Rising musician Feather blends the wonders of nature and human connection together on his sophomore EP We Are For Each Other, with seven tracks spanning genres and moods, featuring a roster of collaborators including Badnights, TRØVES, Sintra, Lockbox, SEGØ, 44hydra and Lumasi.

With a meditative yet groovy quality stretching throughout the body of work, Feather who began as part of an indie pop band before finding his love in electronic music has honed the art of blending elements of the genre to create a sonic signature unique to him.

Speaking to 1883, he delves into the overarching theme for his music, how he sees his sound evolving and the art of collaboration, among much more.

What is the inspiration/message behind We Are For Each Other?
We Are For Each Other was a project that developed through a period of time collaborating with other artists and producers. Having previously done most of my creating alone in my basement over previous years and especially through the pandemic, I was seeking a more social experience with making music. I had found myself feeling a little plateaued and I wanted to get inspired and grow through learning from/with other creatives. The final product ended up being a seven-song album exploring different styles and vibes through each of these collaborations!

Where do you see your sound going from here, is there a specific or ideal sonic path you’d like to like to move towards?

I’m really not sure where the sound will go in the future. I feel like I am constantly seeking a sonic space to call my own while at the same time striving for a diverse breadth of work. I know that I have definitely been missing a lot more of the traditional instrumentation of guitar & drum kit driven bands like from my previous experiences in bands so I’d like to return to including that some more along with singing in more of my tracks. I grew up singing quite a bit and it got pushed to the back burner the last few years while I was working on learning how to sufficiently produce my own music.

Of the seven tracks, what’s your personal favourite and why?

Such a tough question! I’ve noticed it has been changing over the past few months as each track begins to stand out in different ways for me. I think right now I’m particularly fond of Let Go because I’ve been working on some variations of how to play that track live so it’s been really fun to see it grow into something with a new life!

If listeners can take away one overarching message from your music, what would you want it to be? 
Amazing question! Inspiration, for sure – in whatever that looks like for someone. The mission statement for this project has always been based around the feeling of inspiration and what that can do for you. Maybe it’s the emotionality of the music, maybe it’s the lyrics someone connects with, or even if it’s just setting an example of what’s possible through my career – I would love it if people walked away from an experience with me & my music with a feeling of hope & inspiration that they are capable of having the life they’ve always dreamed of.

You talk about how working and collaborating brings a new dimension and new ideas to your music, what sort of ideas or creativity did the collaborations on this EP specifically bring to your music? 

Collaboration is a really unique and nuanced skill that I think often gets overlooked. It requires lots of trust, compromise, respect, and communication. And as everyone creates in a different way, it is a constantly changing process depending on the environment or dynamic you’re collaborating in. Through this project I found myself not only growing all of those skills but also picking up little creative tricks within producing or songwriting that other genres often use that I could bring back to my own toolbox for future creating!

When it comes to collaborations, what are some names on your bucket list? 
I love this question!! There are so many cool, inspiring, and talented artists out there that would be really amazing to collaborate with, but of course any of my idols would be such a life changing experience. I come from a band background so a lot of non-EDM artists I think could make awesome songs: Coldplay, The 1975, Nightly, Bon Iver – to name a few. In the electronic space, ILLENIUM, ODESZA, and The Chainsmokers are all favorites.

Who inspires you both personally and on a professional level?
Aside from the musical inspirations previously mentioned, I am really inspired by people who are extremely passionate and relentless in pursuing their craft. I love psychology, science, and technology and I love reading and learning about people who are smart, compassionate, and always pushing the bounds of their field to raise conversations for the growth of our culture and society. People like Tim Ferris, Esther Perel, Wim Hoff, Joe Dispenza, Cal Newport, Brett Weinstein, to name a few.

What’s the most rewarding part of your music making process and what’s the most challenging part?
The most rewarding thing is without a doubt the connections I am able to make and sustain with countless people across the world. I have met so many awesome people who are positive and encourage me to keep going on my journey and that energy is always an incredible feeling to receive from others, especially when the workload can get too much to tackle sometimes – which is what I would say is the most challenging part. The workload for the average DIY or independent artist these days is a considerable amount and it can be really depleting to keep up with the demand some days. I struggle with burnout and working myself too hard to keep up, but as with everything it is a constant process of learning and optimizing.

In your career so far, what’s been a surreal moment or highlight? What’s next for you? 
So many amazing and cool things have happened to me so far, it’s almost hard to choose. If high school me knew where he’d end up, he would absolutely lose his mind. One of the most surreal things that’s probably ever happened to me was last year I went with some friends to see ILLENIUM at Red Rocks in Colorado. When we arrived, we were standing near our car in the parking lot and off in the distance I could faintly hear one of my songs playing. Almost baffled and questioning if I was in fact hearing my own song, a friend and I ran off to investigate and stumbled on a small group of people tailgating in the parking lot actually playing my music! I was so surprised and admittedly so were they when the artist of the song they were playing randomly walks up out of nowhere – it was really cool. Then, for the rest of the night I proceeded to have about 20 people walk up to me asking if I was Feather, and I was just so surprised that so many people even knew who I was. It was a reality check for sure.

In terms of what’s next, I am really looking forward to taking some time and creatively hibernating. I want to really allow myself some time to do some deep work and spend time playing around with music, sounds, writing, etc. Find a new connection with the process and the project for myself moving forward!

EP We Are For Each Other is out now, follow Feather via @feather

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