Firstworld

Photo Credit: Backyard Cinema Club

Firstworld is a musician in a lane of his own. The Miami-based artist combines influences from a variety of genres in creating his transfixing and rhythmic songs. After performing in the duo known as Sigh Kicks, Firstworld decided to embark on a solo venture in 2016 as a way to produce music of his own style. His debut single, fittingly titled “Firstworld,” put the artist on the map with over 270k Spotify plays. The song features a dark, synthy backdrop accompanied by the artist’s reverbed vocals. Over the past four years, this sound has certainly evolved a bit, which is most evident in his 2018 EP I’m Right Here and singles like “With You” which was released earlier this year. When talking about the latter, Firstwrld “[wants] to stop adhering to a specific genre or concept musically, and create more of a "universe" of sounds that [he] can explore but will still sound like Firstworld.” With hundreds of thousands of plays across multiple streaming platforms, it appears that this has definitely paid off. We spoke to the artist about his evolving sound, songwriting process, and more!

Your recent music comes off as incredibly innovative, with a noticeable difference from I'm Right Here. What caused you to take this direction with your songs?

When I was working with I'm Right Here (and the first two singles preceding it), I was really fixated on a concept and telling a story of something that had happened to me. At that point, I was also just starting out Firstworld as a project, it was my first time going solo as well (Before that, I'd been in bands since I was fifteen). So I was sticking to a sound and formula that came easy to me, which was that kind of dark Lo-Fi/Chillwave-ish sound. I also wasn't really experimenting in sound design at all, I was using Arturia's Analog Lab exclusively and pulling my sounds from their presets. So I had the training wheels on, so to speak, because I really had no idea what the hell I was doing.

With these last couple of singles (“Just A Feeling,” “With You.” “What A Drag,” etc), I started experimenting more with molding and shaping my own sounds, as well as just throwing a wrench at my arrangements musically and just going as far out from my comfort zone as possible. “Just A Feeling” was literally a throwaway track that I was fully expecting to tank because the lead synth just sounds so obnoxious and it's not really written in a Pop structure, but it ended up doing really, really well. That song kind of gave me the motivation I needed to just say "fuck it" and write stuff that I enjoy and connect with emotionally, no matter how weird or random it was. Moving forward, I decided that with With You and my upcoming LP, I want to stop adhering to a specific genre or concept musically, and create more of a "universe" of sounds that I can explore but will still sound like Firstworld.

You say that you moved on from your previous project, Sigh Kicks, to make "darker" music. How important do you think evolving your sound is as an artist?

I think this is the most important goal an artist should have, besides writing music that has depth and is genuine. There are lots of artists and bands that have been around for years doing the same thing over and over again, and while they may be maintaining their base by not changing it up too much, they become extremely one-dimensional and bland. That being said, there are artists who are good at what they write and keep writing like that because it's what they do, and so they stay the same, but that's no fault of their own. One also has to take into account that most people don't want to hear Blink-182 do a reggae record, for example. Some listeners love that consistency and want nothing to do with experimentation. 

But I honestly believe artists like Radiohead and Arcade Fire, for example, have had so much success because they constantly change their sound, they keep it fresh for their listeners, new and old. And the smartest thing both of those bands did was to establish early on that norecord was going to be identical, which gave them a ton of flexibility. While working on I'm Right Here, I had it stuck in my head that it was PARAMOUNT that I stick to the formula and not deviate at all. That led to a lot of stress, negative self-talk, and anxiety that I could have done without. Once I let go of the idea that I absolutely have to make  "accessible" music, I felt a renewed vigor to just work on music I love and love to make. That's been my strategy moving forward and I don't plan on looking back.

The "Just A Feeling" music video is a unique one for sure. What drew you into this retro-themed aesthetic?

Normally I conceptualize, direct, and edit my own videos, but for “Just A Feeling,” I wanted to try outsourcing it because I was trying to keep finding ways to keep throwing wrenches at my old creative process. Then one of my best friends Melanie Sarria (who also happens to be an extremely talented visual and music artist herself) hit me up saying that she wanted to do a video for one of my upcoming songs, and it didn't matter to her which one. I took note of the stars starting to align there so I sent her “Just A Feeling” and she loved it (which came to a surprise to me because, again, I'm thinking this song is just a straight up abomination). So I gave the keys to her and another great friend of ours Valeria Guillen, and they took off for a month or two just working on this thing. I wanted absolutely no input of my own going into this, so I told them not to send me any clips or previews at all. The end result was that spectacular video and honestly all the credit goes to them. I know that they were working off of the aesthetic I was working with on social media at the time and my two previous videos for “Firstworld” and “Easy Access,” so they got all the VHS/retro vibes from that and my weird fetish with that aesthetic.

