“Is it sustainable and have you tried working with Mediacorp?”, quips FAUXE, on the common misconception that he has to deal with whenever friends and family ask about his job as a music producer. It is certainly not a walk in the park, but FAUXE is a purist in his own league and his deemed ‘radicalism’ is a key-mark to why his art is here to stay.
Take for instance his full-length 16-track release Iklhas in 2018, a homage to the traditions, life and worldview of Malaysia and its sonic legacy. Or his 2019 release ‘Altruism: The Beginning’, a 20-track strong sonic masterpiece that flows seamlessly track to track. Earlier in May, he candidly live streamed an hour’s worth of speed sampling, constructing beats over royalty free samples and labelled it the ‘School of Altruism’.
“Truthfully, I’ve never had a mentor in music. Just a lot of opinions, perspectives and energies. I would say that the music I try to surround myself with are my greatest teachers. I’ve not come across any production techniques lately but I feel that Drummer Spanky has taught me a lot rhythmically when it comes to drum production. He taught me a lot about rhythmic approaches to any 4/4 tempo, even if it’s not the style you are interested in. That’s definitely inspired me over the years,” shares FAUXE.
FAUXE is no stranger to the music scene, having played international festivals Fan Naves 19’ (Madrid), Solfa 18’ (Tokyo), Urbanscapes 17’ (Kuala Lumpur), The Shelter 16’ (Shanghai) and TRANSMT 16’ (Melbourne) to list a few. Not to forget, opening for acts such as Gold Pana (UK), Lido (Norway) and Masego (US). He has also produced for Singaporean artistes Sam Rui, Fffion, Subhas and B Gourd and was even involved in multiple Uniqlo in-store music projects with the likes of Intriguant, Kiat, Vandetta, Tim De Cotta and .gif.
When questioned about his method to working with artistes, FAUXE shares thoughtfully, “There’s a certain level of insecurity that almost every artiste I’ve worked with brings to the table. I went from being a babysitter to a therapist to now a human being who strives to figure out how to live out his last 50 years. In each phase, I try to implement my own thought process as well as feelings I have generally for life.”
I think as a producer, you have to ask yourself every time you work with someone new – what can you do for this person and why are they working with you. How you start is how you end, though sometimes, there can be a little or a lot improvised along the way. You are dealing with human beings, remember that.
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His next project is REM!X, a one-hour challenge streamed live from Facebook, where talented producers, such as Halal Sol, Intriguant, Evanturetime and more deconstruct tracks by local musicians. Paired up with rising rap stars Fariz Jabba and OmarKenobi, FAUXE will be working on remixing their recently released rap single “Kalah” which has garnered over 260,000 streams on Spotify alone and close to 330,000 views on the music video to date. The live deconstruction will be followed by a Q&A segment on his production techniques with tech enthusiast, Bobby Tonelli, at the end the remix hour.
Unfazed by commercialism or the constraints of science and ideology around dance music, FAUXE does not attempt to be a gamechanger. Yet, in his boldness in pursuit of authentic anomaly in the modern era of bass and beats, his unconcern with tenors of the day positions him as a zealot, tying the past and future through sounds that reflect life. With regards to how Covid-19 will change the way people produce and consume music, he comments, “Honestly, I see people being more open minded to chance. Chance is important because if you believe that this ride is fixed, you’re going to get very bored along the way. Consumption could be the very same thing. You’ll never know what your eyes can’t see.”
If anything, FAUXE is the Thom Yorke of our generation. The future of music which we are witnessing is the slow-steam rise of a true artist who ‘honours sound as a way of life’, right before the world catches on.
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Watch the live stream of the second edition of REM!X featuring FAUXE remixing Kalah by Fariz Jabba & Omar Kenobi this coming Thursday (25 June) from 9.00pm to 10.30pm.
