Q&A: This is Late Escape
“My songs are written from the heart, so for someone's mood to be changed or to be able to recognize and feel what I’m expressing is an honor.” - Late Escape
It was a pleasure to interview Late Escape and to learn more about his beginnings, his musical journey, and what’s next. I especially loved learning about the technical aspects of his creative process. Below is our interview. Be sure to check out the playlist at the end and support his future musical projects!
Tell me about the beginning of your music career. How did you get started?
My grandmother always had an old piano and an electric organ at her house that I would “play” when I was very young. It was more like mashing keys to make noise, but she always tolerated it and encouraged me to play them the right way with respect. When I was 9 years old, I started taking piano lessons and continued with music all the way through high school. In 2019, I started learning FL Studio to broaden my songwriting.
What inspires your music?
Most of my music inspiration comes from when I sit down and start creating different sounds. Once I hear something that resonates with me, I start building from there. I also try to channel my mood or what I’m experiencing in my life into the songs I write.
What is the feeling you want the listener to get when they listen to your music?
I don’t think I’m aiming for any one emotion, because the same song could make someone relate differently. They could feel happy or sad or optimistic or anything. My songs are written from the heart, so for someone's mood to be changed or to be able to recognize and feel what I’m expressing is an honor.
A song of yours that I love is "Doubles". Can you talk to me about the making of it?
Doubles was a lot of fun to write and it’s meant to capture what it might feel like to be dizzy. I started this song by writing the bassline first, which for me sometimes makes writing chords a bit easier. Then, I tried to imitate the uneasiness of seeing “double” with the edginess and stereo effects of the bass, some of the buildups between song sections and the constant “and” beat hits of certain sounds. I like to think the higher pitched pads at the end of the song are meant to resemble a bit of lightheadedness too!
What is your favorite song from your discography and why?
That’s really a tough question because I love all my songs. I’m really proud of “Cross” and listen to it a lot though. I like this song in particular because of the overall ambience of the track. It reminds me of a rainy spring morning. I’m fond of the dissonance and think it blends into the song well. The bassline is also quite hypnotic!
If you could trade places with anyone in the world for a day, who would it be?
I feel like the cliché answer would be a billionaire, but if I had to answer, I’m not sure who I would choose. Maybe someone who makes music, maybe not. I think it would be more fun to trade places with someone at random from a different country and culture. Even then, I would expect that you could learn a lot from someone who was “average” just by seeing how differently they live their life.
What do you think separates this genre of music from others? Why do you think it is so popular?
In my opinion this genre defines “chill”. The sound is so carefree. Slow, steady, relaxed beats melding with interesting chords is a recipe to create music that is easily loved.
What is your next project?
The past few months I’ve been trying to release songs that vastly differ from the last. Since I’ve been having a lot of fun releasing singles every other week, I see myself continuing that for a while. I’ve also got a few ideas for albums I would eventually like to tackle, so I hope you’ll stick around to hear :)