Fitz Leland
Based in Arizona, Fitz Leland is something special. I’m sure you loyal readers of Whenimakeittola. have heard us throw around a number of genres that involve indie by now: indie-pop, indie-rock, alt-indie (on the rare occasion), and, most commonly, indie, to name a few. But what if I told you that Leland can do all of them, both a stunning display of the duality of his versatility and consistency as an artist and a key characteristic that many of today’s big names in the music industry wear on their sleeve. A quick, auditory perusal through Mr. Leland’s discography proves this. Released in 2019, Driveway checks the alt-indie box. The pop-indie world would welcome “Final Round” with open arms, “Phone Down” bridge the gap between hip-hop and indie, “Moonlight,” “Ocean,” and “2good2btru” epitomize indie, and “Twisted” blends hip-hop and indie as well, adding a hint of rock. We recently spoke with Fitz Leland about where he draws his inspiration from, how he got his start, and more!
Tell us a little bit about yourself. How did you start making music?
Believe it or not, I started rapping over lo-fi beats after a breakup during my junior year of high school. Eventually I started releasing my lyrics on SoundCloud and got some pretty positive feedback from those around me. Clearly, I’ve since cut the rapping and started focusing a lot more on singing under a new brand name, which has been great for the project and a lot more enjoyable on the creative side of things.
Where do you draw inspiration?
I look at my songs almost like self-help tools. I don’t think I have the right answers in life, but the lyric writing process is super therapeutic and I naturally stumble upon a lot of deep insights about my life. I try to take that information that has helped me and put it into song form for people to learn, cope with, or take inspiration from in their own lives.
Some of your work incorporates real-world sounds, such as the voicemail in “Driveway.” What do you think this adds to your work?
Funny story behind that one. When recording that song my sound engineer and I called a friend of mine from high school and prayed she wouldn’t pick up because she totally had the perfect voicemail for the vibe of that song. Storytelling is probably one of the most important elements of any great song, so I like to have at least some light outline of a story in all of my lyrics. For “Driveway” this happened to be the perfect opportunity to set the tone for a breakup story about prioritizing yourself.
Which parts of your production process, from the first drafts to the finish touches, do you do?
Usually I’ll have little to no part in the creation of the instrumental, though sometimes I give my input to the producer or add in instruments/sounds to season the track a little bit. From there I do literally everything. I write the lyrics, record, mix, master, make the album art, do the marketing, etc. I just started learning guitar last week, so I can’t wait to have a more active hand in the production of the song.
Something I find interesting about your music is your ability to blend different styles, like your transition from acoustic to electronic in “Phone Down.” How do you go about doing this?
I think the fact that I represent so many different genres is a natural product of trying to figure out what kind of music I want to make in the long run. Though all my tracks are glued together by the fact that they usually have guitar and an emphasis on pop, I’ve explored rap, rock, R&B, EDM, and even lo-fi. I’m starting to really dig the modern bedroom pop sound, so I’ll likely continue to dabble with the indie-pop-rock sound that I brought to the table recently in “Final Round”.
Speaking of “Phone Down,” what’s the story behind it?
I know I sound like everyone’s mom and dad when I sing that song, but I think smartphones are seriously harmful to people’s lives and mental health. They’re a money pit for your time, a great way to kill your attention span, and a wall that blocks you from being present in the moment. Sure, they’re great tools, but they’re also a tempting escape from reality for a young generation that doesn’t know any better, not too dissimilar from recreational drugs.
Which song of yours brings you the most joy? Why?
“Final Round” or “Twisted” without a doubt. Much to my own fault, I’m a huge perfectionist and can’t enjoy much of my own music without picking apart the minor mistakes I didn’t know about at the time of production. On the other hand, I can enjoy “Final Round” and “Twisted” without beating myself up, so they’ll always have a special place in my heart.
How do you think your work’s changed from “Moonlight” to “Final Round”?
“Moonlight” was the second song I wrote after I decided to stop rapping and become “Fitz Leland”, so it has a lot of hip-hop elements from the beat to the rhyme structure. With every song I’ve made, I’ve picked up a few new skills on the way that have improved my singing, editing, lyricism, etc. Recently I’ve begun to put an emphasis on vocal harmonies and a more indie-pop-rock sound, which I believe will really dictate the style of “Fitz Leland” music going forward.
You’ve done so much with only seven songs. What do you consider to be your biggest accomplishment thus far?
Making Spotify’s “Fresh Finds” playlist would have to be it. It was super relieving to see a credible source like Spotify’s curator staff shine a light on my music. I’ve always thought my music was listenable but seeing recognition like that really gives me a lot of much-needed confidence about my art going forward.
Where do you see your career heading?
Ideally, I’d like to keep things successfully independent, but if a label ever reached out with a solid offer and genuine willingness to work as a team I’d have to give it serious consideration. I plan to keep releasing singles before I drop my first project. There’s some really exciting stuff coming up the rest of this year. If all goes to plan I should have my first project dropped pre-summer 2021.