The Faux's first single in almost five years is the first song written after a first heartbreak, aptly entitled 'First'.
With that in mind, the Perth band have organised a home-town show in celebration of the song's release at Four5Nine on Friday (13 January), where they'll be joined by guests Siena Rebelo, Helena and Year Long Drama."This is The Faux's first release since 'Illuminate' in 2018. The Faux is now a solo project and part of why I chose to release this song as the first song of the new era is because I thought it would be fitting to mark that change by releasing a song that reflects that in its sound," The Faux's Alex says.
"I was originally going to release another song before it that sounds more like what you'd have expected to hear from The Faux previously, but that song actually contains a reference in a lyric to me singing 'First' to the person who it's about, and so it felt wrong for this one not to be released first (also how could it not be with that title).
"The song itself means a lot to me personally – it earned its name by being the first song I wrote after my first heartbreak; and I'd always wanted to share it, but it was always an outlier compared to most of the other songs I'd written, stylistically speaking.
"I could never quite figure out how to arrange it until I was playing around with a demo I'd recorded of the vocals to work out how to use a vocoder and it suddenly clicked.
"It's not a style that I have a whole lot of experience with from a creative standpoint, but the fact that all of the songs in this Top 5 were released a year either side of me writing the lyrics might have something to do with why vocoder felt so right for this song.
"I hope that the raw emotion in the lyrics connects with people and reminds them of their own experiences. I know that heartbreaks (especially the first one) often have a huge part in shaping people and I know that is true for me, and releasing this song feels like releasing a part of myself to the world."
Here, Alex shares 5 vocoder songs that inspired 'First'.
1: Amber Run - 'Haze'
In my opinion, this song is perfectly produced. The way Joe's voice plays off against the vocoders and effects sets the mood so well, and from the moment I'd decided I was ready to release 'First' I knew I wanted to work with the producer of this song and was lucky enough to be able to do that, with the very talented Sam Winfield producing 'First'.
2: Bon Iver - '715 - cr∑∑ks'
Bon Iver has mastered the vocal manipulation and he shows off in a big way in this song, using a prismizer called the Messina. If you haven't seen a video of the live version before, find one as soon as possible.3: MUNA - 'Outro'
The way that MUNA set the scene emotionally in the first half of this song is heartbreaking (in the best way possible!) and perfectly matched by the instrumental that follows. An incredible way to finish off an album too.
4: Halsey - 'Hopeless (feat. Cashmere Cat)'
I don't think I've ever heard another song convey so much emotion in vocals without using words – the way the vocoders are layered yet still have a breathy sound to them makes you feel like you're being drawn in and exhaled with each melodic run.
5: Sarah Close - 'Perfect After All'
The melodies in this song are so good that all that was added were a couple of layers of vocoder, and that's all that was needed. She's so succinct in her lyricism that 82 seconds is all it takes to leave you thinking that the song is perfect (after all).The Faux play Four5Nine (Perth) 13 January.
