Artist Spotlight: Floz

What inspired the name Floz?

The name Floz comes from an interview I watched with Flume, who when I first started making music was someone I was super inspired by. He had some content around how to brand your music projects and said that the reason he had chosen ‘Flume’ was because he felt it was a nice word that rolled off the tongue and was brandable. Then, I actually came across the abbreviation for “fluid ounce" which is FL. OZ, and I just kind of liked the way that the letters sat together, and similarly to Flume, I thought it was a word that rolled off the tongue. It's been cool to see how it has progressed and grown, and even to hear some people call me by it when I’m not playing.

What kind of music do you play and produce?

I have always been keen on not being too tied down or defined by just one style. I like to mix and match a whole bunch of different genres but I mostly focus on UKG and other UK based sounds. I just love how the scene over there allows artists to freely chop and change between different types of music within their sets as I find it quite limiting when I have to stay in one genre while DJing, and I think the same can be said for when I produce - I really like the idea of having an open Ableton session and just being able to create based on what inspires me at any given moment. Honestly, I will play anything from UKG, Breaks, House and Techno, and I really like having this free-thinking approach to music. Even if I look back on the music I first started out producing, it sounds completely different to what I’m focused on making today and just proves that the Floz project has always moved around and explored different sounds.

Where did your musical journey begin?

I started making music 12 years ago after teaching myself how to use Ableton. The bug had bit, and after that I went to SAE for a year to really hone in on music production and my understanding of audio. That year, I started producing and playing in Cape Town quite a lot at clubs like Fiction and Assembly that are unfortunately no longer around. When I went to Stellenbosch University, my music had to take a little bit of a back seat, but I still continued to work on it in the background until around 3 years ago when I picked it up again properly. I guess I just began to get really inspired by the scene and the sounds, and the music I began making which has really given me a renewed sense of purpose. It's been an exciting time honing in on, and finally finding the sounds that I really want Floz to be associated with. At the beginning of my journey I wasn’t really sure of the genres that I was gravitating towards but now I have this really clear picture of the sounds I want to come out of the Floz project, which has been super inspiring.

I think globally there seems to be a trend towards UKG and sounds like that, and it's definitely creeping through in Cape Town too. I think the biggest indicator is just if you get good reactions from crowds and honestly for the most part there have been really good reactions when I have played within this genre. I think it just shows that people are excited to hear new and different sounds. So yeah, I definitely think there is a scene here and it's growing, which is good for me.

How does your day job tie into your music?

My 9-5 (and what takes up most of my time) is being Head of Marketing for Sneaker Lab. I work quite a lot on global collabs, marketing the product, and brand partnerships which keeps me quite busy outside of music - but I enjoy my job and love what I do which always helps. Both my job and my music require quite a lot of creativity which I enjoy!

There is a huge crossover between music, fashion and sneaker culture - it's all culture in general. I think you can clearly see if you go to different parties or events that they play a certain style of music and the people attending often wear a certain style of clothing and sneakers which reflects the music and what it stands for. From my work’s perspective, at Sneaker Lab we have launched Lab Sessions which is recording and promoting a few different DJs in Cape Town as well as some other territories around the world. From the brand point of view it's so important for us to have that alignment with music because of how interlinked it is with culture.

It's tricky, I find it a lot easier to market a brand than I do to market myself, so I realized I needed to take a step back and view Floz as a brand because I am quite naturally introverted and don’t really like to be on social media that much, so that switch definitely brought about an increase in Floz’s brand awareness and exposure. That’s where I can see a clear link between my day job and Floz.

I also think it's quite a big thing when starting out and putting your heart and soul into a song for it to only get 5 or 6 plays on Sound Cloud or Band Camp - it can be really disheartening. I think now I am getting to the point where when I release a track they do get better traction and I think that is largely down to the tracks themselves being a bit more marketable. Also, by making edits of existing tracks that enable me to get some additional exposure and build a bit of a fanbase in that way, it means that when I do release my own music there are (and will already be) people interested in listening to it. I definitely think you have to be conscious of that as an artist to see that you’re not just making music, it has to have some strategy and a plan behind it.

I don't think I am big enough yet to guarantee promoters a certain amount of guests just because they book me. I am not sure I have that big of a fanbase just yet. Obviously it would be great to get to that stage but for now, my approach with promoters is that I want to be booked based on the music I am producing and the sets I have played, not necessarily for the amount of followers I have. My approach has always been a bit more passive around bookings - to let them come rather than push for them. On the one hand, it means that I know these bookings have come authentically, but on the flip side, I realize I may have been able to secure more bookings had I been a bit more forward.

