open-minded city, I think.

That is interesting how sometimes it's one group or one artist that does something kinda new, that other people have also been doing, but for whatever reason, they catch on.

I mean, [that] was the same with Kurt Cobain, right? Suddenly, he came and then it was suddenly called grunge and there was a completely new genre. It's always like this. Somebody has to open the door and then it works, but the music is there before, of course, it just needs some one character who opens it.

What is the message or vibe you generally try to share when you play your music live, in both your tapered down club setup or in the band-backed live setting?

I mean, in the end it's just all my tracks and the band's just performing my tracks, so it's kind of the same music. But with a band, we play with breaks in between and not so much focused on the transitions and playing slower tracks, like 100 BPM sometimes 110, way more vocals. When you have a real drum set on stage, with real cymbals, it creates a completely different vibe. And with the band we have six synthesizers on stage, I think, and when I play solo I just have one.

So if the one gets out of tune…

Yeah. [Laughs.] Actually, it never got out of tune doing the whole recent tour with the band. Maybe that's why my tuner wasn't working.

"Every human has the same desire of just dancing, laughing and having good music, and that's the point, you have to make them happy. That's your mission as a musician. It's a responsibility."

What's your main purpose when you perform?

I want to make people cry but then laugh at the same time, to give them an edgy feeling that makes them really melancholic but then give them a super positive bass and kick drum. Like a good movie with a happy ending.

And, of course, dancing is important and just being happy. I mean, that's what you need all over the world, doesn't matter where you are. Why are clubs existing? Why is electronic music so big? It's because every human has the same desire of just dancing, laughing and having good music, and that's the point, you have to make them happy. That's your mission as a musician. It's a responsibility. You cannot go onstage and tell them, "F*** you. I don't care." You really have the mission to make them happy, and that's the job.

Can you talk about the inspiration behind your last album, Disconnected? It feels like the songs all have a story behind those ethereal beats, and I'm especially curious about "Synth For The Devil," which takes from the Rolling Stones song.

I mean, this song just came to me. I was here, actually, around the corner, like 50 kilometers from here in the [RANCHO V in Pioneertown, Calif.] studio, recording two tracks for our Disconnected album. Then suddenly J [Bowman] was there and Felix [Lehmann, co-producer] and I and my studio company, all just working just for fun on the Rolling Stones thing, just as a break, to have some fun. And then Jay came in like, "Wow, this is the track. I'm the best solo player for this track in the world." I was like, "Okay. Can you play it?" And he played really the best [guitar] solo ever, not totally tight, but nice. And yeah ... And then the idea come up and, "Okay, let's record it." And then we send it to the label for Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and they said "Yes."

Did they say they liked it?

Yeah, they liked it. And they answered in one day. We were like, "Okay. What the f***." Okay, then we do it. It's tough. I'm still not 100% convinced if this was a good idea or not because to cover tracks from these big characters is sometimes not a good idea, but when I play it live, it's fun. I think that's the most important thing.

And the Disconnected album. For me, it's important to have a concept album because then you have things you can talk about and that whole thing is more focused, and it's like you have a red line to follow. It's even easier to write lyrics, to write the music.

I was at Burning Man and asked myself, like, "Why are the people coming to this desert to make this huge festival just in an environment which is not easy. There's no water, no electricity, there's nothing. It's gets super hot in the day, super cold in the night. Why there?" And the only answer must be that people need to disconnect from their real life somehow, and the question is "Why is it so important to flee from your life?"

This whole album is about "why do we need to disconnect so much?" I think our generation suffers a lot from this virtual life that we're living in 50% already, and many people cannot even distinguish which is real, which is not, especially in Coachella. You can see so many people who think Instagram is more important than your real friends, and we have to question what our generation has to ask themselves like, "Where do we want to live in the next years and can we make it? How can we make it," and reflect yourself, "What can I do? Am I still real? Am I fake?"

And I don't want to give answers, I just want to give questions or lyrics to make people think, to reflect themselves. The album should be a mirror for the audience.

Agoria On Making His First Album In Eight Years, Playing Coachella & The Architecture Of Dance Music

Felly

Felly

Photo: Christian Diaz

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Felly Talks "Heartstrings," Vulnerability On New Album & Learning From Icons

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"I think it's all just getting closer to your true self and your true soul, which I think has a godly element to it," the young L.A.-based rapper/singer-songwriter recently said of his musical journey
Ana Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Oct 29, 2019 - 2:59 pm

24-year-old Connecticut-born, Los Angeles-based artist Felly is on a roll. Since his first mixtape in 2014, he's released at least one major project a year, culminating in his debut studio album, 2018's Surf Trap. He's gathered a growing fan base along the way, with his laid-back demeanor and experimental approach to surf-rock-drenched, at-times-jazzy, hip-hop.

