It was a Wednesday evening Amber [Photographer] and I headed to KOKO London for an interview and show with the brilliant producer Fakear. We weaved our way through the backstage of the venue to a small room where I met Theo [Fakear], a quick introduction, we sat down to discuss the creativity behind his brand new 16-track album All Glows.
Beginning with inspiration. We always want to dig a little deeper behind an artist’s tracks and find out what really motivated them to create their art. For Theo, this was all about his discovery of spirituality and Karma. Backpacking countries far and wide, he began to really believe the beneficiaries these two elements had on his life.
The essence of travel is obvious as you hear sprinkles of world music and a number of influences from other cultures constantly intertwined throughout. We discussed the Law of Attraction and the spreading of “Good Vibes” and receiving great things in return. You can absolutely understand this from the album, it flows from each track like silk, and constantly uplifts.
Collaborations were next. I asked about his vision on the album and he delved into his creative process. The album began from piano and guitar elements from his bedroom, starting with the powerful moments within 8 bars as he laid down a chorus and then used these building blocks towards creating the final demos on “Reason“.
Theo then rendered this to labels who believed it was time to turn it up a notch and release Fakear from his comfort zone. Calling in around twenty creatives to work over a number of days, Theo A&Red the whole process. “I felt like Diplo or Kanye running from studio to studio”.
We spoke about today’s society and what we see as an idealistic lifestyle in 2018. We previously spoke about spirituality and this album’s message is to allow yourself to explore that “when you get to know yourself, your learn to take care of yourself”.
Growing up in a generation of self-destruction and binge drinking, us millennials are definitely evolving into a better mindset for our planet and ourselves. Delving into Theo’s lifestyle he wants to focus much more on “the beautiful things in humanity” and believes [and I agree] that the “myth of the rockstar is gone, it was so cool in the 70’s and 80’s to date a rockstar and mess with your bodies, but now that has almost gone”, Totally into it.
Have you had a bad day in the big smoke? Take a moment to plug in your sound cancelling headphones and close your eyes. Now whisk your imaginary self away to a beach in Thailand or to a warm festival field in the English countryside as the album creates nothing but a positive vision in your mind.
The album makes me feel lighter in step and really connect with my surroundings. In this circumstance, I am not going to pick a favourite from the album, it would be unfair for me to highlight. I recommend everyone to listen and invest, everyone will have a different feeling, emotion or reaction.
The shy and more introverted Theo mentioned his two personalities and the need for both to succeed, if one was to out weigh the other, it would be unhealthy. From the creative genius who often buries himself in his bedroom when producing and the great guy I met pre-show is balanced with the bold and inspiring alias Fakear we witnessed on stage, he had it perfectly scaled. Congratulations Fakear on a majestically exhilarating release. It’s on repeat all Summer long.
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Words by Jodie Brunning
