Thank you for sitting down and talking to FLEX, can you tell us a bit about how you got into music?
Greetings! My foundations in musical perception stem from piano lessons I used to take when I was in primary school. But it wasn’t until I became much older that I began utilising this knowledge as a potential modality for artistic expression. My introduction into putting out music publicly was not so much sparked by the sheer drive of playing the instrument, but more so by wanting to create art in general. I’m someone who finds themselves immersed in the art world, reserving a fascination for all ilks of discipline. It just so happens that the one I chose for my own expression stemmed from my early foundations in the musical realms.
Who would you say are your biggest musical influences?
I view any form of artistic influence as an ever-mutating entity, one that’s in a perennial state of flow and adaptation. It contributes individuality by shaping our tastes and artistic motivations, morphing and evolving along with us as we move through different phases in our lives. This continuous stream of change means that certain inspirations don’t bear any significance for us until later in life, because as we transform so too do our perceptions and resulting comprehensions of reality. With that being said, the musical influences that have helped to inform and stoke my current compositional efforts include the likes of Pantha Du Prince and Al Dobson Jr.
Congratulations on your brand-new song Homesick - What inspired this particular track?
The intention with Homesick was to craft a soundscape akin to an aboriginal chant. To create the atmosphere of a ceremonial homecoming. Providing an alluring welcoming back to the indigenous ways that nurtured early human spirituality. A tribal anthem that vitalises our ancient traditions to bring us together in dance and folly, in veneration and reclamation of our vestigial sacred past.
How do you channel personal experiences into your song writing, and what do you hope listeners gain from connecting with your music?
My personal experiences for sure form a crucial part of my expression, not just with writing but in the influencing of moods and textures for soundscapes also. For me it’s all about the translation of these experiences, how one’s interpretation of their life is informed by their unique perceptions and ways in which they view the world. It means everyone’s articulations will be different because of this! Alas, the beauty of art :) I like to think that people who indulge in my creations are able to tap in to my perspective, providing afflatus for their own endeavours also.
Each aspect of music - writing, recording, practising, and playing live - offers something different. Can you share a particularly meaningful moment from each?
Writing - Writing is a greatly independent and personal ordeal for me. I spend much time in recluse tinkering with the expressive capacities of language as I find it to have incredible creative depth and articulatory potential. My new song Homesick marks its territory in my memory because of the sheer intensity of the flow state I was able to enter whilst working on it. So potent was this episode that writing became temporarily obsolete, my intuition opting for improvising the chants and intonations straight to the microphone. This was a deviation from my usual writing practise, which is why it’s so memorable. It allowed me to experience handing full control over to the afflatus that so frantically seized my being to express what it needed to express. It’s a form of guidance over my writing that I’ve been inclined to devoting more faith into ever since.
Recording - The recording of iamvessel has to go down as one of my most surreal sessions to date. I designed the song to be a lullaby of sorts, with a crooning vocal delivery to match the ambience of the synths. After just a few recordings were made the session quickly turned to one of hypnotic incantation more than anything!
Practising/Performing Live - As of now most of my performing experience comes from tribal house DJ sets and so naturally this is where my intention is set when it comes to practising. My most memorable time performing thus far has been at a gig in Notting Hill Arts Club, where many of my transitions were being met with cheering and jubilative energy from the audience. This particular night was significant for me as it was the first time I had performed in front of such a receptive congregation. The reception affirmed to me that all my practise the night before had been worthwhile. As many of the sequences I was performing I had already spent hours perfecting. Preparation is vital! The more rehearsed my act is it means I can devote more of my focus to the energy that the crowd is channelling back at me. It’s very much a joint effort to evoke and sustain such a heightened atmosphere to remain immersed in.
Is there a song in your repertoire that holds a particularly deep personal meaning for you? Can you share the story or inspiration behind it?
I would say that Homesick bears weight as a monumental creation for me, as I briefly touched on earlier. It was actually the song that stoked the intense period of inspiration that saw the rest of my upcoming EP ‘Like A Sickness’ come into conjuring. The composition of the song reflects a significant moment in my artistic journey where I finally crossed the boundary that is the blockade of self-doubt. This is the sentiment behind the chanting that you hear throughout the song. The moment when this boundary was crossed was unbelievably liberating, and now that I’m on the other side I can only continue to manifest my true beliefs with fervent vigour.
What are your goals for the future with your music?
To persist in growing the consecration of my creative process, so that my artistic expression continues to bloom as a raw representation of my spiritual cognizance.
What message or feeling do you hope listeners take away from your music?
For me my musical and spiritual explorations are one and the same. I use sound creation as a vehicle for displaying my findings from when I delve deep into the metaphysical self. My methods are of the ritualistic sort, and my spiritual preference very much influences the way in which I sculpt out soundscapes for my projects, as well as guiding my way of life. I would like to think that perhaps those that immerse themselves in my craft are intrigued by my techniques, offering perspectives on art creation and perceptions of the world that people may find inspiring due to their transparency.
To wrap things up, is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
My upcoming EP, ‘Like A Sickness’ releases very soon, for those who have been following its’ rollout with the singles. But thereafter? This year marks the start of a transitionary period for my craft, initiating the change with this new EP. The transfiguring of my artistic vocation taking shape in surrealism. Establishing foundations for a more potent devotion to my spiritual identity. So going forward from this time onwards, expect this metamorphosis to make itself more known in the years to come.
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