FAYNE: Different Paths

By Prog Sphere on February 19, 2019

Hailing from Montreal, Fayne is a progressive metal five-piece with a goal of “delivering their own blend of heavy-driven drums with crushing guitar riffs and basslines, topped off with a powerful mix of clean and screamed vocals.” Back in November 2018, the group released their new album titled ‘Journals‘ which was mixed and mastered by Jamie King of The Basement Recording (The Contortionist, Between the Buried and Me). Singer Justin Furtado spoke for Prog Sphere about the album.

Define the mission of Fayne.

To make music that’s as much about you as it is about us.

Tell me about the creative process that informed your recent album “Journals” and the themes it captures.

Well, we talk a lot about death, but we feel that we’ve approached it uniquely. Each song is about what we would think or feel in our last 5 minutes on this planet and every song is about a different feeling, or person, if that’s easier to interpret. The idea that we all walk different paths in life to inevitably all end up in the same place is something that we can think humbles us and teaches us to respect each other’s decisions. The lyrics may not be the easiest to decipher but they actually talk about things that are quite inclusive like loss, knowing purpose, and how to cope with these challenges. We swear the message is somewhere underneath the metaphorical nonsense.

What is the message you are trying to give with “Journals”?

During the writing process I had begun writing the lyrics based on how a person feels in the last 5 minutes of their life, which was inspired by a short film I had come across on the internet and based on my own mortality as well. A few songs in, I started to see that the themes I was writing about related to pretty much everyone and not just myself. We will all experience that final 5 minutes one day, regardless of how we feel in that moment and regardless of everything we’ve done in our lives prior. The whole idea is dark and at times very metaphorical (and I can’t help it) but it sends a positive message that no matter how different we all may be, we all end up in the same place in the end. So be kind to each other, even when you don’t want to be.

How did you document the music while it was being formulated?

Some song ideas were documented with mobile phone videos but the most part were done via Reaper. When the songs were brought to the jam space, the live rehearsals were recorded to gauge how they sounded in the field and adjusted accordingly.

Is the dynamic flow of the pieces carefully architected?

The songs inherently had a cohesiveness to them as they stemmed from the same/similar headspace and mindset. There was a lot of discussion on how the album track list should be and this was decided on the “feel” of the songs, in addition to the lyrical content. Stimpak acting as the “mid-point” of the album were the rest has a more groove-prog oriented vibe and of course…darker .

Describe the approach to recording the album.

Most, if not all songs were initially created by Alex, where the drums, bass and, guitars were presented to the band and later worked on and refined. They foresaw many changes, especially once we integrated vocals after the fact. All the demos were done in Reaper using Superior Drummer and LePou cab sims and went through several revisions as time passed. “Holding on” to demos for some time before actually entering the pre-prod phase is very helpful to gauge perspective and to let them “sink in”. Although unintentional, the songs definitely took a better form in our opinion due to this.

How long “Journals” was in the making?

We started to focus on the idea of making a new record back in 2016, but some ideas and riffs on the album date back even before then! There were a couple of hiccups along the way, so to give you a rounded number, we’d say about 3 years in a very staggered way.

Which bands or artists influenced your work on the release?

We can all agree that The Contortionist have been a big influence on our band’s release. We’ve seen them evolve from this deathcore band to a prog-rock band. They still continue to inspire us as musicians and as people. They’ve helped us explore beyond our boundaries and push the bar when it comes to writing music.

What is your view on technology in music?

We fully support anything to facilitate the music writing process. We continue to write music in its most organic form however, we feel it’s easier to layout ideas using software like Reaper and Superior Drummer than it is to guess what’s going on in your guitar player’s head. We stick within our boundaries as musicians as well. We won’t write music at 300 bpm if we can’t play it live.

Do you see your music as serving a purpose beyond music?

We’ve always tried to send a message to whoever is listening. Most of the time we’re trying to invoke awareness, whether it be a message about anxiety, death, social issues, and the constant struggle within. If it can help start a conversation between us and our listeners, then our purpose beyond the music has been achieved.

What are your plans for the future?

We’re working on a live studio performance video for one of the songs off of Journals, booking shows, writing new songs, and trying as many different ways as we can to get our music out there. Touring will always be necessary, but there are other corners of the music industry that metal bands can explore, and we’d like to experiment with that.

“Journals” is available from Bandcamp. Follow Fayne on Facebook.