Flyght Club – Quaalude

By starrymag | March 23, 2022

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

 

Q) How would you describe your sound?

 

A) With my project, my goal is to experiment in as many of the genres, making sure no two songs I release consecutively sound the same. Trying out different moods, vibes and instruments, prioritizing extreme versatility while keeping the vocal melodies catchy and lyrics simple and relatable is what my sound is about.

 

Q) Who are some of your musical influences?

 

A) I’m heavily inspired by the classic rock sound of the 70s, which is what got me into playing and creating music. Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd have been my biggest influences. Tame Impala, Flume and The Weeknd are some modern artists that have helped shape my sound.

 

Q) Talk about the story behind your new song “Quaalude.”

 

A) The main driving factor in creating this song was being forced to stay home (the song was written when the lockdown first started), trapped in my room studio setup with not much to do except jamming out new ideas on my guitar and keyboard. After hours of starting and scrapping ideas, I reached a point of extreme exhaustion and ended up making a mellow, late night vibe instrumental that finally felt worth working upon. I came up with a catchy melody I could use as the hook and started building a song around it. I wanted to write the song about a situation that brought the concept of succumbing to a moment of weakness and cheating on your girlfriend (whom you love very strongly) and feeling extremely guilty about it. That moment of weakness is what I wanted to convey vividly using the melody and the lyrics and wanted the vibe to be super sensual and used the instrumental to compliment that.  So, I started cooking the situation up and creating characters and a story that I could use to write my lyrics about. I came up with a story where a guy is left to himself as his girlfriend goes on a work trip. Seeing this as an off day, he agrees to meet up with his college buddy and go partying. Before hitting the club they decide to take Quaaludes. The guy ends up meeting a girl and going over to her place before blacking out. The guy wakes up the next day with no memory of the previous night and feeling guilty about having cheated on his girlfriend. He finds himself tied to a bed. The girl from the night before turns out to be a Satanist and plans to sacrifice the guy for a ritual. I found this situation so interesting to write about as it also brought in instant karma and crazy repercussions to cheating. I then decided to bring in Brandt (the featured artist) to record his part on the song.

 

Q) What do you think it is about the song that fans connect to?

 

A) The sluggish and laidback sexy vibe of the song and the simple lyrics with catchy melodies.

 

Q) How does the video for the track play into the message behind it?

 

A) I feel the video justified my vision for the song and its story. My friends Michael and Jason (Stumbling Productions) did a great job at translating my story and song into a beautiful visual experience and I feel it accurately portrays what I wanted it to and how I wanted it to.

 

Q) What is your song writing process? Do you need music before you can create lyrics?

 

A) Since I produce my own songs as well as write, record and perform them, each song has its own story of how it was written. Sometimes it’s the music that comes first and sometimes the lyrics or sometimes just a melody. I try to translate how I’m feeling, my surroundings or events and stories into melodies and then make them into songs. However, my favorite process is when I start working on a random idea and the song kinda writes and forms itself.

 

Q) How much of a hand do you have in the production of your music?

 

A) I write, produce, perform, record, mix and master all my songs on my own. I like to see my songs all the way through from being just an idea as a voice memo on my phone to being streamed on Spotify. I feel this is the best way to make sure my vision behind the songs translates accurately and doesn’t get lost in the process at any stage of the creating process. This is also in my opinion as authentic as my music can be for my listeners.

 

Q) Will there be a full album or EP coming in the near future?

 

A) As of now, the frequent single release strategy has been working really well in growing my audience as well as fits in with my constant genre flips and experimentation. So, I plan on sticking to it till I can stick to a vibe or concept and pile a collection of songs that flow well and complement each other together.

 

Q) Where are some of your favorite places to perform and what makes those locations so significant to you?

 

A) My first live gig after a year and a half of being stuck playing online shows due to the pandemic was a blast. Getting to play for a live audience, connecting with a crowd after so long, seeing them respond to all the songs I cooked up during the lockdown was amazing. I had almost forgotten what a great experience playing live was and the audience had missed watching a live act. That combined with having a lot of my talented artist friends perform on the same night as me led to an exchange of incredible energy and was definitely a gig to remember.

 

Q) Who would you most like to collaborate with on a song in the future?

 

A) Ohh! There’s so many. Tame Impala, Flume, The Weeknd, Post Malone and The Red Hot Chili Peppers. The list keeps going on. [laughs]

 

Q) What album/band are you currently listening to and why do you dig them? 

 

A) I’ve been listening to The Weeknd’s new 80s vibe albums a lot and find them really fun to listen to. I’ve also gotten into house music recently and have been vibing to Gorgon City quite a bit.

 

Q) You are a part of social media. Why is that such an important way for you to connect with your fans?

 

A) Besides being able to instantly connect and engage with your existing fan base, it helps reach new people all over the globe and grow your audience without needing a label to back you. With the sudden boom of TikTok, it has become one of the leading factors in putting independent artists in front of a large number of people to capitalize upon. Social media in today’s times has become the make-or-break factor for upcoming artists and the ones at the top already.

 

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?

 

A) I’d like to tell them I appreciate all the support on my content and let them know this is just the beginning. I’ve been working on lots of music that I plan to put out this year and the only way is up from here for all of us.