Hello : Fawne

Unveiling the full story of Entity Of Peace

Dec 21 2024. Winter solstice. As much of the western world rushed out their last work shifts, squeezed in their last Amazon deliveries and bought more unnecessary landfill in the hope it might make their Christmas more memorable, we re-linked with an old friend to drop one of our most far-out releases so far…

Entity Of Peace by Fawne, a talented young South African artist who now lives in Glasgow.

 

 

Super keen followers of 1 More Thing may recognize his name. We released his debut in 2023 – Under Gravel I Must Rest on 1 More Tune Vol 2. As the title suggests, that particular track was a grizzled, moody dirge that came from a very bleak and frustrated mindstate and place in life.

As fate would have it, the influences and context of Entity Of Peace come from the same situation. This time, however, he tells a more extensive tale through the more positive perspective of resolution, self-development and the natural passing of time.

No longer wishing to rest under gravel (or any other stoney substance for that matter) there’s a wry sense of hope as Fawne forages through the hinterlands of ambient, halftime, electronica and bass as he finds escapism, peace and fulfillment in sonics. Taking him away from defined boundaries of his day job and earthly existence and allowing him to indulge in a process he calls his own dreamtime.

Academically inspired, creatively super-charged, and forever mutating depending on his mindset and current life coordinates, Fawne has an unusual take on production which gives him a totally free sound. A sound that is a universe of his own… And it’s only just beginning. 

Fawne, it’s been a while. How are you?

Dave! One whole year down since we last worked on music together and that year has just been a hyper compressed kaleidoscope of life stuff. This release with 1 More Thing is the perfect capstone to it all.

I still adore Under Gravel I Must Rest. Such a powerful and moving tune! What are your memories and take-aways from that track and that whole experience?

Like most creators in the early days – I’m assuming that we share the same feelings on this – it’s pretty scary putting oneself out there and it seems like the imposter syndrome chases even the most successful artists out there.

Releasing Under Gravel I Must Rest was the first step into the music space and I remember feeling so excited (and still am) that my work is being listened to by ears across the world. The track itself came from a space of anger and weariness. It was anger at the world, and at myself for losing sight of the important things.

I’m really grateful to have released that track, because not only has it given me more confidence with producing music and opened more doors, but it almost felt like those feelings became embodied within the track – reframed into something constructive.

Under Gravel I Must Rest came about through some particularly stressful and frustrating experiences in your job. I know that Entity Of Peace is also the sonic translation of some very dark and challenging times and how you’ve come through them. What would you like to share and tell us about that?

Both of these releases come from the same place, but each refracted the light a little differently. In 2021, I moved to the UK from South Africa with wide eyes and bold notions of what could come in the next chapter. I did what I was supposed to do. I finished my MSc, which looked at the climate crisis, and was ready to go out and make a mark (both in art and work) – I left really hopeful.

It was a lot harder to find my feet than I thought it would be, but I found myself in a job engaging with the public on the street about the many challenges facing the planet and its inhabitants. It felt like I got to interact with the full spectrum of humanity (the good, the bad and the ugly).

Over time I started losing the hope, and internalized the cynicism – which became a handy exoskeleton. I felt angry and resented people, which I now see as completely unfair and no one else’s problem but my own. I think disillusionment turned into self-pity which turned into depression.

Under Gravel I Must Rest, and Entity of Peace are snapshots from that time. The former comes from a place of bitterness and weariness, where the latter comes from a place of hope and reflection.

 

 

Ah that’s a nice full circle and a lot of self improvement along the way. There’s a lot of catharsis in writing for you isn’t there?

I’m really lucky to have the space and means to write music – I don’t know where I would be if I didn’t have this outlet.

I approach Ableton like it’s an empty space, which helps frame it as a blank canvas with as little external noise and structure as possible. I learned that from Lorn’s faithful Discord community who showed me that not everything in the DAW needs to be super analytical and detail-oriented – that it’s ok to be expressive and experimental. Filling the empty space with what moves me gives those feelings a new life – it gives them edges.

I like that take on production. It can get so detail oriented can’t it. From my own mental health experiences, I find that achieving the clarity of thought required to undertake a process – even if it’s an enjoyable and highly creative process – can be incredibly hard to do when you’re feeling wretched. How do you develop the discipline to position yourself in front of your DAW and concentrate?

I used to think that being sat at the DAW required discipline and direction because there was always an expectation that something had come out of a session – that it would be a waste of time if nothing good and valuable was produced. In my opinion, it doesn’t take a lot to stare down Ableton for hours on end, but it does take a lot to push past the voice in your head telling you to “make something” or “produce something” of value and all of the other associated feelings when some days there’s just no gas in the tank.

Yes!

I’m not saying that I don’t get frustrated when I can’t find the magic groovy moves, but I have the unexpected bonus of music being my passion and not my livelihood. My job keeps me fed, but music keeps me feeling alive. So getting in front of Ableton is the easiest thing for me to do.

 

 

What a great way to describe it. Guide us through the EP…

There are five tracks on the EP, but there are maybe another 12 songs that were not included in the project for various reasons. All of them dance around the same campfire having helped me reframe things in different ways and will hopefully make an appearance at some point – either as short audio-visual pieces or on Bandcamp. Entity of Peace closes the chapter on a really difficult personal journey and each song means something different to me.