What is one thing that you would tell your younger self? 

Stop thinking and worrying about everything and trying to impress others so damn much and just have fun. Which, in turn, my fifteen year-old self would probably clap back with "yeah yeah, that's great bro, how do I get signed???"

In what ways has the Miami music scene influenced your music style, if at all?

Miami is an enigma musically. The music scene down here has been a clusterfuck for as long as I can remember, and I've always been extremely vocal about that here. For most of my time playing down here, the scene was dominated by Metal/Screamo/Ska bands, and I was always playing music that wasn't anything that anyone was playing. Earlier on though, I was always lumped into those Metal/Screamo/Ska shows because there was literally nowhere else to play. Those shows were always extremely energetic and powerful. I was taught the power of the microphone and the influence it has over the pit. I also learned a lot about energy in shows and how every legendary show is a collaborative process between the artist and the audience. 

We have a responsibility to bring the initial energy and mood to the audience, and they have to send it back so that we have more to feed off of and just keep upping the ante throughout the night. There was this one band called Radio (which later became Black Tide and were successful in the metal scene for a little bit) that had wireless systems for their guitars, so the guitarist would leap into the pit, while playing a solo, and play in the pit. The bassist would later come and join him as well. Another metal band, Hate Machine, would throw shirts into the pit for whoever moshed the hardest. It was always about interaction and energy. I've applied that same energy to my own shows. I'll jump into the pit and sing with the audience, run projections behind me, make karaoke versions of my songs and have the audience sing along, etc. Anything I can do to connect with someone somehow, I'll do it. I learned all of this from playing in Miami.

What are some ways that you take on writer's block?

I used to not handle writer's block very well. I'd just beat myself up relentlessly, think of myself as less of the artist than I am, that everything I made came to me by accident, just really bad stuff. Later on, I realized that my writer's block was connected to my mood and my outlook in life. I learned to better manage my anxiety and to listen to my mind and body (that sounds so cringey), and learn when it's time to write or do something else. 

The first step, and quite frankly the most important one, is to stop judging and setting expectations on your work before it's finished. Artists in a block are always trying to find their "flow" to get back into the swing of things, but really, that comes to you once you stop searching for it and just write for the sake of exploration and curiosity. At the suggestion of another friend of mine who's also a producer, I started doing this exercise every day where I try to write a small, two-bar song or beat in 10mins and it's been absolutely monumental in increasing my productivity. It's helped so much in getting me to stop thinking about every little decision and just write to see where it goes. This alone has helped me put more faith in my instincts and to trust that, no matter what comes out of this little beat/song, it will be good because I've made great art before and there's no reason for that to suddenly stop now. 

Yet, some people avoid exploration altogether because they don't want to alienate their audience with this song that hasn't even been written yet, and honestly, when you really sit with that idea and analyze it for a second, you realize how absolutely absurd it is. I learned with “Just A Feeling” and “With You” that there's no damn way to predict what someone will love or hate. So I say it all the time to my friends that are scared to experiment: if there's a market for bands like Death Grips (who I love by the way), there's a market for you. Silly fears like that should never stop anyone from trying new things or just burning it all down and starting over. 

If there was a person that you could be for the day, who would it be and why?

Nobody. I'm happy being me! Plus, as fantastical as some people's lives might seem, I'm more than 100% sure they're just as boring and monotonous to them as mine is to me.

What are some projects you have coming up for fans to get excited about?

Well I have another single dropping on October 9th called “On The Line,” and it's going to be the exact polar opposite of “With You” in sound and direction. It's not something I've ever done before with Firstworld, and it will seem like a 180 for some listeners, but it's definitely still true to the Firstworld vibe and it's probably my favorite of all songs I've ever written. After that, more singles that will lead to my first LP dropping sometime next year. I've got a lot of fun songs on the way that I'm really proud of and I can't wait to share them with the world.