Fell Reis is the enigmatic DJ and producer currently forging a niche in the hyper-competitive world of electronic music. Fell has dedicated his life to music and art rather than the pursuit of fame and fortune. In a scene where longevity is rare, Fell continues to push boundaries with his musical output ensuring he remains relevant while maintaining the ability to push electronic music toward new frontiers.
Now, ‘33 Years Later’ is the first release on Fell Reis’ new HUE rec. The track features Belgian singer D.Nada and soundtracked the global music campaign of Ushuaia’s Palmarama last summer.
EG caught up with Fell Reis to learn more about the drop of ’33 Years Later’, his HUE label, his ties to the creative industry, views on the current state of the scene, and more.
EG: Hi Fell! Welcome to EG. It’s a pleasure to have you here with us. Where are you based right now? How have you been?
Fell Reis: Hello EG, it is a pleasure to be talking to you guys. Everything is great, a lot of things happening here in Ibiza where I’m based, and also globally. Couldn’t be more exciting times for me and my career!
EG: Congratulations on your new collaborative single, ’33 Years Later’! What has the initial reception been like?
Fell Reis: Thank you! Its been a long run with this release, the first big adoption was being the official soundtrack for Ushuaia Ibiza last year, and since then, we started to deliver the track to some artists that have been playing a lot around the globe as, Mano Le Tough, Acid Arab and Marco Faraone to name a few.
EG: So, what can your fans expect to find on ‘33 Years Later’? Is there an inspirational trigger here?
Fell Reis: This track is very special for many reasons. It’s my first release after those weird times and marks a new beginning in my career. The story behind this track resumes a bit of what’s happening in the world at the moment and I wanted to leave my vision from this moment in our society. And to celebrate that, I’m launching my label HUE with a focus to release Visual/Music artists.
EG: What was the process of collaborating with D.Nada on this one like? How did you guys meet?
Fell Reis: D. Nada is a good friend of mine, a super-talented guitarist and singer. We have been constantly talking about the world we’re living in and how we could do more for our community and help the next generations. Then I started to work on this track and wrote the lyrics, sent him the first track and he hit me back straight away with amazing guitar arrangements and vocals. It was so spot on!
“The music industry is a big business and has a lot of leads. If you have access to more of those leads, of course, you get more information, knowledge, and contacts”
EG: By the way, you’re also one of the founders and Creative Director at NYX Agency, which is behind six of Ibiza’s biggest residencies at five of the island’s most iconic venues including Hï & Ushuaia, DC-10 & Amnesia. What does the job entail? Have you always worked with a focus on music?
Fell Reis: I always had graphic design as a parallel job to support my career. When I met Tom Leek, my business partner, the conversations always ended up with how we could put our vision and ideas into the music industry. Then, the idea of the agency came naturally because of our different skills. It is really fulfilling to bring ideas to other artists and help them achieve their objectives because it gives me a lot of insights for my own career.
EG: Does your job benefit you as an artist? What concepts have you taken and applied to your own as an artist? Where would you say newcomers should focus on, aside from the music?
Fell Reis: At the beginning, I was a bit concerned about that, but then I realized how everything is connected and how inspiring that is for my career. The music industry is a big business and has a lot of leads. If you have access to more of those leads, of course, you get more information, knowledge, and contacts. Creative direction & graphic design are standard parallel jobs in our industry, many big artists like Ben Klock, James Zabiela & others used to be graphic designers before they focused only on music. Today’s market doesn’t live only with music, the visual side of it plays a big role and that’s where I’m focusing.
EG: How do you keep entertained when not in the studio? Have you come across any good movies, books, or albums lately?
Fell Reis: I have to say that I’m a big nerd. If I’m not in the studio I’m watching tutorials or reading books or watching documentaries related to music or human evolution.
One book I would like to recommend to all music producers and graphic designers is ‘Quadrivium’. This book shows you how everything is connected between numbers, music, and art. The book changed my perspective and unlocked many areas of my creativity.
My favorite album over the last few months comes from Mano Le Tough, ‘Versions from Aera’, such good music in there. And keep your eyes on a guy called Sahar, he has an album coming up that is amazing!
EG: What does a regular Monday in the life of Fell Reis look like? And a Friday?
Fell Reis: Monday is chaos between meetings in the agency and hangovers! Friday is another chaos between airports and gigs, haha!
“One book I would like to recommend to all music producers and graphic designers is ‘Quadrivium’. This book shows you how everything is connected between numbers, music, and art. The book changed my perspective and unlocked many areas of my creativity”
EG: By the way, what are your thoughts on the current state of the scene? What would you like to see more and less of?
Fell Reis: I think we’re still recovering from those last 2 years. But the web3 revolution will change a lot in how we experience music and art in general. I’m working on many different projects in the Web3 space, from NFTs to royalties and infrastructure. What is about to happen will completely change our industry.
EG: What’s next for Fell Reis? What particular milestones are you looking forwards to now?
Fell Reis: Definitely finish my album! I’ve been working on it since 2020 and it is almost there. It is my first album and I can’t wait to give birth to this baby.
EG: Thank you so much for your time, Fell! We wish you all the best for the future.
Fell Reis: Thank you guys and it was a real pleasure!
Fell Reis’ ’33 Years Later’ is out now via HUE. Purchase your copy here.
Follow Fell Reis: Facebook | Soundcloud | Instagram | Spotify