What are some of the things that inspire you when producing?

Instead of outright inspiration, it’s more like I’ll just have a feeling of a track that might even be building throughout the day, and I’ll just be waiting to get home so I can get something down onto Ableton. If I hear something that sparks this sort of feeling then I will just try to capture that as quickly as I can, and then clean it up from there to make it actually sound good. I get inspired by loads of other music, not just electronic, such as artists like King Krule and Radiohead, and I like other very moody kinds of world building sounds that you can just get lost in. Then obviously I like to try and take that sort of feeling and translate it into a more of an electronic sound. I won’t just sit everyday and try to create something because I know when the juices aren’t there. I end up being quite selective about when I do sit down to create.. It's kind of tricky to explain. Again, it's more just like a feeling that I know I can get something out on a certain day, and when I get that feeling, then I am able to create something and I’ll be able to sit there for a while and slowly build on it.

Sometimes I’ll have an idea, and then it will sound trash, and it's just about being quite black and white about it - like this does not sound good, let me delete it and start again. Sometimes, just because you have created something, you get a bit precious about it, and want to keep it, but now I think I have gotten to the point where I know exactly what sounds I want to make - so if a tune isn’t where I want it to be or if I don’t think its good enough, then I will delete it and start again or try something else. So yeah, I think it's more about just forcing yourself out of any creative block and trying to get something down as quickly as you can, when you get that feeling ;)

What does the dance floor mean to you?

To me, the dance floor is a place of escape and a time to lock-in. It's about being able to focus on the music and dancing. I love to really just get out and listen to tunes and be in that headspace where you are solely focusing on the music and the dancefloor. I think it is quite a cathartic experience and feels really natural for me as an outlet, to blow off some steam, so yeah, one of my favourite things in life is music and I think the best way to enjoy it is to dance and be on the dancefloor. I am the type to always attend events and will be the first to buy tickets if I know it is for something that I will really enjoy, whether that is just a club night, a festival or even something like a live music performance.

I think as DJs we are lucky because we get to have it from both sides. I am able to enjoy all of the amazing DJs we have on offer in Cape Town, but when it’s my turn, I’m also able to curate the music for the dancefloor, and I really love both of those experiences.

What advice would you have given younger Floz 5 years ago?

I think it would have been nice to have been making the type of music I am now back then just because I would have had more time to hone my craft instead of chopping and changing the whole time. It’s hard because you can’t really put a time-limit on when you will find your sound, and I guess that is the issue when I like so many genres. I think I have found that golden thread that weaves them all together a bit later, so no, actually the advice I would give young Floz would be to make as much as he can and to be a bit more scheduled with his production. I know that sounds like it could actually curb creativity, but I think if you are a bit more focused with how you approach music production, for example making new tunes on Mondays, finishing tracks on Tuesdays, doing sound design on Wednesdays, etc, it would really help maintain a high level of focus. Also, finish as many songs as possible when you are starting out. If you are starting a track and then able to see a fully fleshed out version, it really enables you to see and get used to that process, which is really valuable.

What are your future goals?

Short term, I definitely want to play more gigs around Cape Town and release a whole bunch of tunes I have waiting on my hard drive. Smalltown Beat would be a dream booking, I love that festival so much - the past two years have been insane so I would love to be up there playing. I feel like it's a party that encapsulates everything good around Cape Town music and the scene it's been pushing. I think the same goes for Vertigo. They’ve only had one edition but it was really cool and I think all of the performances were so strong. The visuals were amazing and it was really cool to see live performances as well as DJs showcase some great tunes.

I have a collab EP in the works with Luc Veermeer, a close collaborator and someone I play B2B with often, and we would be hoping to get that finished and released at some point.

Long term I would love to play overseas and get releases on labels such as Hessel audio, EC2A, Hardline and those kinds of labels. Also, I would like to try to do a live set in the future.

What do you believe would benefit Cape Town’s electronic music scene?

I think we have to look at spotlighting more South African artists within other South African cities, so that artists and Djs from different provinces get more opportunities to take their sound across the country. I think this would provide some level of preparation to what life could be like if they make the step to touring internationally, but on top of that, it would just really deepen and integrate the culture across the country. There have been some amazing stories of South African artists doing so well overseas, so it's not like that goal is unattainable - we can all get there, but how amazing would it be to do that while being part of a local scene that supports each other as well!

Then I think having more promoters and spaces pushing underground sounds that link to a wider audience. Sometimes there is a vast difference between whats popular in Cape Town and their is a hungry audience for more underground sounds but I think there is not enough exposure to wider audiences.