FEUX TALKS OPAL BLUES, TOUR LIFE & MUSIC AS HEALING
Feux is nothing short of a rising star in the U.K. underground. Increasingly known for his conscious lyricism and multilingual capability, he has risen to relative acclaim in his home town of London, most recently garnering the attention of artists such as Sainté, Lord Apex and Frankie Stew and Harvey Gunn, with whom he has toured in recent months.
Focalising around candid coverage of real life issues such as mental health and the environment, his identifiable energy and benevolent narrative is a breath of fresh air to the scene, and with his eagerly-anticipated album Opal Blues releasing just yesterday, he is the name in near everyone’s mouths at the moment.
We sat down with the man himself to discuss his journey and what we can expect from the artist in the future.
Yes family, pleasure to have you. For those who don’t know, who are you and what do you do?
Yes brother, thank you for having me, it’s a real pleasure! In the shortest way possible my name is Feux, I’m a multilingual artist/producer/creative born and based in London from francophone/latin descent.
How are you at the moment?
Honestly, I’ve never been so overworked in my life, but I can’t complain as it is all a conscious choice! That aside I am super grateful for everything so far and hopeful for what’s to come. I’ve got so many things on my mind at the minute, the biggest of which being my album, Opal Blues which is releasing tomorrow.
Yes! Your long-awaited album is finally out tomorrow, how do you feel knowing the world will finally be able to experience the project in all its glory?
To be real with you bro, I can’t really put it into words. This whole journey has been a feeling more than everything, translated from my emotions and experiences into sounds. All I hope is that someone out there will be able to relate to, feel and connect with my work; I couldn’t be more excited.
This is the most eagerly-anticipated body of work you’ve ever produced, how can you describe what it has been like working on it?
So far it’s been the most challenging yet fulfilling journey I’ve embarked on. It all started a year + ago when I felt a strong urge to help myself after having neglected my body and mind for the latter part of the pandemic. I subsequently decided to walk 100 miles across France, to let my mind go and re-connect with nature. This experience allowed me to come to a realisation of what I needed to do to, first, love myself, and, thus, love the world around me. This is where the idea of the project being split into three parts came from: The We, The Self and the Love.
Is this a different Feux than people have become accustomed to? What can we expect sonically?
Opal Blues has allowed me to find my voice. It’s allowed me to convey my thoughts and feelings in a way that I have never before, it has allowed me to experiment more, push boundaries and mentally avoid constraining myself to any boxes. So all together it’s a completely different experience to anything I have ever released.
If there is one phrase/mantra that someone should keep to mind while listening to the album, what should would that be?
Love yourself to love the world.
How does this project, and your broader discography, set you apart from what’s currently going on in the UK scene?
If I am completely honest, since the day I released my first song my mindset has not changed. To this day I haven’t made a song to please the current climate of music, I have kept it one hundred percent honest, pure and authentic. This is something I really pride myself in, and even if it may not appeal to the largest audience right now, it will.
What message does your work carry as a whole?
I want to heal, I want to inspire and I want to create change.
You’ve been very busy this year already, having toured with both Sainté and Lord Apex. How did tour life treat you, and how was it supporting two of the most impressive artists in the game?
It’s been crazy, I didn’t expect to be touring at all, it wasn’t even on the agenda. When S (Sainté) shouted me to be part of his debut tour it was a no-brainer. Supporting your friends is an incredible feeling. On the other hand, to support an idol was surreal for me too. I’ve been bumping AP (Lord Apex) for a while now, and he’s inspired me a lot as I’m sure he has many others, but that was a real crazy experience, and what was even wavier was that it was super organic – I was invited by his manager Max to perform at his Boiler Room stage back in October, and since then he fucked with my music and energy. One thing led to another and we ended up shelling it in a basement in Sheffield, a bar in Glasgow and many more cities.
One of the first public previews of the album came at Reuben Selby’s AW22 show at London Fashion Week in February, where you performed. What was it like working on that show, alongside so many close counterparts?
Previewing my album as part of a sound score for a Fashion Week show is as cool as it sounds – it was a real sick experience that I won’t forget. I felt completely out of my bag and was super nervous seconds before, but once I got into the flow of the performance it felt really natural – of course bro (TJ), thank you for having me involved and believing in the vision, it was a pleasure to work alongside you, and impressive to see you killing it once again.
You also dabble in other creative work such as modelling and direction, how important is it to remain versatile as an artist and is this something you intend to continue?
It’s incredibly important, even though music has so many avenues and paths, dipping my feet into other creative worlds has been super fulfilling for me. I had featured in quite a few music videos and TV trailers before I even made music which sparked a small career in modelling and also a passion for creatively directing my own videos. Since then I’ve been on many different shoots with many talented creatives and directed all my videos to date!
The U.K. underground is a force to be reckoned with. Other than yourself, who are some of the new artists who are exciting you at the moment?
All the people I surround myself with excite me, all the family, but the people who are really pushing the boundaries in my opinion are artists like Brad Baker, Jim Legxacy, Dexter, Kilu, and Reek0.
What’s next for Feux?
I want to become a better musician, and as good of person as I can be. I’m trying to improve every day and that mentality has been a big part of my growth, accepting I am not perfect or the best, and that there is a long way to go. So with that will come more art, music, and love.
If you could give one piece of advice to yourself 5 years ago, what would it be?
Don’t be afraid.
Credits
Directed + produced by @tj.saw1
Photography: @rashidinoah
Photography assistants: @aaronpaulwalker @b.raadi
Stylist: @jamesloachco
Words: @tj.saw1