Today, he dropped a buzzy new single, "Heartstrings," electrified by the otherworldly guitar riffs of 10-time GRAMMY-winner Carlos Santana. The music video was directed by Felly himself—his directorial debut—and shot by Christian Diaz, primarily in the serene desert of Joshua Tree, Calif.  

Ahead of the shimmering new track, the Recording Academy caught up with Felly over the phone to learn more about the magical collaboration with Santana, getting closer to his true self, being human and more.

So you're about to drop your new song "Heartstrings" featuring none other than Carlos Santana. What are you most excited for about sharing this new song?

I'm just ready to put out new music to the people because I have been making all this amazing stuff, and have been listening to it over and over. And my friends have been hearing it, but everybody [else] still references my old stuff. So I want to let people know it's a new day.

I'm just happy to reinvent myself again, and to be an artist and be in this world where I'm able to do something like that. It's kind of a purifying feeling, and it's just fun.

You explore a lot of different sounds across your already-extensive music catalog. How you would summarize your musical journey and evolution through the different projects?

I think it's all just getting closer to your true self and your true soul, which I think has a godly element to it. The closer you can get to being your truest, purest form of yourself, it's a beautiful thing for the world to see, but also for you to feel.

I've released a lot of projects where I've sort of been on that search. People admire that because they can relate to that feeling of searching themselves, and trying to discover themselves. To know that somebody else is going through that same journey is nice. It's comforting, it's inspiring and it helps us to relate to each other. With this release, I just feel like I have gotten a lot closer; with how I've been living my life, and things that I've cut out of my life, and things that I have added into my life.

I'm honing in on myself, so each project kind of shows that. When I listen back to all the projects, I'll be able to identify certain areas where maybe I'm out of pocket, or confused with myself, or who I want to be. But that's all part of it, and is the current state of it, too. Everything grows.

Going back to "Heartstrings," I'm curious how you connected with Carlos for the song, and what it was like working with him in the studio.

We had been looking for someone to get on that record because we thought it's a super strong record, and I previously hadn't really been collaborative with anybody else. Just out of not being in a position to, not really knowing people, not really having the credibility yet. So getting to the point where people actually want to get in with you, and work with you, that's largely because music's better. It was sort of getting to that time.

So we were searching for someone that could complement the record. And I felt like, unless it came organically, it would sound like a ploy or whatever. And you see a bunch of these ploys that people do to get noticed by a Spotify playlist, by curators, or just kind of to get press. Those all feel very stunt-y to me. I don't want to be one of those artists that just does stunts, because I feel like those are here today and gone tomorrow.

But yeah, when the Carlos thing happened, it was completely organic. He had heard the record through someone at my label sending it to his camp, saying, "Hey, this is Felly's new record, what do you guys think of it?" He loved it and wanted to be a part of it. And he didn't care if I'm not as big as him or any of that stuff. He connected with the actual music; the soul and the personality of the record.

So meeting him and feeling that, and just seeing that come to fruition, reminded me that, you know, real sh*t is still alive. True personal connection, soul connection is still alive. You could get persuaded differently being in L.A., or being in this industry, that it has to be some fake ploy, and you have to do sh*t like buy followers, plays or features.

The idea of buying a feature from a rapper kind of irked me, because I know my fans know me as someone who's real, genuine and upfront. Something from Carlos Santana that came genuinely, and he just so happens to be probably the coolest musician on this earth, and the best person I could imagine getting a feature from. It's sort of like God showing me that I'm right to feel how I felt, and blessing me for having patience and stuff.

What was your biggest takeaway from seeing him at work and collaborating with him?

I think I aged like 60 years of knowledge in just that one session. Honestly. They pretty much gave me the torch, and kind of said, "Hey, you're next up. And in this journey, you're the guy who's going to carry the torch for us." This is surreal, but it was really the type of sh*t that they said to me. And that, combined with different rock star knowledge and them treating me like I'm going to be a rock star, was really cool.

They just treated me as an equal, which is really awesome to see. Santana sees soul value in people and he's just super connected to spirituality, and kind of taught me about those types of things. That if you put energy, compassion and clear intention into your work, it will have that connection.

He did this gesture where he said, "It's like this." And he looked up at the sky, held his hands out, brought it back into his heart, and then extended his hands out to the people in the room. And he kind of took energy from the sky and gave it to the people in the room. And I was like, "Yes, that's exactly what it's like."

And so he taught me about having your mind step out of the way, and to approach things as if you've never heard them, or never done this before, because that's when things can get stale and mundane, or you can kind of let your ego run its way. But if you do the things that he is talking about, you'll create something fresh and new, and people will resonate with that. When we made the record, I think he kind of recognized that, and that's why he wanted to be a part of it.

