After recently following up his much-loved 2020 EP 'Everything Is Alright' with the wondrous comeback single 'Never Gonna Leave Your Side' earlier this year, London-based producer Apidae is back once again to offer up his dreamy new effort 'All I Need'.
Capturing the same breezy electronic aesthetic as Caribou and Bonobo, 'All I Need' makes for a beautifully rich and soaring listen. With its warm and immersive textures and captivating atmosphere from start to finish, he is continuing to cement himself as one of the more enchanting names on the rise right now.
So with the new single available to stream now, we sat down with him to find out more about his origins and what has been inspiring him most over the years.
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What was the first instrument you fell in love with?
The guitar. My mum owned a nylon string guitar but never quite succeeded in learning to play it. We dug it out of the garage when I was 10, in order to say that I played a musical instrument in my application for secondary school. When my parents bought me my own guitar (an Argos Strat) they say they assumed I’d get bored of it after a few months, but I think it wouldn’t be far from the truth to say I played it every day for the next decade if I could. Was totally obsessed.
Fun fact – I no longer play guitar for Apidae live shows (I’m on electronic bits – synths, sampler, keys). When I played my first show without a guitar in my hands it was as controversial as Dylan goes electric to my parents and some old school friends.
What kind of music did you love when you were younger?
I was introduced to music through my Dad’s music collection of mostly rock, then discovered alt-rock of bands like Foo Fighters and Red Hot Chili Peppers. I was a hardcore punk kid in my late teens, then I went to see Radiohead on the King Of Limbs tour supported by Caribou and it was a game changer. Decided then and there that I wanted to start a project where I make electronic music.
What was the first album you remember owning?
I actually remember the first four albums I owned, but don’t quite recall the order in which I bought them. They were ‘By the Way’ by The Red Hot Chili Peppers, ‘One By One’ by The Foo Fighters, ‘Comfort In Sound’ by Feeder, and ‘Busted’ by Busted – all 2002 releases.
What is the one song you wished you could have written yourself?
Not sure I could say any. There’s something about the subjectivity of art that makes me think it would be impossible to enjoy a song in the same way if I had written it.
If I had to pick a song, it would be a track that has been an absolute joy to witness live, like ‘All My Friends’ by LCD Soundsystem, or ‘Sun’ by Caribou. Not because I wish I’d initially penned those tunes but I imagine they’re fun as hell to perform too.
Do you have any habits or rituals you go through when trying to write new music?
Not in the past, but I’ve been trying to introduce rituals recently – I’m taking days off from work/life to dedicate entirely to writing and being creative. I’m also notorious for taking forever to finish songs, and to rewrite and revise things bandmates would call complete. So I’m consciously trying to temper that by setting deadlines and not allowing myself to change a set of lyrics after they’ve passed. It’s wielded great results so far.
Who are your favourite artists you have found yourself listening to at the moment?
I’ve been listening to the new Weval album ‘Remember’ so much recently that I felt I had to moderate it so I didn’t get sick of it. The sound design is so good it’s baffling, enjoying the songcraft while trying to get my head around what’s going on at times makes it so addictive. The new Squid album also rules, and some of my bandmates and good friends have put out stunning new music recently – the Jamws album ‘Soft’, and Picture Parlour’s single ‘Norweigen Wood’. Karenin’s debut EP is beautiful too and deserves more love.
If you could open a show for anyone in the world, who would it be?
Battles, original line-up, as I would get to see Battles in their original line-up (who I never got to see, and feel won’t ever reform). If I’m really being honest – Radiohead as they have been one of the biggest influences on this project, and the show would be massive.
What do you find is the most rewarding part about being a musician?
The friends I’ve made, and people I’ve kept in touch with through music. Very recently I’ve been putting real thought into the Apidae live show and how we can perform this fairly electronic-leaning music so that every element heard is triggered or played by a performer and nothing is just on a backing track and will sound identical the next show. Part of me thought this could feel like a chore but it’s been such an enjoyable activity working things out, digging into the capabilities of Ableton and other software – and mapping out what can be triggering my drums, where live looping can be utilised. It has been so much fun I could do it for the joy even if no one was listening to it at the end.
And what is the most frustrating part?
Releasing music often brings me that powerful sense of dread, as does finishing it. Sometimes not having the time to be creative, or encountering a writer's block feels like a loss of identity.
And what is the best piece of advice you have received as a musician?
I wrote part of my final University project about John Cage. This quote is probably the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard somebody say about music, and it’s stuck with me: “What is the purpose of writing music? One is, of course, not dealing with purposes but dealing with sounds. Or the answer must take the form of a paradox: a purposeful purposeless or a purposeless play. This play, however, is an affirmation of life--not an attempt to bring order out of chaos nor to suggest improvements in creation, but simply a way of waking up to the very life we’re living, which is so excellent once one gets one’s mind and one’s desires out of its way and lets it act of its own accord.”
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Apidae's new single 'All I Need' is available to stream now. Check it out in the player below.