#failr

[yesraveyesrave]

Failr & Marky Vaw’s ‘Aesthetic/Tallboy’ out now thru Yes Rave 

http://www.yesrave.bandcamp.com

[lurkerwithcomputer]

Well I'm back, after tumblr's random logout a few weeks ago and finding where I wrote down my tumblr login

[simosoo]

New remix for the sweetheart Failr out today xoxox

[shadowzero359]

(Failr)

[simosoo]

This new Failr + Bilby is chill af ❤

[simosoo]

[musicthatwelike]

Sydney based Failr talks to us about his latest EP, ‘Annie’

Last time I caught up with Warwick Levy (the man behind Failr) he’d just released his first EP ‘Lark’ and was working on his ‘420’ series of tracks. At that time we’d discussed the release of a second EP to be released around this time this year.

True to his word, he’s just released 'Annie’, his second EP - I asked him to tell me more about the journey from Lark, and how we ended up with Annie.

Warwick: [Laughs] Yeah I sort of got distracted with the 420 stuff - I ended up making boring beats that I wasn’t really enjoying so I deleted them. I think I was stressed at the time but found them really relaxing. That being said as my production skills increased I started making more advanced and structured things which I was a lot more in to.

E: How did you get there from the ‘Lark’ release?

W: Lark was such a funny release - I got ditched by my bandmates (they made the right decision as it wasn’t working) and so found a friend to show me how to sample and the end result of a few sessions of teaching became the EP.

So much more came from it than I was ever expecting. I wanted to sit down and do something way more serious but as it turns out the harder I tried the more shitty everything was sounding.

E: I think every musician/producer starts out somewhere and must get better, was there a point where you thought; “You know what, I got this?”

W: It was insane how much music I made and how little of it I actually enjoyed. It wasn’t until the end of the year that my friend tragically passed in a car accident and I started working on music to take my mind off it that I started making anything decent. Even then I didn’t even think about it being good or bad, I just felt like I was properly expressing myself again, which was all I cared about at the time.

E: Sorry to hear about that. So, was this when you started producing ‘Annie’?

W: Yeah, in this space of like two weeks I made seven tracks, and they ended up being the EP a year later.

E: This EP was put together in two weeks? How much did you develop on it since last year?

W: I can’t really explain it but I went into autopilot mode: just making music without thinking about it and then being surprised by the result. In the past I made a song and put it on Soundcloud and hoped for the best. This was the first time I said “no, I want to do this properly” - which was a weird thought.

I made my own songs with samples on them as vocals, then showed them to artists, removed them, and left them to come up with their own ideas with full creative freedom. Getting so many artists on the EP took such a long time. Some would record in a week others took about 5 months. But I wanted to do something special and I wanted it to be expressive.

E: It was something I noticed and really enjoyed about this EP, you featured a lot of vocal artists as opposed to samples. How did you find these different artists and what made you approach them?

W: I didn’t really target any vocalists and harass them or anything, we just organically found each other. I kind of sound like an online dating success story here, but for real I stumbled upon a lot of people. The first one was a guy on my FaceBook chat I rarely spoke to who said he likes to sing, so I said “hey, sing on my EP track” and we ended up recording that weekend. Other ones were set up by friends, one or two were from Soundcloud, and then the intro was just the result of hanging with a good mate.

It was a real jumble. I got a ton of rejections though. So many. It sort of defined the EP because one sure-fire track got scrapped because no one could sing on it. For better or worse, I guess.

E: I love the artists that feature on it, and it’s also so great to have artists supporting and showcasing other talent. That must be something as a producer which is awesome to do?

W: I actually love all the vocalists I got to work with. Some were in person and others were just over the internet, but it’s hard to tell which is which on the final product.

E: It sounds like you already had a vision for each track and wanted to find the right vocalist for it, did you work together on writing the songs after you found them?

W: I wrote the feels [laughs]. I told them how I was feeling when I made it and the tone I was trying to create with the song, then I left them with that to make what they wanted of it, because dictating it any more than that would have ruined the collaboration experience. Why have two totally separate minds with different experiences on a project if one is going to tell the other exactly what to do?

