Initial Eyes has had an exceptional few releases over the past few months and has proven that his conceptional, soundscape style of Progressive House is something to pay attention to as he is rapidly gaining praise from industry heads to fans alike.
‘When It All Ends’ is a dark track with rolling basslines with a glimmer of hope as the track draws to a close so we caught up with Initial Eyes to discuss more about the release.
T.H.E – First of all, how are you holding up during this crazy time?
Initial Eyes – I’m doing well, all things considered. Definitely feeling the effects from not being able to connect with others through events and such, but I try to stay positive.
T.H.E – What have you been doing to keep busy?
Initial Eyes – Putting time in the studio, recording some behind-the-scenes videos, catching a Netflix show or movie here and there. We haven’t been on full lockdown where I am, so I’ve been going for bike rides often. And I’m still putting in 40 hours a week at a day job.
T.H.E – Talk us through the inspiration of ‘When It All Ends’?
Initial Eyes – I actually wrote the track before the whole pandemic surfaced so it’s sort of coincidental. I think a lot about life and death and the mark that I want to leave on this world. But in a grander scheme, I think about the effect humanity has had, especially more recently, on the planet. And whether that’s going to improve or continue to decline. How long will humanity survive? You know, big questions like that.
T.H.E – What did you imagine for this track when you first began to create it?
Initial Eyes – I wanted to make something dark and bleak, at least initially. But that would evolve into something where a sense of hope is introduced. So, the rolling bassline came first and then I started to put these chords behind it. I like to have these very subtle changes over time where you’ll hear the chords start hitting higher notes, then go down, then come up just a little bit higher etc. Anyways the new arp melody comes in during the break/build to give that sense of hope I mentioned earlier, and we bring all of the elements back in to carry out the track.
T.H.E – Who would you love to see support it?
Initial Eyes – ARTBAT, Cristoph, or CamelPhat would be something. I also feel like it would fit perfectly in some of these Cercle sets that are in these beautiful, mystical locations.
T.H.E – When did you first decide to incorporate soundscapes into your releases?
Initial Eyes – It’s hard to pinpoint but I do remember first diving into Absynth, that’s part of Native Instruments Komplete collection and scrolling through these epic, evolving pad sounds. I’ve expanded out more to Diva and the Arturia Collection these days, but it didn’t start there. It just adds a whole other dimension to the music in my opinion.
T.H.E – How would you sum up ‘When It All Ends’ in 3 words?
Initial Eyes – Dark, ethereal, driving
T.H.E – How has the initial reaction been?
Initial Eyes – Promo support through Reaktion has been very positive, a lot of the smaller melodic techno Spotify playlists are picking it up, and it’s doing pretty well on SoundCloud as well. Some heartfelt DMs have been coming in which is always massively inspiring to keep pushing forward.
T.H.E – Finally, where can people go to grab their copy?
Initial Eyes – Beatport support is one of the best ways to contribute but it’s on all of the usual outlets as well. Spotify, Apple, Deezer, etc.