Cycles and Don’t Sink are the songs with the highest energy and relate back to those feelings of anger and not holding myself accountable. Cycles flexes and contracts like we all do in the shift between winter and summer – but it finally felt like I was leaving my own winter.

I Feel Your Sun was like the equinox in that revolution. It carries feelings of hope, love and loss in the way that we relish the transitory embrace of the winter sun as it breaks through the grey. Of the many things contributing to that warmth, there were none as significant as my partner, whose support was everything.

 

 

Ah wow beautiful. I Feel Your Sun and The Edge Of Things are the first ambient tracks 1 More Thing has ever released and it’s style / musical world we’re completely naive about. What’s your relationship with ambient music?

I’m really excited and honoured to be the first in the growing roster at 1 More Thing! I have grown up listening to a range of ambient music and have always been drawn to the cosmic drama of it all.

Ambient music feels to me like a place where things drift in and out of focus. It’s a semi-mythical space where things can be true and false at the same time. Forms take shape, clash and are reconstituted in what I find to be a really exciting and freeing process.

While exploring that process – I started making my own visuals because I wanted to see my sounds as well as hear them. It was a fascinating change in perspective which challenged me to think about the music in different ways.

That’s what led me to the two ambient tracks – the visuals helped them occupy a place in the world even if they lacked conventional structures. They came about through these one-shot sessions, where I record the layers in one sitting and then recompose them to bring shape to the noise.

I’m drawn to the title The Edge Of Things. When I’m asked to describe my own mental health, the closest description that really conveys the volatile inner turmoil is that ‘it feels like I’m on the brink of something’. Often that brink is a hairline fracture between laughing or crying, success or failure, pride and shame, loving something or absolutely hating it. But never truly understanding why I feel that (then the compounded frustration and poisonous self critique that follows). Does that relate to the same edge you feel? Or, to get really bleak, do you mean the ultimate edge from which there is no return?

The feeling you’re describing really resonates with me. Especially the compounded frustration and self-critique. I often think that without the support from my partner the latter may have been more relevant, but thankfully not.

The Edge of Things as a concept is something that sits at the heart of what fawne means to me. During my studies I was looking at the geography of sinking cities in the ‘anthropocene’, where spaces are made and unmade often to the detriment of the most vulnerable.

Reading into theories of “deconstruction” and the “urban imaginary” fostered a fascination with ideas of edges and boundaries. When we define something in the world around us we carve out their edges –  giving it shape and meaning. What’s at the edge of those definitions, and what gets left out for the sake of understanding? In a boolean sense, a chair is either a chair or it isn’t. A shoreline is either an exclusive upmarket neighborhood or it isn’t. What exists in the space between the boundaries of these definitions? I like to think it has to be everything, which is what fawne is to me. A place to create and tease apart the edges of things.

In that sense fawne is my own semi-mythical space in which things can be true and false at the same time – my own “dreamtime”.

Wow. That’s a brilliant way to create a unique creative space and approach your art. When we last spoke you talked about being heavily inspired by the likes of Lorn and Gyrofield and the importance of breaking rules. “Go out, be experimental and push it to the limit” was the description you used. Is it safe to say that’s still your main objective or driver now?

It’s more of a challenge to myself rather than something that drives me. The likes of Gyrofield, Lorn, Two Fingers (Amon Tobin), Ivy Lab, Sleepnet, Thys, Muadeep etc have all been huge creative influences and I think they continue to push themselves into new and interesting spaces.

I still believe it’s important to push back against rules in art, to experiment and conquer the fear around it, which is probably my main objective with fawne. At the same time, I see art as conversational – the ‘rules’ are there because they’re useful tools in creating something transferable – like any good conversation. I just don’t believe that rules should necessarily govern an art form.

 

 

Yeah totally. How else would you consider your developments as an artist since Under Gravel and Entity Of Peace?

Well, I have spent the last year working on A/V so I’m hoping to continue exploring the relationship between the audio and visual parts of the music making process. If anything has changed, I think my perspective on making music and art in general has expanded and shifted.

I’m in a completely different headspace now and am so excited for what the future might hold for me as an artist.

How is your mental health now? How else do you find solace, some positivity or clarity of mind besides music?

Doing really well now! This year has at times been dreamlike but also very sobering at others. I find that taking time to see the green things of the world and moving my legs is the easiest way for me to get that clarity. Surrounding myself with friends, and learning skills like pottery are some other ways around the fog!

 

 

This release dropped on the shortest day of the year. Many people suffer a lot more during seasons of shorter daylight. Do you have a message for anyone reading who can relate to that?

Yeah – I hate preachy lectures and I won’t pretend like I have any answers, but if you’re reading this and you’re struggling – I’m really sorry and I get it. This world can be unforgiving and fucking cruel sometimes. If I can say anything, you should know that you’re not nearly as alone as you think you are, and things can change when you least expect it. Just keep seeking the sun and look to the people in the wings.

The message I would like to end on is that this isn’t the only style of music you make, right? Tell us what we might expect from Fawne HQ in the future….

Yes! I make everything from 65bpm to 180bpm. I have a body of work bringing some heavy half-time and bouncy steppers between 130-140bpm to the mix. 2025 is going to be spicy!

Fawne – Entity Of Peace is out now

Follow Fawne – Soundcloud / Instagram / YouTube

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