Boom! The pop producer sensation responsible for Zara Larson’s “Lush Life” that has garnered more than 100 million streams to date, turns to electronic. And how! DMCWORLD delves into the mind of Fridolin Walcher as he unveils his new dance masterpiece zipping your way on Virgin/EMI Records…
Hi Freedo, thanks for joining us. What’s been your stand out moment of 2017 so far?
Firstly I wanted to thank you for having me. This is really special to me because DMC played quite a big role in my musical upbringing. I discovered DJing and DJ culture when I was like 15. When I first learned about the DMC World Championship I was so inspired and knew this is serious. I spent all my vacation job money on MKII’s and the Technics DMC Mixer and started to practice the 2 click flares, transformer scratches and beat juggling in my bedroom. Back to your question – releasing my first single ‘Keep Your Love On Me’ was definitely the stand out moment of 2017 so far for me.
You’re from Glarus in Switzerland. What’s the music scene like over there and how has it influenced what you do now?
Glarus is a very small town in the Alps. But luckily the best rapper ever in Switzerland is from Glarus. Thanks to him there was a Hip Hop scene, he had a record store and brought that culture to us. And he was the first to put my beats on his album, what led to what I do now. Switzerland in general has a great club and DJ scene. Zurich has the highest density of clubs in Europe and it’s really diverse. There are guys like DJ Bazooka who left his mark in the international Redbull Threestyle scene, or Doobious who officially remixes Major Lazer singles. Pretty exciting for such a small country I think.
Can you tell us about your background in music? Are you trained and/or self-taught?
I had classical piano lessons for a couple years as a kid, but stopped unfortunately as a teenager, thought DJing is more promising. After middle school I wanted to study Music production, beatmaking, songwriting but there were very little educational opportunities, not like in Sweden where this is considered a real career option. So I decided to DJ in clubs at the weekends to make a living and learn to produce music during the week. A friend of mine was also into beatmaking and sampling so we hung out every other night and shared our newly learned tricks on the MPC. Everything was learning by doing, reading instructions and internet.
Tell us about ‘KYLOM’ – what was the inspiration behind the track and how would you describe its sound.
The sound of the track is very much an amalgamation of everything I learned and loved in the past couple years. I always enjoyed many different styles of music, Hiphop and R&B, Pop, Dance Music. But I’d say my main inspiration when I make tracks is always imaging people dancing to it and having a good time. Regarding the writing process it was very pragmatic in many ways. I had a session in LA with a Songwriter called Harloe. We tried for a couple hours to write a song to one of my tracks and couldn’t get it quite right. So we decided to start something new to refresh our minds and ears and wrote KYLOM in like an hour. The good songs often tend to happen almost accidentally and fast. Months later I took the Acapella and made a completely new production for it. I enjoy remixing so I often do it with my own demos. It can bring a song to a totally new level.
Gabriella Vixen is the vocalist – how did you hook up, what is it about her voice that is so perfect for the track?
I’ve met Gabriella in a session in London. She did demo vocals for a song I worked on for someone else. For me it was her delivery of the high ‘like ooh’ post chorus that makes it really special, soft and not forced. That’s not easy in this range. Her mix of soulful power and soft falsetto is awesome.
You’re perhaps best known for producing Zara Larsson’s UK double Platinum single ‘Lush Life’. What was it like working with the Swedish songstress?
Bless her, Queen Z! When we worked together she was only like 17 and I was absolutely amazed about her personality and how she was standing up for her opinions in the news and dealing with her fame. Truly a star in the making.
We understand that you have an interest in Japanese culture, can you tell us more about this and what aspects particularly do you admire?
I have a big interest in not only Japanese but many different Asian cultures, mythology and imagery. That leads back to when I first got the Album 36 Chambers by the Wu Tang Clan. I was fascinated how they used the Chinese Shaolin Kung Fu imagery to create characters with different skillsets and images. Later on RZA (from the Wu Tang clan) produced the soundtrack to a movie called Ghost Dog – the way of the samurai. So i started to dig into this culture too and I found many values that reflect my personality, like humility, dedication, precision, to name a few. So the image of the Koi fish on the KYLOM cover stands for persistence, patience and strength, just what I needed to get to this point and releasing my first single. According to the myth, the smallest Koi fish reached the dragon gate and became a dragon.
Do you have any words of advice for young producers who want to make it in the industry?
Learning an instrument or more than one really helps and is super inspirational. When you start out as a producer or DJ, try to take every opportunity you can get. Even at the smallest gig you could possibly meet someone that takes you a step further. Think big and follow your plan and dream, don’t listen to people saying something is impossible. And be original.
What are your top 3 activities you like to indulge in when you’re not making music?
Watching documentaries about music. Reading books about music. Being with my loved ones.
Finally, do you have any exciting plans ahead that you’d like to share with the DMCWORLD readers?
I’m really excited to share the video to KYLOM in the near future, it looks amazing! Beside that look out for my Dua Lipa Remix dropping in the next few weeks!
