Felly Shares New Single 'me and my gang'
Felly is back to his independence with a self-written, played and produced album Bad Radio, out December 9th.
By: Michael Major Dec. 01, 2022
LA based artist/producer Felly is a multifaceted musician, having worked with the likes of Carlos Santana on his song "Heartstrings," as well as having participated in works with Ari Lennox, Monte Booker, Oliver Malcolm, Fousheé, Jack Harlow, Kota The Friend, and more. He's focused on creating timeless music, finding inspiration in the likes of Bob Marley, Rage Against the Machine, Rick Rubin, Bon Iver, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
With his recent departure from 300 Entertainment, Felly is back to his independence with a self-written, played and produced album Bad Radio, out December 9th. Ahead of the album's release, Felly shares the single "me and my gang."
"me and my gang" sees Felly incorporating a hip-hop beat to an otherwise acoustic arrangement, pulling in elements of what he's been known for thus far. As the song's title suggests, "me and my gang" is a full-on romp and carries a quiet, frenetic energy built to get the night going. "I was spending a lot of time with my old friend Dwayne and he has an energy that is pure and positive," Felly says about the genesis of the track. "We spent weeks in LA going out to eat, spending money, laughing, talking about ideas. We wrote this song when we came home one night. The song almost has a country vibe to it. It just made us laugh. Anything that makes you laugh, as my brother Sol says, "is good."
Felly shares about the "me and my gang" music video: "The video was shot in Oklahoma with a small crew over two days. We took some inspiration from Bruce Springsteen's 'I'm on Fire" and the days were spent in muddy ponds catching fish at 6am, at oil rigs by lunch, and rodeos by nightfall. An honest day's work for an honest video with a few friends - you don't need much more."
For Felly, every new album is a chance to hit the reset button, and Bad Radio is no exception. Where his previous album Young Fel 2 chronicled Felly's growing curiosity about spirituality and his journey getting signed, Bad Radio is a return to the essentials and showcases a different side to the artist who has made a name for himself in the hip-hop space.
"I wanted to move away from the more 'banger' type records that everyone usually gasses me up on," Felly shares. "I wanted to make something that sounds like what I listen to." Bad Radio is a 'coming home' of sorts, with Felly reconnecting with his childhood love of the outdoors and organic instrumentation.
"This album is a journey of a man leaving the comfort of a relationship and going out on his own into solitude - into the cold of the world," Felly shares. "It also has all had winter themes behind it. Each song is winter in the sense that it's a dying of some sort. I grew up in Connecticut and the winters played a big role in who I am and what I like."
Created with the help of friend/executive producer Danny Shyman (Duckwrth, BabyJake), Bad Radio opens with "The Intro." The sound of a car turning over and idle chatter while a finger flicks across the radio dial before finding the right station creates a visceral experience. Felly has listeners firmly in the passenger seat, ready for the road ahead. Let the Bad Radio journey begin.
The album track title "Bad Radio" is a proper opener to the album, punctuated by alt-rock guitars and earnest pop vocals about stepping into solitude. It's a song about grieving a love lost and the grim realization that we all come into this world alone and leave alone.
More About Felly
Through his siblings and step-family growing up in Connecticut, Felly discovered a wide range of artists like Rage Against the Machine, Modest Mouse, The Beatles Jay-Z and Lil Wayne.. At age 13, Felly began making soulful beats on a MPC500 (with legends like Sam Cooke, Betty LaVette and Barbra Streisand as sample references), inspired by newfound creativity after his dad's passing at 8 years old.
Around this time, he launched a YouTube channel that began building his dedicated following. Felly continued his musical discovery by moving to Los Angeles (where he still resides) to study music at the University of Southern California. There, he formed the collective called 2273 Records with friends Gyyps and Jake Standley, the name inspired by the dorm room where they all collaborated on music.
The trio quickly formed an organic bond and still work together to this day. Following a series of mixtapes and EPs (his first project being 2014's Waking up to Sirens), Felly released his debut album Surf Trap in 2018 with Sony Records.
As Felly's star status continues to soar, he hopes to inspire others to awaken their inner passions. And his reach goes far beyond the California coastline: Felly has over a million monthly listeners, over 300 million streams across platforms, has had multiple US sold-out tours, and received critical praise from Billboard, GRAMMY.com, XXL, Hypebeast, and more.
"Music is my attempt at talking with God. I'm working with sounds to tap into that channel where creation comes from and to strip away everything but what is pure," he explains. "No matter how big or small someone is - you can be a janitor or the richest guy in the world - if you're truly tuned in to what your personal work is, you're serving your purpose."
Watch the new music video here:
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