Interview with Faodail

The Scottish music scene has it all, including some super-talented electronic artists. Cue Faodail…

RECORD WEEKLY’S INTERVIEW WITH FAODAIL

Hi, how are you doing?

I’m not too bad at all. Currently just enjoying some downtime before I dive into some big projects towards the end of the year. It’s been really great having the time to experiment with some musical ideas again without any the pressure of having to turn them into songs.

Excellent stuff! So, introduce us — how did you get into music and choose your stage name?

I was a big fan of groups like Nirvana and R.E.M. when I was young, so I jumped at the chance to take up drums when I got offered lessons in school. From there, I did what it felt like very kid my age was doing and started playing in bands, writing the noisiest music we could and gigging around Glasgow. I love anything that I can get really nerdy about, so I always loved the process of trying to figure out how to record all these bands.

Eventually the production and song-writing side really took over from actually playing, in terms of what I was most interested in. This coincided with me becoming more exposed to music outside of punk, grunge and hardcore and, once I realised I could make something that was entirely my own from start to finish, I was hooked on the process.

In terms of my artist name, Faodail is supposedly Gaelic for ‘a lucky find’ and my family are from Stornoway, so I wanted something that represented that. Although, I’ve asked a few native Gaelic about it and they hadn’t heard the word before, so it’s possible it’s entirely made up!

I had the pleasure of catching you supporting The Ninth Wave at Òran Mór. What’s your favourite thing about the Scottish music scene?

I think right now it’s just the sheer diversity; there are so many different sounds coming out of Scotland, but there’s also a tonne of crossover. People are so open to listening to and working with music outside their own genre.

The line-up for Òran Mór was a great example of this; there was pop, electronic, jazz and rock music all on the same bill and the audience responded to all of it in such a positive way. I think that perfectly encapsulates where music in Scotland is at right now.

Who would you say has influenced your sound the most?

The real spark that started this project was hearing Kiasmos for the first time a few years ago. I hadn’t heard anyone mix electronic production with more traditional, soundtrack leaning, instrumentation so effectively before and it completely blew me away. They really opened me up to a whole side of music that continues to influence what I do now and introduced me to some of my favourite artists, like Christian Löffler, Jon Hopkins and Rival Consoles.

More recently, I’ve also felt the influence of some folk artists, including Novo Amor, Ed Tullett and Lucy Rose, bleeding through into my production. I think their approaches to harmony and melody are really interesting, and it’s been refreshing drawing from that and sort of framing it in my own music.

Did you find the pandemic mostly helped or hindered as an artist?

It feels strange to say because it’s been such a terrible time for so many people, but I feel like I really benefited from the lack of distractions during it. I finally had the time to set up a home studio, which is something I’ve been threatening to do for years, and having that space was really inspiring when it came to putting together my last EP.

On top of that, the lack of any sort of normal commitments meant I could devote these huge blocks of time to writing, which isn’t really something I’ve managed before. Having said that, I don’t think it’s necessarily a sustainable way of being productive. I know, for me at least, I need to have time away from writing, either by visiting new places or spending time with friends, in order to remember how much I love it, otherwise it becomes a bit of a chore.

Can you share any upcoming news while you’re here?

We’re going to be putting out some remixes from my last EP, ‘Madainn’, over the next few months, which I’m really excited about. The artists who produced them are some of my biggest inspirations in electronic music right now, so it’s been a really humbling experience hearing them put their own spin on something I’ve written. The first one is by Lycoriscors, who is this really incredible musician from Japan that creates some absolutely beautiful organic electronic music.

It’s coming out on 17th November and I can’t wait to finally let people hear it!