sym fera – AN INTERVIEW WITH THE TWO FUGITIVE

sym fera – AN INTERVIEW WITH THE TWO FUGITIVE

By Ralph Beauchamp

There aren't too many mysteries in the current music scene. Bands are over scrutinized and constantly bring it all to social media platforms. based in LA sym fera defies the norm. The inner duo has yet to reveal their true identity. In addition, their sound is unique. sym fera offers elements of atmospheric electronica combined with airy blues riffs and ethereal vocals. Their music is full of dreamy textures that create a menacing yet wonderfully evocative soundscape. They revisited their 2021 smash hit '11/8' with an instrumental remix that's brazenly cinematic. sym feraHis music is highly emotional and rich with a dramatic edge.

sym fera2023's single “no/bodies” is a prime example of their sonic creativity. The vocals are outstanding and boldly mesmerizing. In addition, the intricate keys fully complement the addictive atmosphere. The backbeat is great with a divine minimal quality. The sound mixes evoke a sense of eerie intrigue. sym feraHis strong songwriting and arrangements have placed them at the forefront of today's music landscape.

As for keeping their identity a secret, sym fera they want to lean on their talent and not rely on connections (not a single industry friend has helped them or even knows about the project till date). They felt it was important to their art. In a statement released to Loudwire last year, the duo said their single “11/8” is about:

“What it's like to be a human mind hacked by social media. Paranoia, a manufactured, grandiose identity. The way it turns human psychology into a product for the highest bidder to buy and feast on. We all know that no matter how much we pour ourselves into it, it never really becomes a complete picture of who we are. We chase true connection while running from full exposure“.

They continue, “And one cannot exist without the other. So we run towards something and at the same time away from it, and never really catch what we are chasing or escape what is chasing us. Strangely, we all kind of know that feeling, trying to be everything and nothing at the same time.”

sym fera was kind enough to give AMP this interesting interview.

AMP: What was the impetus for the formation of sym fera?

sym fera: At first, it was just pure fun. My partner and I were jamming in clubs together basically every week, just flying by the seat of our pants, no real plans for the future, doing covers or originals or guesting on artist friends' projects, looking for what you get from live shows. We wanted to play long before we had songs to our name. Eventually it seemed second nature to get together during the day and write something for fun.

This project went through a few different genres (and names) before we decided to show it to anyone. We've never been able to pick a side and stick with it, but I think that's how most people are in the streaming age. In our parents' youth, genres of music were like the loyalty tests of warring tribes. Now everyone I know is pretty picky about what they listen to, all the genres are mixed together and we think it's great.

One day after writing two particular songs, we had a sudden urge to show them to the world. I don't really know why. It just felt like the time was right. One of those songs was '11/8', from our first EP, which we're about to release a remix package of, and it's the one that synced the most to TV. The other song will be released later this year.

AMP: Why the mystery surrounding the band members?

sym fera: It's funny, we've heard people use that word, mysterious, and I always think that sounds a little bit like we're trying to be mysterious on purpose. We don't do anything like Glass Beams or Sleep Tokens. We never really intended the hidden identity aspect to be the focus of the play. The real motivation is more about shyness and being a little too precious about the things we make.

We both have a lot of connections in the music industry which I think would give people some expectations of what we should look and feel like. And both my partner and I wanted neither of those expectations. We wanted our stuff to be considered in a vacuum. But it seems people are kind of thinking about the hidden identity thing.

Which I guess is fine. But we're not trying to be theatrical, we're just a little tired of focusing on people's looks and personalities. So much of the industry (and online life in general) is about who has a face that's pretty enough to sell. So we just thought we'd remove our faces and ride with our guts and see if that was enough.

AMP: How would you categorize your music?

sym fera: Ah, I feel like I never have a satisfactory answer to that question. Not because we think we're so great, defy categorization or anything, but simply because the things we love are all so irritatingly eclectic and we're too greedy to resign ourselves to one genre. I feel like everyone I know, young and old, listens to both Motown and EDM and everything in between. I usually just say “alternative” because it's a word that means nothing but seems to please everyone when you say it. Alternative pop? Alternative rock; Indie alternative? Pretentious sad bastard music? Playlist of post-apocalyptic sex?

I guess we'll just let the streaming services take us away from where they think we belong and keep trying to make it very difficult for them.

AMP: What do you think is the key ingredient to the band dynamic?

sym fera: Too much caffeine, computer addiction, paranoia about the impending apocalypse and lots of unhealthy coping mechanisms. And our ability to be honest with each other about all these things. It doesn't help us fix them, but it certainly provides a lot of raw material to work with.

AMP: If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who would it be?

sym fera? We actually just worked with an artist in New York that would definitely be on that list for me. This song is in the mix, so I have no idea where it will go, but we're hoping to get it out this year. I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise.

If we had to pick others, I'd say Billie Eilish and Finneas, Tom Waits, Dylan Leblanc, Blake Mills, Moses Sumney, Julia Jacklin… Don't get us started, we'll go on forever.

AMP: What are your expectations and what do you want to achieve with sym fera?

sym fera: I think we'd like to be on tour and out by the end of the year, that's definitely one of the short-term plans.

The other is because we seem to have some success in the TV syndication space, I think a long-term goal would be to score something or write the theme song to a cool show like a True Detective, or one of those really gross ones. This would definitely be a bucket list item. But honestly, anything else going on is an extra cred for me.

The fact that Ozark put us on their show and people looked at us as much as they did, Shazammed us and watched our videos after that, it's already a lot further than I thought we'd go. It's a lot to ask people to put that much effort into some unknowns. Going forward, it's the wild west for us, we have no idea what to expect and it's all very exciting.

AMP: Is there a record you wish you had written and why?

sym fera: For me, Massive Attack's Heligoland or Jeff Buckley's Grace.

For my partner, Perfect Dark by Flyte or creeks by bon iver.

AMP: Any upcoming tours or live dates?

sym fera: Not set in stone, but once we're out of the proverbial closet, that's the next step in the plan. We have a website (symfera.com) and the big social networks and all that little necessary evil, so it's going to stick around if people are interested.

We've only done one live show to date where we put everyone's phones in bags and hid our faces with lights, so although that was a pretty magical experience, we definitely want to do more shows that are easier to produce and don't have to so much cloak and dagger.

AMP: What's next for sym fera?

sym fera? Then I think we're going to drop as much material as we can this year.

We just released a remix bundle EP of the song 11/8 in three drastically different styles.

We have a crazy music video we made for an upcoming new song that was animated by Josh Shaffner. He is a unique man, whose cartoons you would have seen behind Harry Styles on his last tour, among others.

And we have some collaborations with other artists that I'm excited about. All this will happen this year, if we have our good guys.

AMP: Any final words?

Just thanks, to all those wonderful people who have taken an interest in our stuff, whether they've heard us on Ozark, or other TV shows lip-syncing our song, or just stumbled upon us wandering the algorithmic wilderness. We have been so pleasantly surprised at the nice things people have said. Feedback isn't everything, of course, we'd move on whether they liked it or not.

But the ultimate compliment, I think, is when someone tells you that your stuff made them feel something. Some of the comments on our music videos have told us exactly that, and it surprises and confuses us every time. We hope we have enough material out there before the uniqueness destroys us all, and we hope the new stuff makes at least one person feel something.

The best,

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