E: It seems to have worked! Now, there are definitely some strong themes through the EP, were you trying to curate a certain message with each track or with the EP as a whole?

W: Not intentionally but it was just a really honest reflection about how I was feeling and I had a lot of bad things happening. My good friend had passed away, as I said, and someone who’s always been a second mother to me started getting really sick. The whole EP is dedicated to her, actually.

E: So this is 'Annie’?

W: Yes. She’s genuinely one of the strongest people I know and I wanted to do something as a thank you to all the times she took me in for a family dinner and made me feel so welcome.

One time I got dumped when I was like 22 and I was such a wreck so I came over and she just took me into her little party she was having and introduced me to all her friends and was so lovely even though I was clearly less than sober.

E: Does each track on the EP have a story associated with it?

W: Yes. Every song was created as I was thinking back on a certain experience. It’s kind of amazing but even though I gave the songs to vocalists to work on with all the creative freedom they came back even more in line with the story they were trying to express.

E: Everything worked out really well in the EP and it sounds like it’s something you’re really proud of too. It’s been featured on a few blogs already such as Acid Stag and Pilerats - how do you feel now that it’s out there and people are listening to it?

W: Really positive. One of the most touching things about the EP was Acid Stag was the first blog I showed Reach Out to about premiering and they said yes and then same story with Pilerats and the EP. I’m so glad people are enjoying it as that’s all I ever wanted, but more than that I’m glad it’s getting on blogs, because I get to tell the story about the EP which is good because it’s so personal.

The themes on the EP are very down but the tone itself is actually quite upbeat and that was intentional, because I used the EP and the music making process to come to terms with some really bad things and it helped so much. So, I was trying to express that if you’re going through a rough time, find a way to express yourself and find your inner-peace. That’s what the running peace symbol on the front of the EP was meant to symbolise.

E: Tell us more about this idea of the running peace symbol.

W: It’s peace on the move! It’s bizarre we live in a time where people are scared to talk about how they’re feeling. I think if we can change the mindset from “I’m not feeling good I have to bottle this in and act normal” to “I don’t feel okay I’m going to try make myself feel better and verbalise this” then it’d help so much. I guess it’s just about accepting when you’re not okay, and doing what you want to do to make yourself feel better.

E: It’s an empowering message, if everyone could take that emotion and channel it into something positive and creative we’d all be in a better place.

W: Yes, and it doesn’t have to be something you show people. It can just be something you do for yourself - and you should be allowed to do that for you.

E: I think people can tell when something is genuine and made from the heart, and it resonates so much more with people. People can connect with a message or story.

W: Yeah, I think people can tell as well. It’s a really genuine EP so I’m glad that’s coming across. My main goal was to have people listen to it, express myself, and help others express themselves. If I achieve that then I’m happy.

E: Now that the EP is done and you’ve crafted this EP and message, what’s next on Failr’s agenda? You mentioned that the 420 series would be released at some point too, do you feel like those tracks still mean something for you?

W: I’m still making a lot of beats but my natural beats have gone from the 420 ones to real heavy bass trap beats. It’s just what I’m feeling, so I’m making a bunch of those and my initial plan was always to make a full EP with Marky Vaw so I think that might be the go with some heavy beats.

A similar style to Unreliable. But I think I’m focusing more on the live show now as I’ve got a lot more gear and material so can put something much better together than when I first started. Performing live makes me so happy.

E: That sounds like it could be an interesting next step. I think as long as you’re making beats that you feel, then you’re good, and your skill will constantly improve. I really wish I could see a live show with Marky, I can imagine it’d be fun.

W: Thanks so much for all the love and support so far on both my releases.

Warwick Levy recently performed at World Bar in Sydney for the release of the ‘Annie’ EP which you can stream online here.

You can keep up to date with Failr over on his Facebook page where he has shared more stories about the individual tracks from the EP.

[colonypr]

"Everything Will Be Ok" featuring the sultry tones of AViVA is from Failr's latest collection, Annie EP, his debut with Sydney-based label Inertia Records. This track was written after loosing a close friend with the sentiment that "It's okay not to feel okay" and despite the mournful context, this bouncing R&B-inflected song is strangely uplifting.