Name: Thomas Michael Beech aka Fthmlss
Nationality: British
Occupation: Producer
Current release: Fthmlss's Cycles is out via Folded on June 9th 2023.
Recommendation:
Catch92 – “Hanging“
Made by a good friend of mine, this is one of those tracks that has just never gotten old. It's a really groovy track that I find myself getting down too often. He hit the nail on the head by finding that perfect balance between organic beauty and hard-knocking beats.
Barcode – “Entreat“
Always an inspiring artist to me, barcode breaks any preconception about what music should be and has always done what they do best! Polyrhythmic madness layered with various influences from free jazz to electronica is definitely worth a listen.

If you enjoyed this Fthmlss interview and would like to stay up to date with the project, visit him on Instagram, Facebook, twitter, and Soundcloud.



When I listen to music, I see shapes, objects and colours. What happens in your body when you're listening? Do you listen with your eyes open or closed?

I see places. Often ones that don't exist, almost like parallel universes that co-exist along our own that only can be explored through the experience of music.

I often try to interpret these places in my mind by creating music, too.

What were your very first steps in music like - and how do you rate gains made through experience versus the naiveté of those first steps?

I started dabbling at a very young age but only really started taking it seriously at around 16.

I certainly miss the naïvety of my approach to the creative process. It almost has an extra sense of wonder attached as you're finding your footing in this new landscape.

According to scientific studies, we make our deepest and most incisive musical experiences between the ages of 13-16. What did music meant to you at that age and what’s changed since then?

Music was a true form of escape. Something that transported you as soon as you hit play on the walkman and watched the world around you, creating narratives along the way.

These days I still love to get lost in it but life gets busy and listening and creating becomes just an everyday part of life as you create your own narrative along the way.

Over the course of your development, what have been your most important instruments and tools and how have they shaped your perspective on music?

The Mbira has always been an instrument that has fascinated me. From its roots in Zimbabwe to the overall tones and textures that they provide in such a gentle way.

I was late on the Ableton train, but after switching over from Logic at the start of this year it has completely changed the game for me with the endless mapping and macro possibilities. It has certainly made me feel anything is possible in the realm of sound design.

What, would you say, are the key ideas behind your approach to music and what motivates you to create?

Experimentation has always been at the forefront and kept the excitement going. I love creating a concept or story behind each project which will then give me direction with regard to planning the instrumentation and textures I will be working with.

I feel the biggest motivator for me is being around nature. That feeling you get when you're out in the middle of nowhere and you want to capture that moment, creating is another way to capture those moments around.

Paul Simon said “the way that I listen to my own records is not for the chords or the lyrics - my first impression is of the overall sound.” What's your own take on that and how would you define your personal sound?  

The sound is definitely something I have high regard for when listening to music and is usually at the forefront of my mind when creating.

If melodies are the conversation that we attach emotion to, I believe the essence of the sound is what sets the scene in which those emotions take place. It gives us a greater understanding of the true intentions of the artist and attaches you ever closer to them.

If King Tubby's records sounded super clean and polished then a part of their story is missing. I would describe my sound as immersive and juxtaposed to a certain degree as I always seek contrast in many ways.

Sound, song, and rhythm are all around us, from animal noises to the waves of the ocean. What, if any, are some of the most moving experiences you've had with these non-human-made sounds? In how far would you describe them as “musical”?

Most of my initial inspiration comes from those natural scapes that surround us in our everyday life. Texture and foley are a huge part of what I try to capture so I feel that these sounds are very musical straight from their source.

To emphasise this opinion I couldn't count how many times I have been working on music when an external sound has made its way through my window and into my track. Almost as if that was the missing key all along.

We are all dancing to the earth's natural rhythms and I feel music is just an extension of that, giving us more insight and an unfathomable understanding of the universe around us.

From very deep/high/loud/quiet sounds to very long/short/simple/complex compositions - are there extremes in music you feel drawn to and what response do they elicit?

I love the candid approach. The really spontaneous and off-the-wall sessions result in something really wholesome and full of memories. I often get too wrapped up in complexities and minute details that I forget about the bigger picture.

It's the shorter and more obscure compositions I find myself getting drawn into, almost feeling like you are in the room with the artist for that brief moment and then it's gone, like a dream or moment of deja-vu.

From symphonies and traditional verse/chorus-songs to linear techno tracks and free jazz, there are myriads ways to structure a piece of music. Which approaches work best for you – and why?

This can vary from track to track. I feel variety is the spice of life and should be practised in as many ways as possible.

Having said this, I always revolve around a balance between rigidity and freeness in structure. I think the middle ground lies somewhere between having a solid enough foundation with distinctive changes throughout and allowing yourself to switch directions when the moment feels right to you.

Could you describe your creative process on the basis of one of your pieces, live performances or albums that's particularly dear to you, please?

A piece I hold in a special place in my heart would be 'The Mist'.



Made entirely on the OP-1 I headed out into the depths of the Peak District where I found myself parked up and staring out onto the hills thick with mist. I must've sat there for around 3 hours while I recorded foley parts and composed the entire piece in my car. I then decided there and then that I would record some video footage of the surrounding area and post the project on Youtube. It was the perfect day of being in such an inspiring environment and it felt as if time stood still.

The resulting piece isn't long and is more than candid. But watching it back takes me right back to that moment and the enjoyment I had in the process.

Sometimes, science and art converge in unexpected ways. Do you conduct “experiments” or make use of scientific insights when you're making music?

All the time! I'm a big lover of exploring all the discoveries we have made through science from mysteries of the universe to the depths of our oceans.

Experimentation is always at the forefront of my mind when looking for new processes and techniques, for example, processing sound in outlandish ways to learn new results.

At its very core music can be further understood through math and since math is the language of science, the two are certainly closer connected than we can sometimes think.

How does the way you make music reflect the way you live your life? Can we learn lessons about life by understanding music on a deeper level?

It allows me to stop and focus. It gives me balance as I can be quite a restless and worrisome person until I sit down with the intention to create. It's the one place where I find true calmness and respite and is a constant reminder to me outside of the process to try and stay intact with that side of myself.

I'd say we can certainly learn lessons about life by understanding music on a deeper level. It has been ingrained in cultures for tens of thousands of years and has had so many applications. It is almost hard-wired into us and activates one of the most primal parts of our brains.

So I feel it is the universal gateway to understanding what it is to be human.

Do you feel as though writing or performing a piece of music is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?

While I would interoperate a lot of what we do in our everyday lives as art, when It was created with that intention, I find music to be more connected to us on a personal level. It is the emotional attachment to it that is expressed along the way. I speak only for myself of course, but I don't seem to get that same internal response when I do 'mundane' tasks.

I love to cook, and love experimenting with new ingredients and ideas in the kitchen so I certainly can find the correlation between these two. Yet the end result is eaten and the memory is not there to live on unlike with music.

Every time I listen to "Albedo 0.39" by Vangelis, I choke up. But the lyrics are made up of nothing but numbers and values. Do you, too, have a song or piece of music that affects you in a way that you can't explain?

“The Alien” by Geoff Barrow and Ben Salisbury is the final composition from the film Annihilation. It is such a simple and slowly progressive piece that essentially contains 3 notes and a constantly building drone.



Every time I listen to it or watch the film it takes my mind completely away to worlds beyond our reach and the feeling I get is so inexplicable which seems crazy considering the simplicity of it.

If you could make a wish for the future – what are developments in music you would like to see and hear?

I would love to get right back to my roots within the beat scene. Not overthink or overcomplicate projects in my head and allow my curiosity to take over again. More unexpected moments that feel awkward and quirky, but very right in context.