Capitol Hill Block Party is one of our favorite festivals to attend. Not only are some of our favorite headliners play the show each year, but we also get to discover brand new Seattle artists! Fluencie was on our “must-watch” list for the block party this year. We heard Fluencie on C89.5 radio and was immediately intrigued by the sound.
Fluencie (Alex Olson) lived in Bellingham and Seattle and was inspired by the music around him. This year, Alex was able to bring his bedroom beats to the big stages in Seattle. Having opened for Said The Sky in Seattle and also playing at the Barboza stage at Capitol Hill Block Party. Fluencie brought out Natalia Aristides and Daym (Evan Rendes) alongside with him for a mesmerizing live set. The crowd had high energy, even better than some of the main stage acts!
Photo: Ryan Summers
We had the chance to sit down and chat with Fluencie, Natalia and Evan about their performance, upcoming projects and their journey. See for yourself below.
How do you feel about your performance at Capitol Hill Block Party?
Natalia: Awesome. It was great.
Alex: Felt great about it. Great energy!
Capitol Hill Block Party is a music staple in the PNW. What is your favorite thing about the Seattle music scene?
Natalia: The people, definitely the people.
Alex: The friends that we have friends.
Evan: I like the blending of genres here. I feel like because of the friends, we got everyone working with everyone in this city and it is collaborative. Always finding new people who are finding new people who are finding their people. A lot of really, really cool creatives.
Photo: Ryan Summers
So Alex (Fluencie), how did you meet Evan and Natalia?
Alex: Evan played a show at my house in Bellingham. I lived in a party house. He played a show downstairs, freaking killed it. It was amazing, loved it, everybody was moving. Then I brought him upstairs and played him a beat and was like “Yo, what do you think?” He loved it and the rest history. Nat and I met through a mutual friend, Spencer Shangrow, we all were working on music and she has pipes. The girl can sing. And the rest is history!
Alex, you have lived in Bellingham, which is where artists such as Odesza went to college and got inspired. What artist would you say inspires your sound?
Alex: Right now, it is everybody. A little bit of Posty. I like Daft punk, Pharrell, Katy Perry, Zara Larsson. Rap stuff too, anything that you can think of, JPEGMAFIA, I love the underground stuff, 03 Greedo is tight. I can keep going if you want…but everybody inspires me!
What genre and subgenre would you categorize Fluencie?
Alex: It is more pop now and it is going to have a little bit more rap as we move on. As of right now, it is electronic, but just the stuff that is coming up next, there is a little bit of a brand shift so… I hope everybody’s excited. It’s gonna be fun.
Photo: Ryan Summers
EDM is becoming more mainstream now. So what makes your music different from all the other producers?
Evan: I think one thing that makes Alex really unique is that he focuses on really small minutia. Like, bare sine waves and he is crafting these things from scratch, these songs. Then he is using singers who are already established. Like with my music with Daym, I already got songs out and Natalia has songs out with other artists. It’s just this really neat collaborative experience when we get to meet with Alex.
Alex: Yeah, and that way we can all help each other out. Everybody is doing good things and then we can all collaborate with more people.
If you had to choose one track from Fluencie to show someone who has never heard of Fluencie before. What track would you pick?
Alex: Unreleased one. Unreleased ones for sure. But if it was something that was released, it would probably be Guard Down.
Evan: I’d say Don’t Let Me Go. I love that tune.
Alex: Yes that one and also Preoccupied.
So for Fluencie, are there any new projects in the works?
Evan: He nods excitedly hahaha.
Alex: Lots of singing, lots of new singing. I’ve got Nat on some of the hooks, she’s way better singer than I am. So it really puts me to shame. These guys bring me up cause they’re so good. It is amazing to have people that keep you in grind mode.
We cannot wait to hear the new music! Do you have any last words that you would like to say to your fans, or soon to be fans in the Pacific Northwest?
Alex: Do your thing. We love everybody!
Natalia: Thanks for listening!
Evan: Thanks for just bringing love to this community and bringing your creativity to it too. Because I believe everyone is a part of this, I really like that we feel it together and we get to experience it together. We got a little taste of that tonight after the show and it was a blast. So thank you!
What is your favorite track by Fluencie? Let us know on Facebook and Twitter!
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