Fae is the unapologetic, fearless artist that we truly need right now. Her song "new religion" is pure dark-pop and her commanding voice get's you from the start. The video for the song shows the kind of female cult that we'd be so down to join, but behind the video, it was important for fae to work with a largely female team. We talked to her about the video and why it's important to lift women up in this industry.
How did you get started in music?
fae: I've been writing music and singing for honestly as long as I can remember. I have lyrics written from as early as 2nd grade, I've sang my whole life - I remember in 5th grade, my best friend and I actually convinced our teacher to push our desks together and let us stand on them and perform for the class. Being a performer and writing music is quite literally the only thing I can ever remember wanting to do with my life. I had a long period of time where I didn't really believe in my own work which is why it took me until 25 to release my own project, but I'm so glad to finally be past that.
Tell me about the song “new religion” what’s the story behind it?
fae: I wrote "new religion" because religion is something I've always been intensely fascinated by. I grew up in a completely non-religious family, and I've always been an outside observer into religion as a whole and how it affects so many aspects of life. Terminology with religious roots seep their way into everyday usage without a second thought as to their original context - heaven, hell, prayer, saints, sinner; purgatory. To me, it's crazy that a concept so all encompassing that has started wars, ripped apart families, made individuals question their identity...has never meant anything to me - so I got to choose what these concepts meant to me. I got to choose my own new religions. I actually really wanted to have a better understanding of the inner workings of religion specifically for this song and dressed very modestly one early Sunday morning and attended a Catholic church service, which is where the samples in the song ended up coming from. I know this is probably frowned upon in terms of my method, but it was important to me that I got my own glimpse into it rather than just searching "religious sounds" and calling it a day. The video is an extension of this fascination - I wanted to explore what it looks like when we put our faith into an unknown power that's larger than us and assume that it has our best intentions in mind, when that isn't necessarily always the case.
Why was it important for you to have such a female presence in the making of the video?
fae: It's important for me to have a female presence in all aspects of my work, and my video was another part of that. I think that it's important to have female representation in a male dominated industry, and the more conscious and purposeful you can be in choosing your team, the more active you are in changing the landscape of the industry as a whole. I am a woman, and therefore having the perspective and energy of other women is incredibly valuable to me. I want to make sure we're being heard, and that our stories are being told. I wanted an all women cast for my video, and a female director, to me, is significantly more capable in telling the stories of other women as people, rather than objects or accessories.
What has been inspiring you lately?
fae: I'm wildly inspired by the strong women that I have in my life. I know so many amazing women that are loud, unapologetic, and opinionated, and being around that has allowed me to become the most loud, unapologetic, and opinionated version of myself. More than anything, I want my music to bring that out in everyone that listens to it. I'm inspired by the idea of creating a world full of as many badass women as humanly possible.
How do you stay motivated?
fae: I think that finally being on the path that I've wanted to be on my whole life has been my greatest motivator. I've wanted to make music my entire life, and now that I'm finally working on my own project, I don't want to stop. I spent so long thinking that I wasn't talented enough, or that I needed more time, or that I needed more money. Now that I finally realize that the only barrier that had been in my way the whole time was myself, the sheer motivation of never wanting to fall back into that place of feeling like I'm "not enough" is what keeps me going.
What has been the biggest challenge for you in the music industry?
fae: I think that my biggest challenge was just finding my starting point, and now that I have finally started, determining what type of structure needs to be created. It's easy for us to create excuses for ourselves when we're trying to pursue our dreams, and I think that my biggest challenge was getting over telling myself that I needed one thing or another to get started. I also have to remind myself that not every piece of music I write is going to be my favorite thing I've ever written - and that's okay. You have to get through a volume of not-so-great work to get to your great work.
What’s your best piece of advice for young women?
fae: My best piece of advice is to take up space, be unapologetic, and allow yourself to be 100% yourself 100% of the time. I've met so many women who admit to not really showing their full selves when they first meet people, and honestly, I say fuck that. Allow people to know exactly who you are and what you're about right off the bat, and you'll find that the only people that stay in your life are the ones who deserve to be there.
Follow fae on Spotify to stay tuned.
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