An Updated Interview with Fae King, July 2025
How do you feel your sound has changed since we last talked? What new ways of working/outlooks/inspirations have you gained that influence your music?
Fae King’s sound has changed a lot since our last interview, as I believe at that time I was still using an iPad and a modeling amp to write demos for SoundCloud! Over the time I’ve collected more gear and now have a DIY studio of sorts which has shaped Fae King’s sound quite a bit. For At The End Of Time, I wanted a crisp, razor sharp sound that felt tight and in your face. That EP basically reflected a transitional time where I was learning how to use my DAW, learning the ins and outs of production, mixing and mastering. I have a distinct sound in mind, and as I become more skilled in what I do, I get closer to that sound.
You also play guitar in the Rat Utopia Experiment!! How does your work with a group influence your solo work with Fae King? How do you separate yourself between the two projects? (do you see them as two fully separate entities, or do your ideas tend to overlap between the two?)
There are a lot of ideas I don’t get to fit into TRUE, especially when they lean into my metallic roots. That’s okay, that just means they’re Fae King material!
I like to think of the two projects purely because of the differences in genre and musicality. Fae King is me, it’s a pure expression of whatever is on my mind at the time of writing.
Tell me about the process behind At The End of Time! What were some general goals/messages you wanted to portray through it? What does it mean to you? How did the EP go from ideas to a finished piece?
The creation of At The End of Time featured a lot of firsts so naturally the EP is a reflection of that. A lot of the ideas that went into the album were already preconceived, such as the instrumental “Winterhall Suite” which I wrote when I was around 17 or 18 or the name of the EP, which comes from another song I wrote around the same time. The idea for an introductory track like “The Folly of Man” has also been something I wanted to do. Same with a few of the riffs. The process for creating the EP was like patchwork, some songs were already written, some just had framework and needed to be filled in, others just came to me as I was writing. Eventually I decided on which combination of what songs should go together, trying to pick a range of songs which all sounded similar enough but also different in their atmosphere and message, for the most part. I needed the release to have several different themes to complement my many influences that inspire me to write for Fae King. Two songs feature themes of frustration with powerful people controlling and using those around them, two adventurous instrumentals, and a fantasy themed song about a nation of people too prideful to look inwards and see their own faults, instead lashing out at others who see them as they are. Overall, I hope that people see the themes of this EP as both a warning of danger but also as a message of optimism, that there is happiness and strength to be found even if you must bear the horror and darkness.
What's been your favorite moment/biggest achievement as a musician so far?
If you could, what would you say to yourself when you started out as a musician? What piece of advice do you wish you knew back then?
I would tell them to write as much and as often as possible, and not to rush greatness. Those two bits of advice have saved me untold amounts of stress, and helped me realize that every mistake is just another step to the goalpost.
What is your current big goal? What does the future hold/what are you working towards right now?
Right now my energy and time is split between writing and playing, and scheming with TRUE and the same goes for Fae King. For all the wild children out there, lots of new Fae King material is on its way, and it’s sounding better than ever. Meanwhile, the summer and fall are booked full of events featuring TRUE! Times are exciting indeed.
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