An interview with Feux

Can you tell me a bit about yourself? Where are you from, and what got you into music?

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My name is Max. I'm from London, I'm 19 years old, and I went to university in Glasgow. Now I'm back in London. I was born and raised in Camden, North London.

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I started making music in September 2018. I got onto GarageBand and started recording little voice notes over my friends' beats. I kept doing that, and some of my friends were like, "Oh, this is actually really good. You should continue making music." Gradually I just got better, and now I'm here.

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Do you think growing up in London has inspired you? How has it affected your music?

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Definitely. London is one of the biggest cities in the world. There's a lot going on, lots of different areas, communities and different types of people. It's a very mixed and multicultural place, so there's a lot to be inspired by.

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Every country and every city has its own way of growing up. In London, you learn to grow up by yourself, you see your friends a lot and you live the city life. It has definitely had an impact.

 

One of the things that drew me to your music right away is your use of both the English and French language. Can you speak about that and where your French influences come from?

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My mum is originally from Peru and Belgium, and her parents are bilingual, so they speak Spanish and French. In Belgium there's the Francophone and Flemish side. I also went to a small French school in North London when I was a kid, so I had a kind of French upbringing, with my mum speaking French as well.

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I wanted to do something different and incorporate another language into my sound, and I think it really helped to have that extra element. I always strive to be unique and be myself because that's how I was brought up, and that's very much who I am. Incorporating that into my music is very personal.

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You've only been making music since September 2018. How do you look back on the past year? From your first project, Silent Enemy, to your newest EP, What's Done in the Dark, a lot must have changed.

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Yeah, that EP, Silent Enemy, I wouldn't say it's my best work, but it's the start of everything. That was a big moment because it was my first project. Even though it's not my best work, it's still very important.

This whole year has really been about learning about myself, my sound and my music. Every time I write lyrics or make a song, I try to improve and perfect every aspect of it.

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It hasn't been very long since I started making music, so I'm still very new to it. I'm still learning so much, and there's still so much more to learn. I'm still in that process of improving and becoming better.

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Another thing that really struck me was something I heard you say about creating Silent Enemy Vol. 2: "I'm proud of myself, and I've never been able to say that before, but now I can." It made me realize how important it is to do something you truly love. Can you speak a bit about that and the importance of doing something you hold close to your heart?

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I had a great connection with music, but I was never 100% happy with what I did. Before I had music, there was always something missing for me, something creative. I never really achieved much personally, and going through the whole process of making this album ties in with What's Done in the Dark.

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You put so much work and effort into something, and then finally releasing it for people to hear is just a breath of fresh air. Having people acknowledge the work you've put into it means a lot.

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I've never been as passionate about anything as I am about making music. That was a big moment for me because it was the first time I'd put so much effort into a project, and I was genuinely happy about it.

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I have to ask about the Silent Enemy Vol. 2 artwork. Can you tell me a bit about it?

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Yeah. My friend Seb, who does the graphics for the majority of my projects, created the artwork for Life?, Silent Enemy and What's Done in the Dark. He was originally meant to do this one as well, but unfortunately something came up and he couldn't do it in the end.

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Around that time I'd come across an artist on Instagram called Ellis. I saw his work and thought, "Wow, that stuff is crazy." I'm really into art and visual work, so I thought I'd message him and see if he'd be interested. I only had two weeks until the project was due to be released, so I sent him a message saying, "Yoo man, can you do this and that? I'm trying to go for this style."

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The project is called Silent Enemy, and you can see the people around me in the artwork while I'm standing in the middle. They're looking at me with a side-eye, there are monsters in the background, and I thought it all came together amazingly. He's such a great artist.

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Seeing all the positive responses your music receives, with people from all over the world telling you they connect with it, must feel quite surreal, especially after only a little over a year of making music.

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It's crazy. I still tell my friends that I'm not where I want to be yet, but to have reached a point where people acknowledge my music, not just in my own country but internationally as well, means a lot. Because music is such a personal thing to me, knowing that people can relate to it is an incredible feeling. It makes me feel very privileged to be able to create music that people genuinely enjoy, and that's a huge motivation.

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I'm quite a sensitive person, so if people didn't like my music it would motivate me to improve. But seeing people connect with it motivates me even more to keep making music and doing what I love.

