Instupendo (Apr. 2019)
Have you ever awoken from a dream only to feel as though reality is weak in comparison to your own mind’s landscape? Maybe you realized that living and feeling like a dream is the goal to it all. That’s what, overall, Instupendo understands and holds close, that dreams are an extension, and an improvement, upon reality. And with his music, he opens the door to our fleeting mental dimensions.
His production doesn’t depend on making you cry or over think. Instead, it only pushes you to feel less, while becoming a state of higher being. All starting in the ears, the sonics numb the fingers and toes while disintegrating anxiety, replacing it with nirvana. Through Instupendo’s music, every breath feels as fresh as an August morning void of care or concern.
In the few minutes his songs exist, a new world is built. It is one of the freedom and honesty that cannot exist within reality, but only in our mind’s eye. We are taken deeper into the depths of our creation and individuality. In truth, Instupendo is a guide to a universe beautiful and pure, one untouched by the fear and uncertainty omnipresent daily, in times desperate for artistic relief.
Our first question as always, how’s your day going and how have you been?:
My day’s going pretty smoothly. I’m currently nursing an iced coffee at my kitchen table with some candles lit. Besides that, I can finally step out without a coat for the first time in months so you could say I’m doing alright.
To really kick things off at the beginning, in your eyes, what was the moment where you got your first inkling towards music and art in general, and how did you realize it was something you wanted to pursue?
I was surrounded by all kinds of music growing up, everything from my sisters’ 2002s RnB CDs to Björk to Etta James. I first really started to develop my own taste in music in middle school, when I was getting into bass music. As a 12-year-old it was exciting to hear sounds that were like something out of a video game. I realized pretty quickly that I had access to all the tools my favorite artists had, and I immediately jumped into making terrible electronic music. Music as a career was a thought that didn’t come until I was halfway through high school and it was becoming an actual possibility for me. I’m still trying to figure out what “music as a career” means though.
At that time, and as you were growing up, what did the art and sound mean to you and how did it shape your adolescence and development as an individual?
Creating music gave me a place to experiment and excel in a way that felt fun and productive, it was an escape from the mundane parts of adolescence. It actually helped me to survive high school, both because it was a nice way to kick back at a time when I didn’t entirely fit in, but also because I was able to get school credit for writing and putting out my last two releases.
As well through that period of discovery and development, who was your single greatest hero in life and what about them made you look up to who they are?
From 12-15, it could have been Skream, Phonat, KOAN Sound, any of those guys. The whole bass community was embracing the rapidly advancing world of music tech, and it was so inspiring to me to hear so many artists make music, unlike anything I’d ever heard before. They’re not as influential on my music as some others these days, but they were definitely beacons of light for a younger me.
How would you compare the challenges you were facing artistically back in those earlier days compared to yourself now as an older, more mature, and more established artist? Or are they similar and constant in your artistic life?
Most of the challenges I was facing early on had to do with my lack of technical understanding of electronic music clashing with my desire to make everything from scratch. I still have that problem sometimes, but I’m more versed in how music technology works now. One of the biggest changes I made over the past year was switching from FL Studio to Ableton, which felt necessary since I was moving towards a different style of production and live performance. Artistically though, I’ve never really had many setbacks, pretty much everything I do can be done from a bedroom.
And as another comparison, what would you say the biggest difference is between that original artistic vision to the one you hold today? What is the message you’re attempting to put forth with the new sounds you’re creating as opposed to those of yesterday?
I think the biggest shift my creative vision has gone through over time is the shift towards intention. Now that I’ve been around a bit longer and heard some more music than 13 years old me, I have more context for where my music belongs in the general stratosphere of sound. The instrumental music I was making prior to this release probably came off as pretty aimless, but I’ve always tried to tell stories of a gentle yet complex life with my music… adding the vocal layer helped reveal a different facet to these stories.
It goes without saying that the release of Cinderella today is very different due to the addition of vocals from yourself. How did you come to the point of comfort with this side of yourself and how do you feel it adds to the story you’re hoping to tell?
I never really decided, “okay, time to sing”, it was just something that I kind of walked into. Experimenting with vocal processing over the course of nearly a year eventually landed me on both a point of comfort with my voice and a direction for my music I was happy with. Ultimately, I found that I had something to say that I couldn’t accomplish purely through instrumentals. I want my music to reach people like me.
With the song itself, what drew you towards the concept of a Cinderella and what does it reflect within your life and what you’ve felt while creating and writing it?
‘Cinderella’ is about the feeling of being “a princess” around someone – that you’re both protected and respected – like nothing else in the whole world. I’m still pretty new to these feelings, but I wanted to write something that tried described this.
As you continue down the more lyrical path, where do you believe more of your lyrical inspiration will come from? Do you see yourself as one who uses past experience or more so personal feelings and anxieties to create the words you do?
At the moment, inspiration comes from both past and current experiences, and the feelings that result from them. It’s easier to tell a story that I know by heart.
If you could take one film and completely strip it of all its music and then replace it with some that you create either for it or insert what you have already made, what film would you choose and why do you believe your style matches and resonates with it?
I don’t know how closely the film resonates with my style, but I would have loved to compose the soundtrack for “Your Name”. The sentiment conveyed in that movie dances right on the fine line of not taking itself seriously and seriously melancholy, which is right where I want my music to fall. I love films with tender orchestral soundtracks, but I often wonder what they’d sound like if they were backed with softer electronic scoring? Maybe one day I can make it happen.
Looking forward into this year, what are the most important goals for you to hit and what plans do you have in terms of your creative output? Or are you someone who more so goes with the flow?
I’m generally the kind that just floats with the currents, but I do have goals. Since this project is a big step for me, I’m trying to see how far I can get it out there. Aside from that I’m really just trying to write music with my friends, and make new friends. Music is most enjoyable for me when I’m working with artists who are pushing the envelope.
And beyond the future itself, what do you hope that the Instupendo legacy and core message continues to be? What is it that you hope to be remembered and known for beyond your own time?
Above all, I want my music to be something that people will look back at with soft-hearted thoughts, something that can be shared with the next generation of listeners. What people associate my music with though? That’s up to them. I just hope it’s something gentle and sweet.
Do you have anyone to shout out? The floor is yours…
My work ethic recently has been hugely inspired by chef Jiro Ono, I hope to one day have complete control over my focus the same way he does. So shout out to him I guess.