Street Fever is one of the most important creators of the year. Their unique musical fusion blends a myriad of genres including techno, industrial, electro, rap, hardcore, EBM, pop and even classical. The artist has just shared their highly anticipated album Absolution, a 15 track musical evolution centering on themes such as recovery, self empowerment, faith and seduction. Highlights include the irresistible single “La Corde”, with its pulsating deep beats, thrashing synths and evocative vocals sung in French. Then there is “Sinner” an experimental thrilling sonic ride featuring heavy electric vibes, throbbing bass and important lyrics all about expression. “Fate” is another standout banger complete with epicly layered electronics and tantalizing melodies. The song is all about embracing our own purest form and finding love not only from ourselves but that beyond us.
Absolution marks a pivotal accomplishment in Street Fever’s musical career. The album tackles relatable yet transformative themes taking the listener deep inside the creator’s mind and vast experiences. We chatted with Street Fever all about their journey as an artist, their new album and their resilient story of recovery.
Can you tell the readers your origin story? When and why did you start making music?
I started making music when I was 17 at my mom’s house on a really old desktop computer with a demo version of FL studio.
I picked up making beats pretty quickly and started hustling beats to some local rappers and just making weird electronic music and cyber grind stuff with friends. I was in a few hardcore bands when I was younger and in 2008 I started making dance music. I met my good friend David Mikkelson (Honey Bones, Shades) and we started a project called Ghost Club in like 2010. We never put anything out but we made over 150 songs together. It was electro trash club banger mayhem. We still make music together and he’s even done some vocal stuff on some of my older stuff. I owe a lot to him, he really helped catapult me into better production and songwriting. I still use a lot of what I’ve learned from him today. I started writing more avant-garde stuff in 2014 and played my first Street Fever show in 2014 and released my first EP in 2015. From there I went on to move to LA and played live for a few years and put out another EP in 2017. After LA I had a few years where I was just gone off drugs and alcohol and Psych meds and barely made it out of that.
You have gone through so many trials and tribulations in your life including being institutionalized, jailed and losing all your possessions. How has music helped you in the recovery process and how do these experiences shape specifically this album’s themes?
For a while I wasn’t sure if my music was helping me at all. All of the pressure I was putting on myself to make everything perfect was a lot to deal with. I have over 500 songs I’ve made since I started this project and it’s extremely difficult for me to find the ones that are attached to me. It’s kind of like panning for gold in a sense and that was always a really grueling process. Like recovery It’s extremely hard for me to let go of certain things and old ways of doing things and it’s been a process to find a balance. Also, the visual aspect of the project was always really intense. I always wanted to push myself and anyone involved to a breaking point in a sense and document it. Anytime we went into a shoot it was always the goal to push the limits and pull something out of whoever was in front of the camera and as a director it’s my job to help guide people through the intense process and also be their cheerleader as well. It was always super fun at the end of the day and usually it was just my really good friends so it was all love at the end of the day. I think each song has an experience that I will hold onto forever. As much as I want to say this album is the reason I wanted to stick around it’s just not true. I feel like once I finally decided to prioritize my recovery and my health and leave everything else behind that’s when the magic really started to happen. I found myself enjoying just being alive and present with myself. Once I had about 6 months clean and sober I started writing again and I started to develop a new meaning for what the project meant to me. At the end of the day having a goal in sight and finishing a 15 track album has been with me for 10 years and I truly feel like having that goal has helped keep me alive but prioritizing myself first is the only reason it’s even finished. It’s a miracle that it is finally here and all of the people that have been with me though this really helped me in more ways than they’ll ever know. This album is merely just a stamp of time for me. The relationships I’ve developed are truly what means the most to me and the connections I’ve built even outside of music are the most important. I have real life angels in my life and that is worth more to me than anything else.
You as Street Fever are not just a songwriter and musician but also a mixed media performance artist. What are some messages you hope your art contributes to your musical releases?
I hope to convey a message of strength and hope. Really, that is all I want to give someone. I’ve done a few endurance pieces and really what I’m trying to show people is the power to push through. I once did a piece where I had alter chips on one side and shots of black paint on the other. Anytime someone would come up and take an alter chip I’d drink a shot of paint and spit it onto the canvas. I did this for 2 1/2 hours without drinking any water. At one point I was convinced this paint was gonna cause me serious damage as I was actually ingesting some of it. But, I was able to calm myself with my breath and push through my own boundaries in the performance. I had never practiced this so it was all new to me and in front of an audience. Of course there is deeper meaning behind the piece for me personally but I like to leave it up to others to attach whatever meaning they want to my art. I as myself outside of the character ingesting paint am also observing this art. In a sense I almost feel taken over by my own creations and I almost feel like I have no choice. I’m just along for the ride, observing what may come and holding on for dear life.
