Spotlight on FINNEAS: Authenticity, Timelessness, and the Magic of Music and Connection
Written by: Ephney Tsai
It's a casual Tuesday evening in September, the weather has finally begun to cool down, and the smell of coffee is wafting in the air despite the time of day. Downtown LA is loud with car horns and background noise on the streets, but upstairs on the fifth floor at The GRAMMY Museum, a crowd of fans listens to something different (though sometimes the car horns and engine revs still took center stage as they blared over all else). Laughter, discussion, melodic harmonies, and guitar strums could be heard ringing out, as Singer-Songwriter FINNEAS visited the renowned museum's Ray Charles Terrace for an evening to talk music, concluded with a special performance.
Songwriter Hall of Fame Chairman, multi-Grammy Award Winner, and Rock Hall of Famer Nile Rodgers was the evening's emcee, showcasing a unique bond between the pair of musicians. On the schedule was a discussion on the musical process, how music connects people, inspirations and more. What really happened, however, was a much more candid conversation between the two artists, casual enough to feel like a living room chat. Though Rodgers did stray from the script after nearly every question, the focus still remained on FINNEAS, highlighting his authenticity, his approach to his craft, and his unique perspective on the music industry as a whole.
The discussion began hard and heavy, with Rodgers posing the question of what quantifies success for FINNEAS, and inquiring what dream he’s still chasing. His answer was one only someone who is truly, deeply grateful and humble could provide: “My bucket list was so much tamer than the things that I’ve gotten to be involved in,” he began, referencing his two Oscar awards, multiple GRAMMY Awards, multiple shows performed, and countless songs produced and written. “My real life-long dream was my high school band. I wanted that band to open for somebody playing the Fonda Theater on Hollywood Boulevard, which is a 1200 person theater. I didn't even think we'd ever sell it out, I just wanted to open for somebody that could sell it out,” he shared. “When [my sister] Billie [Eilish] headlined the theater, I was like, I think I'm set!”
Because his goal was accomplished, choosing projects now is more about bettering himself as an artist. “I really just try to see what the thing that I could learn the most from is, and I try to do that thing. In the last couple years with Billie, experiences like getting to work with somebody like Greta Gerwig on the Barbie movie, or getting to do the James Bond theme songs, those felt like such great learning experiences, so I just kind of let that be the compass.” This mindset of curiosity and an eagerness to continue growing and learning encompasses who FINNEAS is as an artist.
Following that uniquely insightful answer, Rodgers shifted the conversation to the next topic, FINNEAS' latest album, For Crying Out Loud! Unlike his debut solo album, the singer-songwriter assembled a live band to collaborate with him on this album, though he still wrote and produced each song himself. “I just really love playing with other people,” he admitted. “Over the last couple years, I have accumulated people that I love to play with that are also close friends of mine, but I'm really just friends with them, and that is a side effect of Billie and I only working on our albums together. So, once I had finished making Billie's third album, the idea of then going to a room alone for months to try to do my best on the bass, on the guitar, and on the keys and synth, was just not inspiring to me. I had just come out of this super collaborative experience, and I was like once Billie goes away on this tour, I had to [do something different].”
The result of this new collaborative experience is a record that lives and breathes FINNEAS. One where spontaneity and “happy accidents,” as Rodgers called them, are baked into each line of each song. FINNEAS looked back on the time spent on the album with a fond nostalgia, thinking of the value of mistakes in the studio and how they could turn a wrong note into something magical, and how comforting it felt to be surrounded by friends who wouldn’t sugarcoat things to spare his feelings. “Making music is like lifting furniture, you know? You can do it on your own, but it’s a lot easier if you have someone strong there to help you,” he starts. “It’s harder to coax a song out when you’re making a solo record, because you don’t have somebody there to therapize you, but with this album, it helped that [the band was] not only amazing musicians, but they’re people I see in real life. If I say something that’s just a lie that doesn't fit me or doesn’t feel reflective of who I am, then I have this room full of my friends that will be like, what is he talking about? He’s not like that at all?” In how this influences his music, FINNEAS has one simple goal: “It doesn’t have to feel honest all the time, but I want my music to always feel authentic to myself.”