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One thing that has consistently stood out to me throughout your work is your lyrical ability. What's music if it ain't got meaning?

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I don't know. For me, music without meaning is something that's quite bland and doesn't have much depth, and I think there's way too much of that nowadays. It's not even necessarily about meaning. It can simply be emotion, because music is a feeling. I think there's too much completely hollow music out there. People with voices that can genuinely say something often don't use them.

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For me, music is far more special than simply talking about drugs, sex and violence. Even if those things reflect someone's reality, that's completely respectable, but sometimes people glorify them and go over the top with it. I find that quite meaningless.

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I just do my own thing and don't spend too much time talking about it. That little EP, What's Music If It Ain't Got Meaning, was really just about saying that music is much deeper than people think, and that it can have a much bigger effect than people realize.

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A lot of your lyrics seem to come from a darker place. I was wondering, does making music and writing about these darker places, so to speak, offer some sort of healing?

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For sure. It's like therapy for me. Writing and creating open up the subconscious. They allow you to get things out and release them without really having to speak to someone. Creating is very meditative, and it heals a lot.

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I've had my fair share of shit, but I haven't had a horrible life. I've had a very nice life. I see myself more as a voice for people and for a general idea. Especially now, I'm working on new material, and I'm trying to make it less about me and more about other people.

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That really clicked for me when I made Life?. I wrote it because I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life, and then I realized there are so many other people who feel exactly the same way. That was the moment I thought people need a voice. They need reassurance, and sometimes they need someone else to say it before it clicks. They need someone to listen to and to follow. It's not necessarily my goal to be that person, but I definitely want to contribute to raising awareness and consciousness. I want people to ask questions when they listen to my music. I want them to feel something. That's what I'm striving for.

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That's exactly what your song Life? did for me. It resonated.

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It's comforting, hearing someone else say it. There's something reassuring about knowing you're not the only person who's in that position, and that other people are going through it too.

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On the opening track of your newest EP, What's Done in the Dark, there's a quote from Plato: "For I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing." That made me wonder about your influences. Are you inspired by philosophy and literature?

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Yeah, definitely. I like reading books, and I like researching things, maybe even a bit too much. Last night I was up until about 4:30 researching 5G, but that's a story for another day.

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I've never formally studied philosophy, but I think in a very philosophical way. That kind of thinking inspires me. Often it's the simplest sentences that carry the most meaning.

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Knowing that you know nothing is knowledge, because it allows you to open your mind and continue learning.

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I also heard that Mos Def is one of your biggest influences. Can you tell me what his music means to you?

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Mos Def was the voice of his time. He was the voice of his generation. What he did was make people aware of what was happening in his area, his city. He's inspiring not just because of what he says, but because of what he did, what he changed, and how he made people conscious of what was happening during his time, with gentrification and everything that came with it.

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He's an important figure in hip-hop, and I feel like that's missing nowadays. Everyone is too scared to speak up about what's really going on. Everything is messed up, everything is corrupt, and nobody wants to talk about it. Everybody's just riding the wave without really understanding what's happening.

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That's also something I like about your music. It doesn't sound like you're riding a wave or chasing a particular sound. A lot of music today sounds very similar. Even though much of it is good, it often feels like it's drawing from the same place. Yours has a different twist to it.

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Thank you, man. That's exactly what I try to do. I try to incorporate my own sound. It's not just old-school, it also has a modern feel to it.

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I'm still developing and trying to perfect my own sound, and that takes time. We'll see what happens.

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Do you ever think about the bigger picture? Where you want to be years from now, and what you hope your music will mean to people?

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I was speaking to a friend about what success really is, and we came to the conclusion that it's being paid to do what you love, being able to make a living from it.

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When it comes to music, I want to perform around the world because I love performing, meeting new people and experiencing new places. That would be a dream come true.

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I can't really predict what's going to happen. A year and a half ago I didn't even know I'd be here. You never know where life is going to take you, but in an ideal world, that's what I'd love to do.

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More than anything, I want to change something. I want to make people aware and be a voice for others.

 

Finally, if you had the chance to create a song with anyone who has ever existed, who would you choose? Who would produce the beat, who would feature on a verse, and who would direct the music video?

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For the beat, I'd choose J Dilla. To jump on the track with me, I'd pick MF DOOM. And for the music video, I'd ask some friends of mine and Honey JD from LOUDHOUSE.

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