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Sunday, October 9, 2011

HIGHLIGHTED ARTIST: fthrsn

fthrsn (Macklin "Mackie" Underdown) is a musician/producer out of Ann Arbor, MI where he currently studies performing art technology at the University of Michigan. His pop/indie sound is so distinct it is difficult to compare him to any other artist.

fthrsn released his EP "Hysteria" this past Wednesday, October 5th












Have a listen:

hysteria by fthrsn

Download a free copy of Hysteria here.


Get to know fthrsn:

Q: how did you get into music?
i started playing bass and guitar at age 12. it was a natural thing
for me, something i would be practicing constantly. i remember sitting in my room learning how to play an entire album on one instrument by ear; it really helped train my ear, which is one of my most valuable
traits musically. my brother-in-law showed me pro tools and reason at
15, and since then i’ve been doing computer music production. it’s
crazy to listen to old songs i made in reason and see where i’m at
today... it’s a humbling, funny experience, and i’m so glad my hard
work has paid off in its way.

Q: You have an artistic background; how did that influence your creativity?
tying into my musical background, my mom is an artist and art
professor, so i grew up seeing her process and all of her artwork on
every wall in my house
. it’s great having her to talk to about art,
the artistic process, the challenges of making art as opposed to
making a living, etc. because she has been experiencing that since she
was younger than i am. this has really helped me get a better grasp of
what art is in general, and this certainly applies to my approach to
making music.

Q: how you describe your genre/style of your music?
i’ve never been good at describing my sound in a genre sense, but my
friend cory (kohwi) probably gave me the best term for the fthrsn
sound: lofi crooning
, namely in response to “nothing’s the matter”. i
combine a lot of influences (motown, 50s/60s pop, phil spector, dale
earnhardt jr. jr., all of my musical peers here in ann arbor, and
more) into my sound, and i feel this project is the result of that.
Q: why "fthrsn"?
tom "the makeout king" auty and i were at a party discussing the internet music culture we're involved with. i was talking about my frustrations with new music i was hearing and some other stuff and decided i would change my online identity based on the first thing i saw in the living room of this house. boom: the words father son on a poster. being like every other band, i dropped all the vowels and made it one word. it was intended to be sarcastic, but now i'm just a sarcastic asshole wannabe

Q: what do you want fans to get out of your music?
i just want people to hear the tunes and hope that they’ll get stuck
in their heads.
i love catchy pop tunes, so this is my way of adding
to that very broad area of music.

Q: what you get out of your music?
making music is a way for me to explore, create, and just do something
that i love.
the great thing about having a moniker like fthrsn is
that i can be someone i’m not, even though fthrsn is very much who i
am, you know?

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