FYE & FENNEK: “the record as a whole piece should work and find the spotlight.”
Interview with Fye & Fennek, recordJet Passenger of the Month in September 2018
Who are you?
Fyetsche & Fennitsche (FYE & FENNEK)
How did you guys come to making music?
We were both making music on our own or with other musicians since forever, but we finally met one evening where we filled ourselves with Mexican shots- luckily with headache-proof tequila. We were connected by mutual friends and found a way to just dive into our common interests through music. It was a bit of luck that we found each other. Fye writes the lyrics and melodies, Fennek creates the sounds and harmonizes the whole thing. We figured out we had this dynamic pretty quickly and just kept going.
How and why did you end up landing at recordJet?
We got together with Filter Music Group first, who is onboard with recordJet and so we joined as well. It just felt right, in part but not only because they’re friends of ours.
What’s your favorite music to listen to privately?
We listen to a bunch of different stuff of different genres. Fye likes jazz, soul, and house, and anything with a strong, unique voice (Crooked Colors). Fennek is into electronic music, a bit of cloud rap…really anything that’s interesting and has some original production (the current French vibe in particular in terms of production), but also the classics like, ‘Like a Virgin.’
When you’re not making music, what are you up to?
Fenndrich is preparing baby bottles and loves changing diapers. Haha. No, but actually, he enjoys every free minute with his little daughter. Fye loves art, is really into sports and always somehow out socializing.
You’re both really active in the music business. In your opinion, where’s the biggest problem currently in the industry and what on the other hand is the coolest part of it today?
One of the biggest challenges is really the balancing act you face as an independent musician. You have to work quite a lot and it sometimes feels like juggling parallel worlds. One of the coolest things now is that through streaming and playlists, you can reach so many more people than you would have been able to previously. You end up getting some feedback through streaming by watching how a track develops. The other side of this is that the attention span is pretty low and the track business end up with the upper hand. We don’t love that. Our album was a kind of statement against this and we agreed together that, “the album is the boss” and the record as a whole piece should work and find the spotlight. You have to however ultimately follow the cliché, “trust the process” and remember this if something doesn’t ignite right away. But this flow is what makes the business so interesting and why we’re always on the lookout for new, original music. We’d love it if someone discovered our music and said, “Yeah cool, that’s different.”
Another issue is that there are so many artists and an oversupply of high-quality stuff, making it exciting for the listener but forcing the artist to recognize that it takes more than just writing a good song to catch attention. Listeners have such a high debunking intelligence now. That’s why we try to be as involved as possible in everything and incorporate our ideas not only in our music but also in our merchandise, videos and looks. We work together with a handful of friends. RecordJet is so cool to work with because they are just super nice, but also get how to read between the lines and find ways to promote artists who might have a harder time getting out there than some others.
Who are your heroes and why?
People who work on something bigger than themselves; for instance on environmental protection or human rights. These days it’s already heroic just to be mindful within your own circle and set an example- there are so many souls behind this topic, not so much just one great hero.
What was the first record you ever bought, and which was the last?
Fye: Salt ‘n’ Peppa was definitely my first cassette. At the moment I’m buying a lot of vinyl because I finally have a record player again! The last record I got was a gift- It was Milliarden’s new album, ‘Berlin.’
Fennek: My first album was from Limp Bizkit when I was 11, which I was actually made fun in school by other 5th graders. Everyone was into BROSIS and Shakira and showed up with ‘My Way’ from Limp Bizkit. I still love it as much as I did back then! The last album I purchased was actually from Justin Bieber. Haha.
You have the real recordJet completely available to you for one day. Where would you fly, and why?
For one day? Can we upgrade? Let’s all go to Panama! Cocktails, coconuts, and little umbrellas that remind us of the good old days.
Tell us your favorite joke.
What was the name of the first bus driver? – Evil! Because it’s written in the bible; Evil will drive you again.