Indie electronic producer Henri unveils his third and final single, “talk,” an emotional exploration of connection and vulnerability. The song delves into the struggle of reaching out to someone who’s built emotional barriers, with the protagonist refusing to give up in the pursuit of love. Henri’s personal journey of self-discovery inspired “talk,” providing a powerful reminder that love is worth the risks.
Leaving behind a life driven by societal expectations, Henri retreated to a family cabin, finding solace in nature and introspection. Embracing his imperfections and emotions, he crafted a unique sound by sampling and reimagining his past music. The upcoming interview will reveal more about Henri’s transformative experiences and the deeper meaning behind his work.
Check out our insightful interview delving into the creative mind behind the music, and prepare to embark on a journey of self-acceptance and love with Henri.
Listen to “talk” on Headroom Records Here
Can you describe your journey as an indie electronic producer and how it led to the creation of your first EP?
I’ve been making music for 20+ years in all kinds of different genres but indie and electronic music have always been the closest to my heart. I’ve always tried to combine those different worlds together in a way that feels unique and not too much one or the other genre. When I started to develop the sound for this project and this EP I started playing around with a lot of sped up emotional gospel samples, violin samples and piano chords that felt like something very touching to me in that moment.
I started putting them into a house-y context with 4/4 beats and that’s how basically the core sound of this EP started to take shape. It feels like it is the opening chapter in this world that I’m starting to create and it feels like it captures a lot of the emotions I wanna deliver with my music.
In what ways do you think your time in the family cabin helped shape your creative process for “talk” and your upcoming EP?
It helped me to reset and start from scratch musically. I feel like it fully cleansed my creative palette. During the time at the cabin it was slowly becoming easier and easier for me to see what I really wanted to deliver with my music.
Which kind of emotions and which type of sounds sonically I felt a connection to. After that it was pretty easy to start narrowing down the different shapes and forms I wanted to use to create this world for the EP. Organic, uplifting and bittersweet dance music that takes you to a place where you can heal. “talk” was actually the first idea I properly started on this EP. It started around this voice note which I ended up sampling and really laid the groundwork for the sonic palette of the EP.
How has your perspective on success and happiness evolved since leaving your previous life behind?
I think its mainly helped me realise how really it’s the small things that matter and make me happy. I don’t have to always try to aim for big things like trying to be the absolute best at something to amount to something good. As long as I’m making something I really love I feel content and calm.
That really makes me happy. The artistic satisfaction you can have in creating is so much more fulfilling than anything other. The drug of creating something you’re super excited about just doesn’t amount to anything else and everything that happens in a song’s life after that moment is always kinda secondary.
Even though of course I would love to reach as many people with my music as possible but still at the same time, whomever I reach is enough. I’m happy if some people feel like this music gives them comfort and solace.
How do you plan to maintain a balance between your artistic vision and the pressures of the music industry moving forward?
It is always an ongoing process to stay present and keep listening to intuition. It’s easy to lose the momentum and connection within if you start to listen to other people too much and I try to stay really sensitive to that. I try to remember to step outside of a situation every now and then and just stop for a second to think if I’m really doing this thing from a genuine place. I am very passionate and ambitious but I don’t wanna sacrifice my artistry for a shortcut or anything like that.
This project is who I am and I wanna pour all of my life and emotional scope and spectrum to it. I wanna build a world that I feel proud of and not give in too much to outside pressures or opinions.
In the future, do you plan on exploring similar themes in your music, or do you have other topics you’d like to delve into?
I wanna keep writing songs that can soothe you and give comfort. I wanna deliver those emotions in my music that make people feel and that can help them process their emotions and hardships. The kinda songs you wanna put on in your headphones when you’re walking home in the middle of the night processing life or when you’re just chilling at home or dancing cathartically in the club.
The topic range I like to think to be as wide as possible but definitely a recurring theme will be confronting your own fears and trying to grow as a person and get to know yourself more over time. Just processing life basically and giving hope and comfort to whoever is listening.
Can you give us any hints about what to expect from your EP and any plans for promoting it after its release?
The whole EP is its own microcosmos of this sad, hopeful and cathartic process of finding your way after being lost. Sonically its really coherent and I’m really happy how even at under 20 minutes the whole EP puts you into a place that is its own as a listener. You can kinda check in and let it flow over you and just let ur thoughts and emotions run free. I’ve always loved albums and full worlds where its not just a random collection of songs but a coherent thing that becomes more than the sum of the actual number of songs.
After the release of the EP I will hopefully start touring asap and also just keep building the world around it. I wanna keep releasing music frequently and remixing dope songs that all build onto each other slowly over time.
Will Vance is a professional music producer who has been involved in the industry for the better part of a decade and has been the managing editor at Magnetic Magazine since mid-2022. In that time period, he has published thousands of articles on music production, industry think pieces and educational articles about the music industry. Over the last decade as a professional music producer, Will Vance has also ran multiple successful and highly respected record labels in the industry, including Where The Heart Is Records as well as having launched a new label with a focus on community through Magnetic Magazine. When not running these labels or producing his own music, Vance is likely writing for other top industry sites like Waves or the Hyperbits Masterclass or working on his upcoming book on mindfulness in music production. On the rare chance he's not thinking about music production, he's probably running a game of Dungeons and Dragons with his friends which he has been the dungeon master for for many years.
