Filous, the nineteen year old Austrian multi-instrumentalist who captured fans around the world last winter with his updated reinterpretation of “Let It Snow”, recently returned with “Goodbye” featuring highly-celebrated singer-songwriter Mat Kearney.
We caught up with Filous and spoke to him about this single, the story behind the name – Filous, and plenty more. Have a read. :)
Valarie – Welcome, Filous! Thanks for taking time for this interview. It’s a pleasure to have you here.
Filous – Hi! Thanks for having me!
Valarie – For those not familiar with Filous, how would you describe your music to the world?
Filous – I think listening to all types of music has had a big influence on how I make music. The songs I’ve released so far range from dreamy electronica over chill indie folk to more upbeat dance stuff. It’s important to me to be flexible in the music I make and not get tied down to one particular genre. I am just a huge fan of music and love to explore all different cultural and stylistic worlds of it.
Valarie – How did you come up with the name Filous?
Filous – It was actually my brother’s idea! We were brainstorming different names, sending ideas back and forth and one of them was “filous”! After he told me it means “rascal” I instantly loved it!
Valarie – Your recent single “Goodbye” with Mat Kearney is out now via Ultra Records. How did that collaboration happen & how was the experience?
Filous – One and a half years ago Mat wrote to me on twitter, saying he liked my music. I was super excited about that and we ended skyping about collabing on a song! Shortly after that he invited me to his place in Nashville where we worked on “Goodbye”! Working on this song with him was incredibly inspiring. Mat’s experience and creativity were super infectious and motivating. I am very grateful to have the opportunity to make music with him and looking forward to learning even more from him!
Valarie – Compared to others in the music industry, you’re quite young (at 19 years old) but have made a big impact within the music industry. Does that help you or hurt you in your opinion?
Filous – I feel like I am very lucky to be in the position I am in. Starting to make music when you’re young has the advantage that you still have plenty of time to learn and to grow as an artist, which sometimes takes the pressure off. However I generally don’t think about my age much, as I don’t like to think that it should influence how I work. I just try to do the best I can and to regularly challenge myself.
Valarie – Being a musician, songwriter, artist, etc is hard enough but being able to make your own music takes more than talent. How does the process for writing any track usually materialize for you?
Filous – Usually I’ll start out with jamming on the guitar or something that makes sound. Nowadays when it comes to my original music I concentrate mainly on the song itself, recording the main elements and writing lyrics first before focusing on the production. I feel it has a huge impact on the substance of the song and makes it more interesting to listen to.
Valarie – You’re proficient on many instruments, what is/was the fascination behind music that has captured your attention?
Filous – It was the first thing after playing video-games that I could really focus on doing! Something about it just really has a therapeutic effect on me. Especially jamming with other people – there’s nothing like it!
Valarie – Even though you are a newcomer, you’ve worked with an impressive array of artists. Who are some artists that you would like to work with?
Filous – I consider myself super lucky to have been able to work with the incredibly talented people I’ve worked with so far! One of my all time favorite artists to listen to is Bobby Mcferrin. Working with him would be a dream come true! I also love Mac Demarco, Jacob Collier, Sufjan Stevens, Tycho, Daughter, Lianne La Havas and many more!
Valarie – What do you hope to achieve in 2017?
Filous – To eat 20 avocados in a row.
Valarie – Top 5 artists that you love & think we should too.
Filous – We have so many talented local artist in Austria that I am in love with and you should definitely check out, like Palastic, Mount, Robb, Lea Santee and Leyya! One artist in particular that always blows my mind is NVDES. He’s one the most exciting things happening in music right now in my opinion. (Sorry couldn’t stick to 5)
Valarie – Thank you so very much, Filous for taking time out to talk to us here at T.H.E – Music Essentials. It’s been an absolute pleasure! Can’t wait to see what the future holds for you.
Filous – Thank you so much!!
You can download/stream ‘Goodbye’ here.
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