Congratulations on your new album Absolution. Why did you name your full length this and what does Absolution mean to you?
To me, Absolution is a massive release from my old self and an introduction to a new way of living. A big part of this album is about forgiveness, not only from others but from myself. As an addict, life can be extremely intense and we can cause a lot of pain and I have done just that. I’ve hurt a lot of people through all of my dark times and especially myself. Through this time of healing I have been able to forgive myself and also be forgiven from people who mean the most to me. I have always had so much love to give and as much pain as I’ve caused. I’ve also helped a lot of people even during the depths of my addiction. I think now that I have truly come out on the other side, being of service is of my utmost importance and I’ll continue to put that at the forefront of everything I do. I truly believe I have love on my side and I will continue to help others outside of music and continue to push myself in a positive direction. I get to be the light I always wanted to see in my life and for that I’m truly blessed.
Do you have a favorite song on the album and is there one in particular that highlights the album’s overall narrative the most?
I really resonate with “Sinner” . I think it really just encapsulates the way I truly feel. I have felt pushed around by society and the system as a whole and the places I’ve been and the things I’ve seen are things I’ll never forget. Sinner is merely a representation of the things I was feeling inside and the things being projected into my reality as grim as they were things I needed to be thrown into. I needed to see what was inside of the fire and I did. Sinner is my personal protest and I was lucky enough to bring that song into the real world and document the chaos as best as we could.
You blend aspects of techno, industrial, electro, rap, hardcore and EBM to bring such a hard hitting and intoxicating listen. How did your unique sound come to life?
I love all sorts of music and pulling sounds from different genres has always been such a challenge that has always pushed me to new places. I do believe my life experiences help influence my sound but aside from all this chaos in my life I’m just a massive fan of music and sound design and making music is truly something I just love with my whole soul. Especially now I’ve never listened to so much music in my life and I can’t wait to make more.
You currently reside in Boise Idaho. Can you tell us more about what the art and music scene is like there? Also how has this place shaped your own music?
Boise is a special place, it’s full of life and love. It’s definitely been a place where I have been able to find myself as a person and creative. It’s a very healing place and the art and music scene as safe and vanilla as it can be is truly something special to me. Everyone is really supportive and very open minded generally. My friends and I host all sorts of wild shows and art performances and they have been really well received. I think Boise is growing really fast and it’s honestly really exciting to be at the forefront of electronic music and contemporary art and what’s to come in that realm. There is a lot of up and coming talent in Boise and it’s always a pleasure to find more like minded people and younger kids experimenting and holding space for that is something my brand OIL has been able to help facilitate. I’m very excited for what’s to come.
Your performances are known for being captivating in every way. What do you enjoy about performing live and what do you hope your audience takes away after each performance?
I really just try to do something new for every performance. I like to plan about 75% of what’s going on and leave the rest to fate. By the end I usually end up with some art to add to my collection and for me, I like to make my art on stage and show it in galleries later. It’s where I feel the most alive and when I can create while I perform it makes me feel like I’m most in my spirit and it feels the most honest. I hope people can understand that there are no rules to performing and I hope to inspire other artists to just have fun with it and bend the rules a bit and push themselves to go even further than they had planned. I feel like the audience is the most important part of the show so when I leave the stage with ripped up canvases and art work it helps me feel connected with the audience even after the show is over because I feel them inside of the pieces as well.
Finally, what is next for Street Fever?
I will be touring the album for the next year, heading to Europe in the fall for a few months and will be doing a lot of other art performances as well. I’m currently working on a full length film as well so expect that in the near future. I’ll also continue to make clothes and jewelry and expand my knowledge of design and fashion and I hope to lean into more of that as well. I have another finished album I made with an amazing artist that will be out later this year god willing. I’ll be releasing a lot of one off creations as well and just continuing to create what comes to mind! This whole album is really personal so I’m excited to move past it and just have some fun creating with people I find fascinating and also with my best friends. There is a lot more coming so stick around 🖤
Connect with Street Fever: INSTAGRAM