Q&A: FAÏNN Brings Out Her Most Melodic Side in New EP ‘Force’
DESCRIBING HER OWN MUSIC AS “QUITE CINEMATIC” — FAÏNN knows her art will give you goosebumps. After coming out of a tough period in her professional life, she decided to get back to making music in 2019 by releasing covers of songs such as “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me),” “Nothing Compares 2 U,” and “The Final Countdown,” as well as minimalistic piano vocals including “I Lied” and “Never Gonna Give You Up.”
This year, she released the leading single “Golden,” off her debut EP, Force, which features four tracks.
FAÏNN’s music is melodic to an extreme, and her vocals nicely tie all tracks together.
To find out what more surprises this artist has in store for us, continue reading below.
LUNA: Who is FAÏNN? How and when was your musical project born?
FAÏNN: Hi! I'm an indie pop artist from Nashville, TN. My music is quite cinematic, with influences like Florence and the Machine, Dido, and Enya.
This project really got its start in 2019. I was coming out of a time in my life where I had made what some would call “smart” career choices, but I wasn't happy with where I had ended up professionally. I felt so lost and empty, and I had all but given up on music at that time. So I started singing and writing again, and the love for performing came back. So the EP was all about finding my way back to the thing I truly love.
LUNA: How has your music changed within the past few years?
FAÏNN: The first few songs I released were covers and were very minimalistic piano vocals. However, when I started working on my own music and writing again, I really started leaning more into cinematic sounds, and that's what I'm continuing to explore at the moment.
LUNA: Who inspired your music? Who are your biggest influences?
FAÏNN: Lady Gaga was a heavy influence when I first started writing. I grew up listening to great vocalists, so her raw vocal ability and the honesty in her writing really inspired me early on. I still draw from that today.
Florence Welch is one of my more current influences. Her writing style is just so unique, so poetic. And I love her production style as well. Her balance between big, cinematic sounds and organic instrumentation is absolutely stunning. Her music always hits me in the feels in the best way.
LUNA: Could you introduce your favorite singles you've released so far?
FAÏNN: Yes! I am really pleased with the way that “Force” turned out. My producer wrote the song, and she already had so many great production elements in the demo. But the way she built it out and shaped the rest of it was just stunning. I love the vocal arrangements we created in that one as well.
I also love “Golden.” It is a song that I knew was special to me from the moment I wrote it. And I loved the way that the production ended up being a sort of cinematic vibe with just a hint of ’80s music inspo, which I thought was really fun.
LUNA: How did you develop your style? Will you experiment with other genres in the future?
FAÏNN: I really just worked closely with my producers to try different things and see what felt the most authentic. The EP starts with the most recently recorded song and works backwards, so you can definitely hear the evolution of that process pretty clearly, which I honestly think is kind of cool.
I will definitely continue to experiment with sounds. I'm always listening for something new that draws me in. I really enjoyed the ’80s influences in “Golden,” and I would like to explore that style more as I work on what's next.
LUNA: What inspired “Force”? How did it come to life?
FAÏNN: “Force” was actually the first song that we decided to put on the project. My producer wrote it, and she played it for me one night while we were at her house talking about what I wanted this project to be about. It was such an empowering message and I connected to it immediately. That was when I knew that it had to be the central focus of the record.
LUNA: Who produces your tracks? How do you choose which producers to work with? Do you have some dream producers you'd like to work with?
FAÏNN: On this project and my most recent releases, I've worked with two producers, FEMKE and Spencer Broschard. They are both Nashville-based and good friends. I've found that working with people who I know and feel comfortable with works really well for me. Jack Antonoff and Daniel Tashian are definitely on the dream list!
LUNA: Is music your main occupation at the moment? If not, how are you conciliating your day job with your music career?
FAÏNN: I do have a day job, but it's also music-related. I'm an adjunct vocal professor at Trevecca Nazarene University, and I also have a private voice studio as well. I'm one of the very lucky people who get to work in music in some capacity every day!
LUNA: Have you ever been on tour? If not, would you like to embark on one?
FAÏNN: I have never been on tour, but it's certainly a goal of mine and something I'm actively working on. I would obviously love to tour in the US, and I'm also working on scheduling a few weeks over in the UK sometime in the near future.
LUNA: Who's your dream feature?
FAÏNN: I would have to say Florence Welch. She is such an inspiration to me, and I would absolutely die if I ever had the chance to work with her in any way.
LUNA: Where do you see yourself in one year as a musician?
FAÏNN: In one year, I would love to be touring and performing more, workshopping the new songs that I'm working on!
