Artist info
Genre
Dance, Electronic
Sounds like
four tet
band members
Elise Reitze & Rosie Taylor
Influences
four tet, Jlin, burial, aphex twin, machinedrum, Holly Herndon
Website
Bio
Feels is the collaboration between Perth based percussionists Elise Reitze and Rosie Taylor. Blending percussion and electronics to produce rhythms of obscurity and eclectic sound worlds
"Formed as the new project between Perth percussionists Elise Reitze and Rosie Taylor, Feels are making some of Perth's most creative electronic music right now. Combining their world-class skill in percussion with electronic music production, Feels are an incredibly unique and exciting newcoming duo to the scene, making some serious waves over on triple j Unearthed with tracks such as It's Confidential and Lunch. The former is a playful and energetic, percussion-soaked single which pulses with driving synth work whilst the latter is a much more refrained piece, angling for a more low-key, restrained sound as opposed to the lively track It's Confidential. Either way, they're both bloody good."
- Pilerats
Featured Artist
2017
18
Sep
Feels
(- percussion ,
- Electronic ,
- Alternative Electronic , ...
Perth, WA
Feels are a percussive electronic outfit from Perth, and the winners of our 2017 Listen Out competition for WA! We're featuring their buoyant and bubbly tunes all this week on Unearthed.
Tell us about your music. How did you develop your sound?
Elise and Rosie met during high school when they were 14 at an after school percussion program. During a Djembe solo we locked eyes and from that day, we knew we would make music together. We both studied classical percussion at University and Elise went on to study composition. Our love for rhythm and classical composition has definitely influenced our sound and how we create a Feels track. We have always loved electronic music and wanted to find the balance between using our classical composition and percussion skills to created serious beats and shredding synth lines.
What’s your greatest source of inspiration for making music?
Rhythm is definitely our greatest inspiration and usually the main focus for our tracks. We like to find simple patterns and find ways to disrupt and manipulate them. We both play percussion every day, whether it be tutoring high school students, or playing for dancers at WAAPA. Playing has always been a huge inspiration for our music. Our study of many different styles of percussion music and composition has also been influential on our music.
What can punters expect from a FEELS live show?
Live drums, electronics and tinsel jackets! Oh, and a surfboard.
What’s the best advice you’ve been given and who was it from?
“Don’t place too much importance on one track or a certain release, you never know what can happen” – (Tim Shiel).
“Don’t fuck it up” – (RuPaul).
What Australian track would you play to cheer up someone who was crying?
Miss Blanks – ‘Clap Clap’.
What Australian track would you play to someone to make them cry?
Stella Donnelly – ‘Boys Will Be Boys’.
You’re the DJ at a party. The dance floor is pumping. What Australian track do you put on next?
Lewis Cancut – ‘Body Querty’.
What was the last local gig you went to? How was it?
BIGSOUND! We saw so many local bands it was amazing! Miss Blanks was definitely a highlight for us. It was great to see such a diverse range of artists at the festival. Being from Perth, it was amazing to see such a large representation of our local music scene.
Tell us about the bands or people in the Perth music community that inspire you.
Earlier this year, we co-founded WOMPP (Women of Music Production Perth) a platform for female, transgender and nonbinary music makers to share and discuss music production. We have monthly meetings to discuss electronic music production, share tracks and prepare for our biannual showcases. Through the creation of this community, we have met some of the most talent and inspiring individuals in the Perth music scene. Over this past year we have seen so many strong electronic acts form and more established artists become even more confident. Artists such as Alex and Yell, Lana Rothnie, G*Rey, WYN, Mei Saraswati, Jana Jaya Ayres, Jamilla and many more, are helping to shape the Perth music scene and the standards we set for equal gender representation within our city.
What are your plans for the future?
We have our debut EP Emerald coming out in November with 2 more singles in between. We’re very excited! We are heading to Berlin in November to attend ‘Ableton Loop’, an international music summit. We will also be doing an Ableton studio residency in Sydney January 2018 in which we hope to start writing a new album. We are definitely wanting to do an East coast tour in 2018 and release more new music!
Review
You guys are really building your own empire of sound, this one is punchy as always, and innovative enough to capture your attention.
You guys are really building your own empire of sound, this one is punchy as always, and innovative enough to capture your attention.
Review
a hyper emotive performance from zan sitting perfectly in the feels world of interesting percussive production.
a hyper emotive performance from zan sitting perfectly in the feels world of interesting percussive production.
Review
We all need this AND this couldn't come at a more important time.
It was only yesterday that someone, who was male, said that "an all female-fronted festival line up was dividing the gap between genders". They then continued to say, "imagine if it was the other way around". Fact is, it is the other way around and it has been for a long period of time.
Here...
We all need this AND this couldn't come at a more important time.
It was only yesterday that someone, who was male, said that "an all female-fronted festival line up was dividing the gap between genders". They then continued to say, "imagine if it was the other way around". Fact is, it is the other way around and it has been for a long period of time.
Here's proof that women & GNC have experienced different treatment in this song:
"do you ladies need some help"
"did you make that beat yourself"
"are you here with someone else"
"we chose merit over gender"
"seeing you chicks in action - it was cute".
Here's more proof of the gender imbalance on festival lineups - https://www.instagram.com/lineupswithoutmales/.
In relation to the line "we try to keep it fair, but there are no female bands"…there are countless female-fronted acts coming through Unearthed. I, and the entire team see it every day. AND you know what, we could give you countless names of female acts that would suit a particular "vibe", a particular genre, time and slot on a festival/gig line up if given the chance and opportunity. AND if not being ready and not being as developed is the problem, well maybe we should think about how the opportunity and encouragement would help make female artists feel ready, developed and believe in themselves.
I would just like to add - when I had a little chat to Rackett from Sydney, Kat said this & it really stood out to me.
“Being a female in the industry is a double edge sword right. Cos’ number one, you’re an underdog you always have something to prove. Number 2, you’re an underdog, you have all that room to surprise”.
And this song reminds me of that quote so much - do not underestimate women in the music industry. This track is a strong reminder that there are issues that need to be addressed and we all need to work together in order to move forward. I can also recognise that being on stage or writing songs like this - spilling your soul and guts out into your art, having a strong opinion, being vulnerable for your work in an industry where you might feel dominated, at a disadvantage or not listened to can be difficult. But it is important to me. It is important to other women, men, consumers and other, that we hear it. It's what starts conversation and then change. I don't take it like it's a men vs women thing at all either. Because it's not and it shouldn't be. We all need to work together.
You girls CAN write a beat and one with a distinctive Feels sound. And Stella, you come over it perfectly. You girls are the rock.
ALSO, loved reading this little insight into the track - https://www.wompp.com.au/latest-release/
