Welcome ladies and gentlemen, join me as we dive into the world of Fumez as we uncover who is his behind the stage name, and uncover the man behind the music. From the story behind his unique moniker to his sources of inspiration, we get a glimpse into what makes Fumez tick.
But before we delve into his music, let us explore the life that shaped this artist, Fumez is from a musical family and he shares more of this in a recent interview with Mister Styx of Musicarenagh
Although he lives in the present, he still performs under the moniker he used in his past life, the name Fumez was derived from fumes, literally from smoke, he admits during a phase of his life he used to smoke, but not anymore.
His style is a mix of Hip-Hop with a dash of UK Grime and pop, creating a genre-bending sound that’s all his own.
He also touched on his latest album which he titles “Phase Two,” a continuation of his previous album “2009”, “Phase Two” has a total of 12 songs that delves into the intricate phases of relationships and friendships.
In the interview he takes us through his creative process and what goes on during that process, he also shares the inspirations that fuel his lyrics, and the artists who have influences the type of music he produces.
Listen to Phase Two below
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“What is your stage name
Fumez
Is there a story behind your stage name?
I used to smoke when I was younger, I’ve given up now but that’s where the name came from
Where do you find inspiration?
I find inspiration from music of all different genres, my writing comes from groups such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones & The Bee Gees, and my production/arrangements I take inspiration from bands such as The Divine Comedy, and then from UK grime artists such as Dizzee Rascal & Ruff Sqwad, so a right mix there
What was the role of music in the early years of your life?
I would listen to music pretty much all day every day while growing up, I only took a break whilst at school, listening to it has always been a big part of my life
Are you from a musical or artistic family?
A few family members would play the guitar, my grandad was heavily into music & would constantly be listening to something, he would listen to jazz groups like War, then take a U-Turn and put on Eminem! Haha
Who inspired you to be a part of the music industry?
I can’t quite remember what inspired me to be apart of it, I’ve just know that I’d always wanted to do something within the industry
How did you learn to sing/write/to play?
I was initially taught how to mix by one of my friends, and when I say taught, he showed me how to place vocals and loops into Magix & told me to get on with it, he gave me a copy of the programme so I could practice at home, when it comes to writing, one of my friends decided to write a few verses for me in a song, I had been mixing for a while but they wanted me fully involved, i then started writing my own material from then onwards
What was the first concert that you ever went to and who did you see perform?
I genuinely can’t remember the first concert as it was so long ago, but the first live act I can remember watching is The Lightning Seeds.
How could you describe your music?
My style of music is Hip-Hop, with elements of UK Grime and pop
Describe your creative process.
It varies from project to project, With my album Phaze Two I was writing about things that were going on around me at the time, one example is I had an argument with a friend, i then went home in a rage and wrote the song Halfway To Hell, I also wrote the song It Doesn’t Matter based on tension within my group of friends at that time. The song Just Be Yourself was the same, I witnessed a friend of mine change due to hanging around with someone they looked up to, they ended up becoming someone they wasn’t just to impress this particular person.
What is your main inspiration?
Life, and music in general, I could listen to a particular song, hear a certain lyric then write an entire song based off that one lyric
What musician do you admire most and why?
I’ve always admired John Lennon & Paul McCartney, I’ve taken a lot of my writing skill from them, the influence they and The Beatles had on music has been written many times, even today’s artists like Taylor Swift have been said to be influenced by Paul McCartney from the Beatles.
Did your style evolve since the beginning of your career?
My writing, producing, arranging and mixing process has evolved a lot and matured over the years.
Who do you see as your main competitor?
Honestly there’s no competition here, we’re all out here to do our own thing.
What are your interests outside of music?
I like gaming, both playing and collecting, Ive streamed on twitch in the past too, I’d like to get back into that at some point.
If it wasn’t a music career, what would you be doing?
Exactly what I’m doing now, your typical 9 to 5 job
What is the biggest problem you have encountered in the journey of music?
The change! When i started back in the late 2000’s we had MySpace music, that was it, as crazy as it sounds, it was easier to get noticed back then than it is today, I would go round the local independent record shops and ask them to sell copies of my album, which they would, people would go out and hunt for new music, they would pick a copy of your album up and give it a listen, if you left contact details on the sleeve sometimes they would drop you a message on MySpace telling you how great, or how terrible your album was!
Although it’s easier to release music today, it’s so much harder to get noticed, anyone with a microphone and basic music creating software can release a single on to streaming platforms worldwide! A lot of independent shops have closed down, the listening public go for what’s familiar, they don’t tend to branch out these days which is a shame!
If you could change one thing in the music industry, what would it be?
The pay per stream ratio, artists don’t get paid enough for their creations. It’s a shame.
Why did you choose this as the title of this project?
My first project was titled 2009, I was initially going to title this 2010 (the year it was originally released), as this was a concept album and completely different to what I had released before, I changed it to “Phaze Two”, it’s a completely different phaze within my music career.
What are your plans for the coming months?
We have the vinyl of Phaze Two coming at the start of 2024 so at the moment I’m focused on getting that finished, I’ll also be doing a reissue of the CD as that’s now sold out.
Do you have any artistic collaboration plans?
I will continue to work with the guys who worked on phaze two with me, Calmar who produced some of the tracks and acted as executive producer on the album, Charleigh Jayne who provided some fantastic vocals, and PJ Vice who performed some rapping with me, we have formed a group called SouthSystem, all new collaborations will be released under this name, we will also still continue with our solo careers too.
What message would you like to give to your fans?
I would like to thank all of my fans for buying the album and streaming it, thank you to the original fan’s who have stuck around since the early days, and thank you to all my new fans I’ve gained since the re-release of this album and also thank you for all of your kind words, without you guys I wouldn’t be where I am now! So thank you all so much! It’s really appreciated.
