We chat to 21-year-old drum and bass producer, Fearbace, getting insight into his latest EP, sampling Motown, his inspirations and bears.
By Megan Playton
First off, what’s the story behind your name?
Well, in school my nickname was ‘bear.’ Once I started experimenting with producing, it then became ‘bearface.’ Somewhere along the line, I decided to swap the ‘F’ and ‘B’ around and Fearbace was born.
Who first encouraged you to start experimenting with music?
I would have to say my older brother has been the biggest and most constant encouragement with my music. We’ve always been very close, so he’s influenced most of what I’ve listened to over the years and the instruments that I’ve learned to play. I remember when we were quite young, he had started to learn to play the guitar and would teach me what he had learned – it all grew from there.
What is it that drew you to producing music in this specific genre?
I remember being at a friend’s house and hearing tracks from artists like Netsky and London Elektricity – I instantly fell in love with drum & bass. Once I had explored a little deeper into the genre, I found that liquid drum & bass was my favourite stream in which to produce.
As a musician, it’s common to look to other genres of music for inspiration. Which genres do you enjoy sampling to add to your sound?
When it comes to actual sampling, I tend to grab from everywhere I can. Most of the time I’ll look to old jazz tracks or Motown records. Inspiration is everywhere – you never know what you could find in soul, metal or even orchestral-based music.
What is your ultimate career goal?
I would love to start my own record label or studio one day. What’s great about electronic music, is the support and freedom that you feel to collaborate with other artists in the genre. By having my own label, I could help other artists get out there and feed off of each other in different channels of electro, and better yet completely different genres.
Who do you think is killing it in the music industry at the moment?
Keeno. He is my biggest inspiration in the industry right now. It’s great to watch him grow, he’s pushing boundaries and taking the genre to new levels.
Do you have any other passions outside of music?
Recently, I have been doing a lot of graphic design work. Most of the cover art on my page and Soundcloud are created by me. I wouldn’t say I’m very skilled, but it’s something that I do enjoy.
Where can people find your music?
My Soundcloud profile is where you can find the majority of my tracks. That’s probably my favourite platform – I get lots of messages from artists sending me songs to get my opinion on their sound, which I love. It’s always nice to have music that you’ve never heard being sent your way. You can also find my official label releases on Spotify and iTunes.
Why are you so excited about your latest releases?
My new releases are more the style of liquid drum & bass that first got me interested in the genre. Mainly very simple and relaxed progressions. So for that reason, I think it will showcase a style that I haven’t released in a while. My new releases are all available on iTunes/Beatport/Spotify and so on.
