As a producer, Daniel Fox has lent his musical ear to artists ranging from IAN SWEET to Benny Blanco—and, as it turns out, as a musician in his own right, his sonic palette is just about as broad as the gulf between those two artists. “Listen Up,” the first single from his forthcoming EP Stella by Stella Borsella, could more easily be likened to Alex G or the Orchid Tapes roster more broadly, only instead of singing a softly nostalgic ode to his dog here the song instead erupts into a transfixing blend of shouts and swelling instrumentation to match.
“‘Listen Up’ was the first time I ever tried screaming or extending my voice in a song,” the songwriter shares. “It’s hard for me to let myself get to a point where I’m so upset that I’m shouting, so I didn’t know if I could or not. The song goes through the process of seeing something, being affected by it, and learning from it. I’m always trying to learn something when I write, record, or produce a song.”
Along with the new single, Fox is also sharing a remix by fellow producer Andrew Sarlo, whose work includes recent albums from Big Thief, King Princess, and Oberhofer. His reworking of “Listen Up” spaces things out a bit, providing more ambient sonic textures and an emphasis on the high-pitched voice distortion heard near the end of the track. “This remix was made by a friend who I met while working with another band,” Fox adds. “The stuff I learned in those sessions actually has informed a lot of the production work I’ve done since, which, beyond making music, is mostly being a good person and a good hang.”
Hear both versions below, and pre-order the EP here.