Felly & Carlos Santana

Felly & Carlos Santana | Photo: Christian Diaz

If I'm not mistaken, this song is going to be the lead single for your upcoming album. I was curious to know what you're going for with this next project as a whole?

Yeah. It's sort of an album about coming home to oneself, you know, feeling oneself in all the true colors and just getting closer to them, cutting out the bullsh*t. It's a very raw project that soul is the carrying factor through it. Soul, emotion and just truth. And it's not trying to be flashy by any means. You'll get some of the flashiness on these singles, maybe. But it's something that can make you feel human again. It's called Mariposa, which means butterfly in Spanish, and is about becoming one's true self, taking a new form.

A butterfly goes through many stages before it can actually branch out and fly, be the beautiful creature that it is. It's metaphoric of the time I'm going through. And I kind of felt I've gone through the cocoon, been in the dark and been in forms that I wasn't sure if I would make it to feel like a true form of myself. Luckily, I do feel that way.

What did it feel like for you working on this project versus the last one? Did it feel sort of cathartic to write these songs?

I wrote half of it when I got back from tour, where I was super depressed and depleted. I had given all my energy to the world and didn't feel any satisfaction from it, and was in a very dark place. And so you have that side of the album. But the past few months I've been working on it, I've been adding the element of, you know, light and love.

And so it has a healthy balance of dark and light, which I think life and the spiritual journey is reminiscent of, especially the metaphor of a butterfly. It kind of has to be in the dark for awhile before it can fly. And so I've been adding those elements of love, and just good energy, light, and just been sort of feeling it more in the past couple of months. I'm still etching away at how I want to make it happen.  It was very hard to write some of these songs at first. It's very vulnerable. But then as it got more under my skin, it got really fun.



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faith // rage

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Zooming out a little bit, what made you want to go into music?

I don't know. I think it was in my DNA, in my soul and my upbringing in Connecticut. And you know, losing my father and, because of those combinations, of not really having anyone around me. My mom was dating and my older brothers were out doing their own things, so I had like a lot of alone time and thoughtful time. So that led to, "Okay, how can I make something light of this situation? How can I create something?" And so creation, to me, became the base of my life, and sort of how I can transcend a dark moment.

When you were younger, did you have an artist or someone that you looked up to, like, "Okay, like maybe I can be like them; if they can do it, I can too," or something like that?

Yeah, I really liked to listen to Atmosphere. I mean I had many artists, even local artists, and people that I looked up to. I really liked Rhymesayers, an independent record label in Minnesota [that Atmosphere and other indie rappers are on]. And I thought that was so cool that they were able to like be successful, and do their own things, as just kind of random dudes, white dudes who were just like me. That definitely inspired me.

If you don't have people around like that to kind of pat you on the a** to keep going, and to encourage you that you can do these things, a lot of people quit and lose hope in it. So that support, whether you find it, or it comes to you, it's super important to keep it going.

What is your favorite part about life as an artist? And what do you think is the hardest part?

My favorite part about life as an artist is being on my own schedule and being able to do whatever I want. And not that I take advantage of that, but just that I can feel like my time is mine, and kind of create infinite possibilities out of that. That's an amazing freedom.

The least favorite is—I mean, I think everything comes with a balance, so if something's sh*tty in one way, it's going to be good in another. But I think with that freedom comes a lot of responsibility, or overthinking, or stuff that you can just get caught up in, like comparison. I don't really like flying. That's kind of it.

I like your attitude because it's true. Sometimes something can seem really overwhelming, but then you do it and its like, "Man, I did that!"

Yeah, definitely. I mean, my attitude, it's definitely not always like this. Everyone thinks I'm like a super happy, bright dude, but not all the times for sure. I'm human, just like everyone else.

We just talked about it a bit, but I wanted to look more at your influences. Who were your favorite artists when you were a teen?

I really liked a lot of independent hip-hop and a lot of indie music. I'm the youngest of five, I have three older brothers and a sister. So they pushed a lot of different genres on to me. That was a good opportunity because I'd get old-school Lil Wayne from my stepbrother, and then I would get Taking Back Sunday, Hawthorne Heights, harder rock, Rage Against The Machine, from my other brother. And then my sister would show me acoustic music and stuff like that.

So everyone was sort of fighting for "What is Chris going to dig?" But I also had a fusion of everybody else's stuff. It was a lot of Bob Marley. The first record I ever recorded on was at a Universal theme park. You could pay 15 bucks or whatever to record and mine was "Buffalo Soldier" by Bob Marley. I still wish I could find that record. I was like eight and that was my first time in the booth.

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