(!And Afterglo x TSA is hosting a Fairy themed rave this Friday ((3/22/24)) at Cine featuring FAIRIEZ as headliners, next to local acts Karezza, SARS, and KNOW!)
Fairiez has been DJing for over 3 years now, curating a fan base in the Atlanta Underground techno and dance scene. Beloved for their distinct underground curation, their music creation, and always serving up looks.
Fairiez is a duo made up of Atlanta locals, Dex and Lana, who have been dropping original tracks for about one year now. I've had the pleasure of knowing them since their Athens debut at the very first Earthday Everyday in 2022. Since then, their growth has been apparent, to say the least. Working with different collectives like Brainworld, Twisted Lines, System Configuration, Nightshade Family, and so many more throughout Atlanta to share their raw, passionate, and rhythmic sets. They opened up about why live sets are so important to them: "2023 was an extremely rough year for us personally, and there were times that felt like rock bottom, but when we released that pain into the music and dance floor it liberated our souls. we love this, we love music, and any opportunity to play our music is a blessing."
Adjacent to their live music evolution, is their advancement in music production, culminating different necessary skills throughout their musical journey. They've released popular tracks like ALLMYLIFE333, an upbeat sample-filled dance track with satisfying Rihanna vocal chops and classic synthesized bass or HATMANS HOTWIFE, displaying the darker and heavier side of techno taste. When asked what their song-writing process looks like, they replied, "completely random and pretty sporadic," starting with only a general vibe, and slowly tweaking each cut on Ableton until it's finished.
After being booked in Athens a few times, they're ready to release their EP under Nightshade, a local Record Label, whose been releasing music since April of 2021. Nightshade met Fairiez at Earthday Everyday, and quickly booked them to play an event in Athens. Christina, the new Label Head of Nightshade, says that since then, they've "stayed in touch and worked with them in different capacities many times. We love any chance to work together and so when we heard they were ready to start releasing music we were stoked!"
Now, the apex of Nightshade and Fairiez crossover is here, with the hypnotic, experimental, electro-punk & techno EP: ATROPA.
When asked to describe their new EP, Dex and Lana of Fairiez opened up about the meaning behind their release: "The sound of our EP is three different time periods of our lives therefore conveying three different sounds." The first song on the EP is the self-titled track, FAIRIEZ, which was inspired by electro-punk, and was incidentally the first song they sat down to produce together. After sitting in the vault for years, they came back to it with new ears and finished the track, providing their most personal song on the project.
Next on the album, comes FORTUNE, which Fairiez called "our love letter to the deep, hypnotic, and beautiful techno that we have run into as djs over the years. It’s a more simplistic song and reflects the beauty of the genre and music that we have surrounded ourselves with."
The final track on the album is STALK, described as "one of our experiments in Ableton gone right." Conceived almost a year ago, they talk about how they've always wanted to make a metal-techno fusion track. Passionate emotions bleed through the track, and they even hinted to lyrics being added to the track in the future.
I asked each of the members of the duo to describe the EP in just three words, here is what they said:
Lana: "release of energy"
&
Dex: "just the beginning"
Clearly, they've got a lot more in store for us in the future, and I feel lucky to know them at "just the beginning" of their journey. From the beginning of their songwriting journey to now, each member of Fairiez has taken their own meaning behind the progress. For Dex, their favorite part has been evolving on the technical side, learning the intricacies of Ableton and the infinite possibilities of production. For lana, the process has taught them to not give up, to keep on trying, and that failing is not necessarily a bad thing. But the common thread for the duo is the passion and love for the music, and also for a partner they can share this journey with.
More about Nightshade:
"They have believed in us since the literal beginning and we are so happy to work with them!" -Fairiez
Nightshade is rooted in sound system culture, focusing on quality of sound design and paying homage to the history of dance music. Christina and Dado, a husband-wife duo started their journey by focusing mostly on UK style deep dubstep, "with a more minimal and deep sound." Recently, however, they've expanded their sound to encompass multiple genres within EDM, reflected in their collaborations with techno artists like Fairiez.
Nightshade's new label head, Christina, wanted to also make sure you "check out the premiere of track FORTUNE on the Formantika Records SoundCloud! The EP ‘ATROPA’ is now available on the Nightshade Family Bandcamp and [was] released on 3/18."
Stream and order ATROPA now! Support local artists and collectives, and make sure to catch FAIRIEZ next set in Athens THIS FRIDAY 3/22 at Cine!
Article by: Izzy Morrow
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