Q: We love your latest track, “Undercomplicate”. It’s an important reminder to keep calm and enjoy life to the fullest, something we all need to hear, especially during this pandemic. Walk us through your writing and production process in making “Undercomplicate”.
FELIUM: Through this song, we strived to connect with people and simply spread happiness. The start of this project began when I recorded natural sounds around my hometown of Barcelona at some of the most iconic places in town. Later I processed those sounds and built a song out of them, including drums recorded from a marching band and a guitarist performing in the streets of Barcelona. These drums and samples truly bring listeners back to times where we were able to experience live music and times like these. Kiera Dillon came up with the concept of “under complicate”, the song sends a reminder to not overcomplicate the situation in the current world around us.
Q: You’ve worked with Kiera Dillon in the past; however, this is your first release together. What have you learned from working with her?
FELIUM: Even though Kiera and I both have different approaches to music, together we create cohesive and inspiring music. Though I come from the melodic EDM and house scene, I like to add organic elements to my tracks including acoustic and electric instruments, as well as experimenting with foley. Kiera Dillon comes from a singer/songwriter, an alternative pop world where most of her production is raw and acoustic.
Q: You’re originally from Spain. How has your home country shaped you and your music?
FELIUM: This song, in particular, was heavily influenced by my hometown. Throughout the song, I strived to portray the feeling of walking through the beautiful streets of Barcelona on a sunny summer day. As I mentioned earlier, this song actually began as a sampling project, where I wanted to sample many sounds collected through the most iconic places in Barcelona including Sagrada Familia, Parc Guell, and Las Ramblas.
Q: What is the key to your sound and how do you make your music stand out?
FELIUM: Figuring out my sound is something that I’m still currently discovering and working on. I always strive to make music that is true to who I am, my influences, and my personality. I always go back to my roots to get influences from my experiences, places I’ve been, and things I learned. As an artist, I want to portray my true self through my art. Rather than only focusing on being unique or standing out, I want to create art that means something to me, and if my audience connects with me and the way I am, then my music will speak to them on a personal level. I could never make music that isn’t true to my “story”, I wouldn’t be able to speak through it and connect to the listeners as much. I’m developing a sound that merges “feel-good: melodic EDM, house sounds, and grooves with organic elements, including acoustic and electric instruments. I want to bridge the gap between programmed music and played instruments. Thus, I love to work with different instrumentalists and vocalists, adding a human feel to my music.
Q: You’re currently working on the development of your business startup called Muzeamp, which will offer marketing and music mentorship services for upcoming artists. That’s amazing! How’s that going?
FELIUM: I’m super happy and proud of the work my team and I are doing at Muzeamp. In the next few weeks, we will soft-launch the beta version of our website, and we will start working with artists within different genres. Our goal is to channel our experiences and resources within the music industry and offer it to talented upcoming artists. We want to give young upcoming artists a way to access the resources that professionals in the music industry have. We pride ourselves on helping musicians and artists in every single step of the process. We write, produce and finalize music, develop marketing strategies and campaigns for their brand or their releases, and much more.
Q: What musicians would you love to work with in the future?
FELIUM: As I mentioned earlier, my goal is to bridge the gap between programmed electronic music and played music with instrumentalists. I’m currently looking for different, vocalists, producers, and instrumentalists to work with including guitarists, bassists, drummers, saxophonists, violinists, and much more. I want to work with many talented artists that share a similar vision, and expression of music as me.
Interviewed by Brynn Hinnant
