We turn to music as if it were that one friend that’s always there no matter the situation, through your highs and your lows. It has the power to capture memories, bring up feelings and emotions, and bring people together. Perhaps the most beautiful moments music creates are at 2 in the morning, when you’re left alone with your thoughts and a song creates a peaceful state of mind.
Take the lyrics, the artist, and a fancy music video out of the game and what are you left with? An instrumental. Ah yes, for some, instrumentals might seem unexciting but for many like fwdslxsh (pronounced: forward slash) who has an EP titled The Fall, they’re raw, and so are the emotions they produce.
The Fader, a magazine covering music and lifestyle, perfectly described fwdslxsh as “the soundtrack to your daydreams.” But who the hell is he? Why did he choose such an odd name? What is “daydream music?”
Spend hours on SoundCloud and you’ll likely come across the mystery artist. He created his EP while in his final year of university as a double major in Economics and Politics but he became fascinated with producing music on the side. Spending countless hours on YouTube song-searching, he came across music producers Sivey, of Soulection, and ATU. Soulection is a radio show and a record label that describes its mission as “the sound of tomorrow…procures the finest tunes and increases visibility” for its audience; it works with artists that want to change the way music is understood. ATU fits as one of these music revolutionists. Trippy, huh?
Inspired by this new style of music, he worked to create his own. But how does a college student find the time to make an EP? He didn’t stress it. He states in a The 405 article, “‘As I go along, I make tracks and I kinda say “Yeah, boom, I’m gonna use this for my EP,” or “I’m just gonna release this”… It was quite natural, just collecting my favorite tracks that I’ve made.” Yes, the man is just as chill as his music.
But once he had the music, why did he choose the name? It came as naturally as the music did; while brainstorming ideas with a pal who had worked with branding and marketing, his friend blurted out “forward slash,” of course homie thought it was strange, but his friend suggested spelling it differently so the audience would just immediately think of the music. Fwdslxsh explains “You see it and because it looks so strange, you’ll remember when you see it again. It’s almost like a stamp.” Quite admirable, how artists like Fwdslxsh aim to disguise themselves so you, the audience, can soak in and enjoy the music differently.
Fwdlxsh is slowly expanding his musical influence while on tour in Europe and has continuously posted new tracks for 2 years on SoundCloud, both his own and remixes. Through his “daydream music” he states, “I want to have that kind of legacy where people listen to my music and it puts them in a certain mood because it has that much of an effect on them that it can control how they’re feeling or what they’re thinking. I think that’s an amazing legacy to leave; to change people’s minds.”
Attempt to step out of your comfort zone and listen to a new style of music. You can find Fwdslxsh on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.