Up to this point, the conversation was centered around FINNEAS and his music, but he is also known for his work producing and writing for others as well. Whether working with Billie Eilish or Tove Lo, his goal when making music with and for others is to be invisible in the process, molding the sonic palette to fit them, not himself. “I only want to work with artists I'm an admirer of. When I worked with Tove Lo, for example, I felt so qualified to be there, not because of my own abilities, but because I'm such a fan and have such an understanding of why they're great or why other people like their music," he began. "I would feel a little bit like I failed if someone said they thought the same guy who made Billie’s album made this other person’s album,” he explained. Instead, he immerses himself in their music until he fully understands the “why” behind a fan’s obsession. It’s a philosophy that resonated deeply with Rodgers as well, as a fellow musician who has made music for himself and for others. “We’re our best and bravest when we feel supported,” FINNEAS said, voicing a truth every artist has felt.
Aside from the aforementioned accolades, accomplishments, and goals, the young artist has also been quite immersed in the art of scoring films and other visual media lately. Most recently, he scored Alfonso Cuarón’s Disclaimer, and has also famously worked on films such as Barbie (with Billie), Vengeance, No Time to Die, HBO Max's The Fallout, and Disney and Pixar's Turning Red. To him, the process of scoring visual media is always a learning experience. “To be honest, there’s a little bit of fear and judgement in the scoring world because you have the filmmaker, the writer, and the director, and you’re coming in to try to help them articulate their thing. You’re making a piece of music to sometimes exist on its own, but sometimes to underscore a conversation. The challenge is really that [watching a film] is such an interpretive experience. Sometimes, the filmmakers will love [what I created], and sometimes they’ll be like, no, this was supposed to be funny.” Even with its difficulties, FINNEAS finds that he enjoys the challenge that comes with scoring. “It’s very scholastic. Every time I do it, I feel like I get better at some part of making music.”
Living in such a digital age of music, FINNEAS finds that touring is the one time he gets to truly connect with his fans and see the fruits of his labor. “I go out on tour, and it’s the first time the relationship with the music is real. You put out an album, stream here, stream there, and release a music video, but it’s very hard to feel like something exists. Even if someone isn’t singing along in the crowd at my show, I can see that they have a relationship with the songs, so it feels more real.” On his own experience with music and how easily accessible it is now, the singer-songwriter feels that it’s been an advantage. “I don't necessarily have a favorite era of music, because I’ve always just enjoyed like this hodgepodge of music in a playlist together,” he began. “I downloaded stuff on iTunes, and definitely not Limewire,” he revealed with a laugh. “I put it on iTunes or I streamed it on Spotify. Growing up, Billie and I would listen to The Beatles and Ben Folds and Simon & Garfunkel, but they’d be on CDs my parents would burn, like mixtapes, so we wouldn’t even know what albums these songs were from.” Summing up his musical listening experience, he shared a memorable one-liner: “I can listen to a song from The Beatles, next to a SoundCloud rap track, next to a Paul Simon ballad.”
Wrapping up the conversation, FINNEAS went through a lightning round of fan Q&As to end this segment. He shared that his current playlist consists of Johnny Greenwood's score for the film Phantom Thread and Simon & Garfunkel's "Bookends Theme," that he believes music doesn't have to be defined by current success, as the best kind of music will stick around for decades and remain timeless, that he'd feel like a failure if he was making millions as a tech industry worker because he wouldn't be making music, and that he'd choose to switch bodies with the world's fastest swimmer if given the chance to switch places for a day. He also revealed that girlfriend Claudia directed the next music video for his new group, The Favors, which consists of himself and fellow singer-songwriter Ashe. During this rapid-fire section, FINNEAS did his best to answer as many fan questions as he could, beautifully ending the "talk show" segment of the night.
Not ready to say goodbye without letting his true authentic self show through his music, FINNEAS performed "For Cryin' Out Loud!," "Cleats," "Little Window," and "2001" to finish the show. “For Cryin’ Out Loud!” was the title track from his latest album, and carries a raw, weary, and melodic tone, capturing the feeling of anxiety and longing. “Cleats” is a track full of poetry, beautiful imagery, and concise vocals. “Little Window” felt like a conversation between friends, and as he performed this track, a comfortable quiet settled over the crowd as they sat at their seat’s edge listening. Finally, “2001” is a song full of nostalgia and memories, and its performance was beautifully finished with synchronized clapping along with the song’s beat during the bridge.
FINNEAS didn’t visit The GRAMMY Museum to promote a single or brag about his accomplishments. Instead, the singer-songwriter came to connect. His visit helped him connect with his audience, his inspirations, his music, and his motivations to keep making music, enjoying music, and enjoying the music he makes. Though the loud sounds of Downtown LA occasionally competed with the conversation, the crowd didn’t care. Ultimately, what mattered most was FINNEAS and his authentic love for music.
