“In the end, we are all seeking happiness and love, and this is the message we’re trying to spread with our music.” We definitely did not expect this answer when we set out for our latest interview but we certainly do not complain. So in case you are looking for ‘just another’ interview, prepare yourself for something else. Prepare yourself for something special.
But, let’s go back to the base here for a second.
We had the wonderful honor to talk to French producers & DJ duo extraordinaire Faul & Wad this week and, as you might have expected, asked them a bunch of the questions that swirl around in our heads.
Faul & Wad, also known as Maxime Ledu and Camil Meyer, are most prominently known for their big smash hit “Changes” which saw the light of day back in 2013. The track shot right into everyone’s hearts which was no surprise, to be quite honest, since it is the perfect combination of warm, feel-good sounds. About one million sold copies, a collaboration with Robin Schulz, and performances on high-profile stages such as TomorrorWorld and the Nature One later, Faul & Wad have cemented their status as one of the most intriguing artists out there.
Lucky for all of us, the duo has- five years after first hitting it big- not averted their eyes from their original style. While the tropical deep-house elements have had to slightly make way for more electronic features, the guys stuck to their roots by keeping their latest releases as upbeat as humanly possible. Sunshine in a musical bottle, as we would like to call it.
The best part about all of it? Last Friday, Faul & Wad released another banger. Arriving via Spinnin’ Records and featuring Vertue, the track is titled “Tokyo” and sees the duo doing some wishful thinking about a desired adventure in Tokyo. “We always dreamed about going to Tokyo and we actually haven’t had the chance to go there yet”, explained the duo in our interview. “So we imagined ourselves arriving in the middle of the night in this very active city.” Fun, catchy, and filled with pitched vocals a la Galantis, “Toyko” sees Faul & Wad venture into new musical territory, grounded in their own personality. It is simply good pop.
Find out more about the inspiration behind their latest track and their hopes and dreams for the future by reading the interview down below. We even got the chance to talk about their background, about how much changed since “Changes” and how the guys first met (hint: it was not in Tokyo, obviously). So it is quite the enjoyable ride.
Listen to the new track right here and don’t forget to read the interview right after:
Hey guys! Lovely to meet you! How does it feel to have just released “Tokyo”?
Bonjour ! It’s a pleasure to meet you! It feels so good. When you release a new song, it’s kinda like Christmas, the same feeling as a kid waiting to open his first gifts in the morning. On the
day before the release, we get the same mix of emotions, a bit of stress because we
want to make our fans happy with this new song and it gives us a lot of happiness to
share new music with people and watching the response after several months of work.
‘Tokyo’ is so fun and positive! What was the inspiration behind the track?
This is what we wanted to express and share with this new track; fun & positive
feelings and energy. We always dreamed about going to Tokyo and we actually haven’t had the chance to go there yet. We wanted to offer our own representation of perpetual motions of people and all the lights that are in the city. We imagined ourselves arriving in the middle of the night in this very active city feeling a little bit lost in Tokyo, wishing that someone would “take our hands in
Tokyo” and guide us through this city.
Why did you feel like Tokyo would be the appropriate backdrop for your song?
It’s always been a childhood dream to visit Tokyo city and I’ve never had the chance
to go there. We can imagine those nights with all the lights & thousands of people walking in
the streets which must be very aesthetic, and we think that the melody & rhythm in the song
express a bit of this continuous movement and flow that must be in the city.
How did the collaboration with Vertue come together? And why did you choose Vertue?
Vertue is a great producer from the UK, we produced the track with him because he’s
a very talented composer & co-writer. We thought that his skills mixed with our production
skills would lead to a good end product, and we hope it did.
Would you like to collaborate with more artists in the future? If yes: with which?
Of course, we have dream collabs, producing a track for Anne Marie, Shy Martin or
Halsey would be crazy!
Your songs generally tend to be sunshine blended into music. Why did you decide to go down that road? And who are your main musical inspirations?
As we produce music in a dark studio, we’re seeking lights and sunshine [laughs] The truth is that we produce music to share the emotion we have in that moment. Our last songs ‘Wild Love’ & ‘TOKYO’ have this sunshine feeling, those summer vibes because we just produced these 2 songs at a great period in our lives. But we have further tracks within different genres and styles that we would like to release as well.
Talking about our inspiration: it comes from everything really, music that we heard on the radio, at a
party, at a friend’s place. However, we also listen to a lot a pop music. We really enjoy artists
like Clean Bandit, Calvin Harris, Jonas Blue, Sigala and many more!
You already played huge stages like TomorrowWorld and NatureOne. What is still on your bucket list (except for Tokyo)?
Yes, we’ve also played at other great festivals such as Solidays in Paris, Pukkelpop in Belgium, Nature One in Germany, and others. We do have a bucket list: we would love to perform in Coachella, Tomorrowland, Burning Man, EDC Festival and Ultra Festival as well. At the end it’s the best feeling to play in front of a big crowd at a festival, no matter which one it is, wherever it is, how big it is, each time it has its unique feeling and mood that you share with the people. Or maybe you can recommend one you have in mind?
Many of our readers know your songs but they may not know a lot about your beginnings. Could you tell us a bit about how you guys first met?
We have been best friends for 14 years I think. We met at school where we were in
the same class but we didn’t produce music back when we met in the first place, we just played a lot
of video games.
How did you guys first get into music?
I, FAUL (or Maxime in real life) played piano during my childhood because my parents
thought it was important to learn an instrument for my future, and they were right. Then WAD (Camil) introduced me to Ableton Live and we started to play with this software first. He also used to play violin from a young age.
What was the inspiration behind your DJ names?
FAUL is a German word that means lazy and that was something pretty obvious in
my personality, my brother thought it was the perfect alias for myself. WAD is a homage to
his mother’s name WAD AD. So it is now FAUL & WAD. You know, when you’re 16 years old you pick the first names that come to mind but we didn’t think we’d make a career with
these names!
“Changes” was your big breakthrough hit, it charted in multiple countries and was even used in a Mercedes commercial. How has your life changed since then?
‘Changes’ was a big turning point for us. We started to talk about music as a career from that point, plus it opened a lot of doors for collaborations and remix opportunities. As a result, we had the chance to remix artists such as Lykke Li and ended up being brand ambassador for Mercedes, as you mentioned. We toured all around the world, met incredible people and our lives have just generally changed so much because of the song. We still remain the same boys that starting producing music in our bedroom though.
If you had to pick one: What would be your favorite moment of 2018 so far?
It would have to be our last 2 releases, ‘Wild Love’ & ‘TOKYO’, it is such a great
feeling to release new music you’ve been working on for few months and getting to finally
share it with people.
What are you most looking forward to in 2019?
We have a couple of new songs that will come in 2019, working in a slightly new
genre for us, and regarding shows we have some great surprises for you.
Which advice would you like to give our readers on their ways?
Always believe in what you’re doing. If you’re having pleasure in what you’re doing
that is the most important thing. In the end, we are all seeking happiness and love,
and this is the message we’re trying to spread with our music and while producing it.
Thank you so much for the interview.
“Tokyo” is now available on all digital retailers and streaming platforms. Be sure to check it out and follow Faul & Wad on Facebook and Instagram.
How do you feel about the new single? Tell us by tweeting us @CelebMix.
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