Giving A F*ck About Subtle Art
Sometimes creating things starts with a question —Why do I like this thing that I like? And I’m not saying in a passive way, “oh i like this song because it’s catchy.” But really dig deep… what specifically makes it speak to you? I think this is a great place to start if you’re stuck on creating. And I love a fucking trick to get me started on a day where dragging my ass to the studio is the last thing I want to do. There’s no trick to it, it’s just a simple trick.
I’m a massive Simpsons fan. (Seasons 1-9). Please don’t quote me season 24, that doesn’t count. I’m sorry, it just doesn’t. I don’t make the rules. When I think about the writing of these seasons, and what it is that appeals to me, it felt like they were speaking to the audience who “got it.” They weren’t catering to their growing popularity, they were trying to write jokes for the people that were on board. And because of that we got this great slew of seasons that were kind of weird. I’ve read countless interviews with the writers about this era, talking about their favourite jokes, and their favs were always ones that “we just thought we’re funny.” Matt Groening’s favourite line is “I call the big one Bitey.” I don’t know why. I don’t think he does either. I like it though.
On my album Next Season I tried to throw some subtle things in that were just for me. Things that are part of my life at the time, my sense of humour. Throughout the album I used field recordings of the subway in Tokyo, the place where I was visiting during the last few mixes of the record. Stop Being Yourself is a song about not being yourself, it took me so long to find a few writers who understood the tongue-and-cheekness of that record. Some people still don’t get it. Now it’s one of my favs. Runaway is literally about the industry trying to influence your ideas into what they think it should be. Ofelia, who I’ve collaborated with every album always had these offside lines like “punch my lights out, or kiss me sweetly,” things I never heard in EDM really. But we just liked them. So we did it.
I think that’s a great starting point for making your own stuff. “It was just cool to me,” is a can’t-lose mentality. If it doesn’t work or make an impact in the way you expected, at least you can still stand behind it. “It’s still cool to me!” You can’t lose. My biggest vision of Hell on earth is a world where you create a song you didn’t like AND it becomes massive. Now you’re held hostage by your own creation**, doomed to be known for “something you don’t even fuck with.” Sounds awful.
-felix
** PS: This is also a great rebuttal the next time someone from a label/mgmt/agency suggests a cringe ‘tiktok’ format to promote something. I always answer back with “best case scenario for you is that it goes viral… worst case scenario for me is that it goes viral and I’m doomed to repeat it, over and over.”