Falsense [Interview]
I’ve previously described Falsense as “A fucking genius” – and trust me when I tell you, that is the truth. A man of many musical talents and a beyond-driven, ultra-inspired creative and super-nice guy in general, Falsense not only knows his shit, but also knows how to improve with every move he makes. It was a real honour to discuss inspiration, passion, productivity, and more with Falsense via email – and here are the results:
What makes you happy?
Coffee and cheesecake! Plenty of things make me happy, I’d like to think I’m generally a pretty happy guy and like to maintain a positive outlook on things so it’s hard to narrow it down really.
What inspires you?
Inspiration is an interesting thing. I personally believe when you start trying to quantify what it is that inspires you, you’re not truly inspired by those things anymore, you can’t formulise it, so I don’t like to think about it too much. Inspiration should be completely intuitive and just take over when it hits. It could be anything from going to a gig and vibing off the night or it could be as simple as hearing that weird sound a pan makes when you’re washing up and you hit it against the tap when it’s half filled with water. (One day I will sample that sound!). Inspiration should be anything, anytime and it should not be sought out, I just let it happen!
You have a well-earned reputation as a prolific writer. What’s your creative process like?
When I was younger all I wanted from my favourite artists was the answer to this question. I never really got it and I’m not sure I can give my own now… I’d love to but it’s such a hard thing to translate.
It’s different every time and it’s another thing I firmly believe should never be formulised. The closest thing I can describe the process to is meditation. I’ll sit and play and maybe find an idea I like and then 2 hours later I’m back in the room a little bemused as to what’s just happened but with the basis for a song on my hands. It seems like the most natural way to do things. Once I have a basis I toothcomb everything, I’ll layer a million different ideas with a million different variations until I think I’ve found the right collection of ideas, then start the same process with the other instruments. I’m a real asshole to myself and am maybe a little hyper-critical but it’s part of the fun. In fact that’s probably what I enjoy most – working from the initial idea and building upon it. Songs usually stem from guitar parts but certainly not all the time.
Who are your influences?
In today’s media jungle it’s hard not to be into a bit of everything! I love gypsy/tango music (Django Reinhart/ Francisco Canaro…), Dillinger Escape Plan, anything Mike Patton has been involved in, Kimbra, Karnivool, The Beach Boys… I could go on forever!
The past couple of years I’ve gotten far more into unsigned artists; 3 off the top of my head would be Fjokra, Della Lupa, and Shrine. All completely different things but really on top off what they’re doing! (Check them out!)
That said, I have always, since hearing the proposition, thought about “What I would do musically if I had never heard music and was stuck on a desert island with a guitar?” (And ideally some coffee and cheesecake!). The question was first posed while I was doing my music GCSEs, and it’s stuck with me ever since. I mention it because where I can control it I try not to let other music influence my own. Obviously it does and there’s no denying that, but I find when I am aware of where that is creeping through I can control and contest it and try and keep things fresh.
What drives / motivates you?
There is a noticeable difference in my outlook on life when I’m writing music. At the risk of sounding clichéd, I seem to need it as much as food and sleep. I don’t really know what it is that keeps me going, but I do just write constantly. A lot of the time the music has never or will never see the light of day, but I like stretching ideas out ‘behind the curtain’ as it all helps when you’re working on something for ‘the actual show!’ I guess the strongest motivation for me is just my love for doing it, I just really really really like doing it!
You have a number of projects on the go outside of your solo work for Falsense. What can you tell us about them?
Not much just yet! A couple of years ago I was juggling several things at once and while there was a perceived ‘productivity’ it hindered everything I was working on – so I’m currently just really focusing on Falsense, then Scratch Latin will be back in the foreseeable and then we’ll see what happens. I’ve got some cool things in the pipeline but I’ve got to keep to one thing at a time!
What are your passions outside of music?
I have a fascination with sharks, and if music didn’t exist I would definitely be out diving in Egypt or somewhere.
What does the future hold for Falsense and Scratch Latin?
Who knows? I’d like to build a live band around Falsense and get some tours going. In the nearer future though I’ll be working on some music videos and more releases. Several of which are underway and I’m really excited to get those out. I’ve also begun some collaborative work with some truly exciting musicians from all over the world. It still blows my mind that I’m going to be writing with some of my favourite artists and really looking forward to seeing where that goes.
Scratch could go anywhere too; now that we have The Cove Studio we’re working on new music and there’s a definite step up from previous material. The sound has expanded with the addition of Rabea Massaad on bass and we’re just working behind the scenes for something new. We’ve all been busy with projects outside of Scratch but it’ll be back soon!
Links
Follow Falsense on Facebook and Twitter.
Check out Falsense’s latest EP Keep In Mind via TMMP here.
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