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We caught up recently with Moldovan musician Michael FK to chat about his life, music and what’s in store in future. Check out his story here…
Hey Michael, thanks so much for agreeing to an interview. Where are you based? Do you tend to travel a lot, or are you firmly rooted at home?
I am from Republic of Moldova, it is located between Romania and Ukraine. Travel is my passion, I am always looking for a new possibility to travel and when I have this possibility I am one of the most happy people in the world! I have never traveled as a DJ, but I hope that soon I will achieve this goal.
Can you recall your first real exposure to music?
Since childhood I started enjoying music, I was drawn to it straightaway! At my grandparents’ place I discovered vinyl, they had a vintage gramophone. I was curious to see how it works, how the sounds appeared, how that needle was able to read the notes recorded in the vinyl. This is why I loved to watch it, to stop it and then to see how it worked when I started it again.
How and when did you first begin writing and creating music?
I didn’t grow up in a rich family, so at the age of 17 when my classmates were resting with their families and going on vacation, I was working. Because of this I had the possibility to buy my first laptop. One of the first applications which I installed was FL studio. It was very hard for me to understand how it worked and I gave up my desire “ to make music”. At the age of 21, when I was learning in college, I tried again and this time I installed Ableton. Now, I can say that I have produced electronic music with Ableton for 3 years.
Have you made or released music under any name other than your own?
As I said earlier, at the age of 17 I tried to make music and my artist name was “moon light”. I remember this period with shame, I didn’t really make anything. I started properly making music when I renamed myself as Michael FK.
Can you describe your music for us?
Chillout tracks that include ambient and atmospheric sounds, with hypnotic and haunting melodies.
Have you played live recently? Would you like to do more shows or tours in future? Anything coming up soon you’d like to tell us about?
I haven’t played live. However, as far as my music is concerned, I am still thinking about performing live one day.
What have been your biggest influences?
One day, when I was on Youtube, on the main page was an ambient mix on the channel “AmbientMusicalGenre”. In that mix I heard a song that changed everything for me. It was Hammock’s song “Ten Thousand Years Won’t Save Your Life”. Today, I can definitely say that this song motivated me to try to produce music in that genre, so I started to make music as Michael FK.
Do you think producing electronic music requires technical or creative skill? Or both
Both! In my opinion, firstly it is necessary to learn DAW, everyone needs to get involved, to be interested in how all it works, how to create electronic music and this is very important, but for making good music that is not enough, of course you need to have creative skills! Without them you can not produce music that will be loved by listeners. Both of them are important if you want to reach a high level of production.
Do you tend to find the creative process a cathartic or therapeutic experience? Has creating music helped you cope with difficult times in your life?
Both! I’m a person who lives with music - or, even, better, “live the music”. For me music is not only sounds, it’s something more. I am the type of person who sees the world through the colours of music. When I hear a song, tears can appear in my eyes and this is not because the song is necessarily sad but because of beauty of the song, because of the feelings that are born in me. Music helps me to go through many moments of my life – and many important moments for me are primarily related with some specific songs! One of the most difficult parts of my life, when I didn’t know what to do with my future, music has helped me through it!
That’s how the goals which I want to achieve have appeared.
Any collaborations, remixes or joint projects on the horizon?
At the moment I’m working with 2 musicians. The process is fairly hard, but I am sure that at the end of it you will hear something amazing! Also, at the same time I want to create a new EP in a specific style.
Any new genres or musical styles you’d like to explore in future?
After hearing Kiasmos in the last few weeks I’ve been trying my hardest to make something a bit
more like that. Stay tuned for that!
Do you have any thoughts on the future of electronic music? Do you think the scene will evolve further?
It’s a real shame that commercial music blinds people’s eyes and they do not have the possibility to discover other wonderful works which deserve to be listened to. But I can already feel the progress. People are starting to listen to music which you can’t find on TV or in the most-played videos on YT, they are looking for something different. I am sure that styles such as Ambient, Future Garage, Drone will reach the popularity that they deserve.
Any new releases coming our way?
I cannot say exactly when, but as I said earlier, I am working on an EP that will include 3-5 new songs.
Any artists or other individuals / collectives you’ve not worked with yet that you’d like to work with in future?
Ohhh, there are many artists with whom I would like to work, but at the moment I want to finish the collaborations which I have in place now and try to focus on what I’m doing. I have worked with other artists in the past and it is a great experience.
Do you have a favourite track / song of all time? Favourite artist?
Unfortunately, I can’t say the name of an artist or a particular song. As a musician I can see in every song the work which the artist has done for it. I appreciate all the musicians and all works which are not in the commercial genres.
It’s been said that a life in music can be a hard one. Would you agree with that?
I would not say that it’s hard, but the first years of production are more difficult because you need to find your audience, to have your fans, a long time passes until your works become known by people. I can say that it is a big competition. The internet is full of music, different types of music, and now almost all people have the possibility to listen to music, we all have the ability to find what we like. I am sure that each of the artists who make music is happy and proud because his or her works can be heard by people!
Do you have any words of advice for aspiring young producers?
Don’t be afraid to take a break. Sometimes we try hard to make a new song, but we cannot do it, nothing goes well. Do not think that the problem is in you or in your capacity to do it, this problem can occur with anyone, not only you. All you need to do is to rest, to do something else, try to discover new sounds for example in VST, look for something different and then, when you will feel that you are ready to start a new project, DO IT! You will have the possibility to learn something new that will help you to progress. Do what you like to do, be yourself, try and learn new things, this is the key to success!
Any other projects on the horizon that you’d like to tell us about?
Follow me on my Facebook page and you guys will be the first to know about it (winks).
And finally - are there any tracks / artists that are relatively unknown that you’d like people to know about?
I know most of you reading this will be familiar with Dario Lupo, But woah, such incredible artists. The attention to detail and emotion in their tracks is superb. If you haven’t heard any music by Dario Lupo yet, check it out now.
Thanks so much Michael!
Thank you too 🙂