Q&A: Evolving Their Eclectic Sound With New EP “How This Goes,” Fortuno Talks Growth, Inspiration & More
WITH ENTICING MELODIES AND STUNNING HARMONIES — Los Angeles-based band Fortuno captures you with their new EP How This Goes released Oct. 8. This EP takes you through an evocative journey with their nostalgic melodies and synth chord progressions.
Originally from New England, band members Tobi, Ellis and Eli moved to Los Angeles in the midst of the pandemic and recorded the EP they had been working on for two years. With inspiration from their big move, the band came up with lyrics that represented this journey to move cross-country and the subsequent feelings that began to arise.
Fortuno has been evolving their music since their first debut Be / Feel in 2018. Since then, they have released numerous singles with similar vibes — some more mellow while others a little more upbeat — all still capturing who they are. Since the beginning, Fortuno has been trying out new rhythms and sounds to see what they like. Their EP How This Goes is not the end though, as they have a ton of projects coming out which they describe as “even more evolved than this current EP” — look out for the music video for “Scared” coming soon.
Read below to learn more about the band and what they have to say about their EP.
LUNA: How is the beginning of this fall season treating y’all?
FORTUNO: It’s treating us well! We’re finally settled in our new apartment and getting back into the groove of recording. We moved back to LA in early August. We miss East Coast fall foliage, but we’re hyped to have warm weather for a little longer.
LUNA: Congrats on the release of your new EP! Can you share a favorite memory from the making of the project?
FORTUNO: It’s tough to choose a favorite memory, as there were so many great moments over the last couple years, so we’ll name a few! One of our favorite moments was shooting the music video for “Scared” (which will be coming out soon)! There were lots of different scenes that were so fun. We got to throw paint on each other! And we spent a bunch of time scootering and skateboarding. Another of our favorite moments was when we made the song “Relapse.” It’s one of our favorite songs we’ve ever made, and the way it came together was super unexpected. Eli was making some drums and Ellis had already recorded a synth chord progression. We tried sticking them together and it somehow worked very well.
LUNA: Which track means the most to you?
FORTUNO: “Scared” means the most to us because it was the first song written on this EP, and it talks about fears associated with moving to a new city/pursuing a music career. We started writing that song in the summer of 2019, a few weeks after graduating college and moving to LA. That summer was wild. We had to figure out how to support ourselves financially while still finding time to make music. Tobi couch-surfed for that entire summer (thank you to his good friends) and went through serious bouts of depression. It’s gratifying to reflect on our life back then and see what has changed.
LUNA: Sonically, which track encapsulates the best of your music in this EP?
FORTUNO: This is another tough question! If you listen to our catalog of music, we really try to explore different sounds and genres. We have the country twang of “Home” and the more R&B chill of “Be.” So it makes this question difficult. The most sonically eclectic song on the EP is probably “Relapse.” It has a great blend of upbeat drums and heavy electronic synths followed by a section of low-key acoustic guitars and electric pianos. There’s a great variety of sound choices in that song and that’s something we pride ourselves on!
LUNA: What are some of the biggest ways you’ve seen your sound evolve since your debut with Be / Feel in 2018?
FORTUNO: Great question! Our sound has definitely evolved since 2018. We’re all more comfortable working with each other and pushing each other to get each part to be as good as we can make it. We’re always trying new things and trying to make things that sound different. It’s crazy because the music that hasn’t come out yet (future Fortuno) is even more evolved than this current EP. But we still love these songs and are so proud of them!
LUNA: Outside of musical influences, what are some of the key things shaping you as artists?
FORTUNO: The intricacies and challenges of life shape us and ultimately influence/guide the music we make. Tobi’s lyrics are driven largely by emotions attached to life experiences. Our moods definitely affect the tempo and harmony of what we produce, even if we don’t notice that happening at the time.
LUNA: Do you have any upcoming videos or visuals we can hear more about?
FORTUNO: Yes! We have two music videos coming out soon. We recently went on a hike and shot a bunch of fun clips for “Don’t Make Me Feel Bad.” Our creative friend, Sasha Gilbert, edited the clips together. He’s the best! We’re going to release that video within the next week or so. We are also releasing a video for “Scared” at the end of this month. We shot the video over a year ago so we’re super psyched to get that one out in the world! It was directed by our good friend Ja’Lisa Arnold.
LUNA: Who is your dream collaborator?
FORTUNO: There are so many people we’d love to collaborate with, but a dream of ours would be Kanye West. The experience would be both interesting and terrifying. We’d love to see that man in action and be a part of his process. Another one is John Mayer just because we’d love to play guitar with him.
LUNA: What do you hope the next few months have in store for y’all?
FORTUNO: Now that this EP is out, we have a ton of other unreleased music we’re super excited about polishing. So the next few months will probably be focused around that, as well as playing more live shows and working with other artists we like.
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