A Quick Chat With FEELDS
photo by Nick Mckk
FEELDS, the Melbourne-based project by James Seymour, may already be a familiar name to you having seen a ton of support across Australia since the release of his debut EP and Album in 2018 and 2019 respectively. Seymour has teamed up with Dylan Ollivierre and Carmen Pepper of The Money War over in Perth on an absolutely gorgeous track, ‘Was It Ever Really Anything?’. Working together, they have blended their crafts to perfection, creating an introspective track that begs for you to push on through the hard times. We caught up with Seymour to find out more about the track, this collaboration and more.
Can you tell us how this track and collaboration with The Money War came about?
Dylan and I have kept in touch over the years after our bands crossed paths a while ago. He mentioned that he was headed out to Melbourne to spend a week working with various artists on the songwriting front late last year, so we made sure we put aside a day to create something together!
Did you have a particular sound, style or idea in mind when you first sat down with Dylan Ollivierre?
As we both do quite a bit of Production & writing for other artists, there was no set precedence on what this track was ever going to be, or who for. We basically just got in a room, let go of any expectation and threw ideas around to see what stuck.
What was the creative process on this track, from writing through to recording?
We came up with a basic idea & structure for the song while Dylan was in Melbourne, and we spent the rest of the day recording it down. We played around with a few fun different ideas and left with a pretty formed demo. Once Dyl had returned to Perth and shown it to Carmen, we reconvened and decided it would be a good idea to pursue it further and finish it together. The drums, lead guitar, a few vocals & synth were added remotely after our initial session. Dylan mixed it after that - it all came together pretty quick and naturally!
Did that differ from your usual process?
Feelds has always been a project for me to experiment and collaborate with, so I'm always eager to work with and learn from other artists' processes. Usually (unless it's a co-write), recording involves me laying everything down and bringing in friends here and there to help with various parts as the songs develop. I'm always up for trying things a little differently, and this process with The Money War seemed to work really well.
What do you think makes a great song?
Something that makes you feel a certain way, so much that you want to come back and feel that particular thing again.
When not working on music, what other creative outlet/s do you have?
I like building and fixing things, especially with timber. I've been fitting out a recording studio space in Naarm (North Melbourne) with my friend Brodie. We've just recently finished, so it's now time to take the builder's cap off and pop the Producer one back on!
Winter or summer and why?
Bring on the sun. I'm a busy body so getting outside is pretty important for my brain!
What else do you have planned for 2023?
Some really exciting stuff that I can't say yet, we're currently in the process of organising a few things, but we will be announcing something very soon!