Premiere: Stream Failr's funky, diverse new EP, Annie

Telling you anything about Failr would really defeat the purpose of half of this post, so we're not going to, you can read all about him once you've tucked into his brand spankin' new EP, Annie, below. We're really proud to share it today, not only because it's a really cool, diverse release that delivers equal amounts of funk, electronica, disco and soul amongst a host of rad guests, but as you'll read there are some really heartfelt and interesting stories behind the release. So enjoy, and if you're in Sydney on November 27 why not head down to World Bar and see him launch it live.

Tell us about yourself?

Ayy my name is Warwick. I don’t know how to sum myself up in one paragraph. But I can sum myself up in a sentence without using the letter E: I’m a good work guy. No but for real I’ve been big on live music since I was a kid and my mum exposed me to all sorts of hectic music. I went on to start a clothing label called Lonely Kids Club and put on heaps of parties with local electronic acts. Eventually realised I actually really want to be the one on stage making music instead of the one setting the shows up and everything with Failr kind of started moving from there. Side note but I’m really into Nintendo 64. I still have four controllers and a massive collection of games which I play frequently. How good is Smash Bros?

What kinda tunes we talkin’?

We talkin’ funky beats that blur the lines between electronic vibes and more organic sounds. I try find a balance of using organic instruments such as guitars and pianos and combining them with heavy beats and synths to create a band-sounding experience. I’ve sort of decided I’m all about collabs though so everything on the new EP is a collaboration with a different artist who I love. I’ve been working on constricting my sound down to what a live band could play, so cut down on some of the faster beats and toned down some of the weirder sounds I was using.

Production/writing process:

Most of my music is made while lying in bed in sweatpants alt-tabbing between making beats, watching Netflix, and scrolling Facebook/blogs. It’s very glamorous. I got taught how make beats and sample by my good mate Cherax Destructor early last year. We had a few sessions of hanging out and working on beats and the end result ended up being the Lark EP I dropped last year. So I’ve kept that chilled out process, but just focused on the sound and building it up a lot more this time around. But the usual process is make a song idea, send it to everyone online on Facebook, continue with it if they like it. What I release is pretty much entirely determined by who’s online on Facebook while I’m doing it. I should change my genre to Zuckerbeats.

What do you do outside of Failr?

Well as I said earlier I run a clothing label called Lonely Kids Club (check that shit out HERE) which takes up a lot of time (But I love it so much) and I have a day job also running an online store but for a global brand. I think I just really like websites. And fabric. I go to weird fabric stores all the time and compete with elderly people over snapping up ridiculous things to use in my next range. One time I went and the dude working there must have been so excited to see someone below 60 so just started telling me all about how much he goes out, takes pills and hooks up with girls. It was so strange. I just wanted some nice cotton to use as lining for a jacket. I didn’t find the fabric I wanted, but apparently he found what he wanted on all fronts the weekend prior.

Any shows coming up?

Yeah I’ve got a launch party for the new EP at World Bar on the 27th of November. I’m on around 11:30 and I’m so excited. I’m going to be giving out free Failr tees and debuting so much new music/music gear. I’ve finally got live drumming going, this crystal ball that manipulates sound working and three different special guests are all gonna step up during the set to help celebrate. It’s just going to be a really fun free show with all my friends which is what I’m all about. I go really hard when I perform. It’s what I live for/why I do this. That and cute dogs. I live for cute dogs too. Maybe my dream scenario is performing live to a crowd of cute dogs.

And releases?

Yeah I’m so stoked to be dropping my new Annie EP today with you guys. It’s something I’ve steadily worked on for over a year. Having every track as a collaboration with a different artist turned out to be quite ambitious but we got there in the end. I made all the demos for the EP in the space of a week or two after a good friend passed away as a means to deal with it, so the songs feel like beings I’ve watched grow since then. But the EP itself is dedicated to my best friend’s mother, Annie, who’s unfortunately sick but the strongest person I know. Being such a personal project it feels scary to now share it with people, but I got to work with so many amazing vocalists on it, so I think it’ll do proud to those it’s dedicated to.

What’s the rest of the year have in store?

I posted a photo of my dog Mushka in Cool Dog Group on Facebook and it got like 90 likes, but not quite 100. I’d like to make it a goal to reach 100 likes on a photo of her by the end of the year. You have to aim high in life to really achieve big things. Also I went through an intense phase this year with being addicted to really good burgers, so ideally I can finish the year stumbling into an unknown burger shop and having the best burger I’ve ever had (I’m pretty sure that was the plotline to a How I Met Your Mother episode), to end my burger year on a positive note. If I can then go home and change into sweatpants and make an absolute banger (burger banger?) that’d also be ideal.

Where can we hear more of your music?

You can suss my Soundcloud for all the new EP tracks and some other stuff I dropped over the past year, or my BANDCAMP for both the Annie EP and Lark EP. I also post beats on my Facebook page sometimes that I end up taking offline soon after so aim for a mix of the three to really get the pinnacle Failr experience™. It’ll be like a little Failr running around in your ears. That sounds gross but it’s really nice. Trust me. Get a feather or something and gently caress your ear with it, it’s like heaven. Wait feathers are hectic, but they’re weird 'cause they were like lodged into a bird's skin and now you’re holding it.

Maybe don’t put it in your ear, actually. Just suss my SOUNDCLOUD bruh, and FACEBOOK.