Interview: Future Someone erects mausoleum of sound

Kyle Walters is a musical maven. He bends sounds to his will, fitting synths into Tetris-like configurations that result in a full-body experience. “I Hope You Find Whatever You Are Looking For” is intimate in its lyrical reach, yet bounds beyond such emotional constraints wrought from heartache to bloom into a marvelous piece of music. Its strewn with low-heated vocals, bubbling and somehow volcanic, and elastic production that squirms under the eyelids. It’s a soundscape made for filling each and every space, expanding and contracting, and the listener’s own breath seems to flow in rhythm.

“I’ve always been a fan of the ‘wall of sound’ aesthetic — not necessarily stadium anthem type songs, but just layers of sounds that make something feel cinematic,” Walters, known onstage as Future Someone, tells B-Sides & Badlands. “It’s always fun being able to listen to a song that can play like your own movie in your mind. When I was building this song up, production-wise, I kept following my ear chasing layers that would compliment the visual that I had in my head.”

He scatters his words, as though whispering into the ear of an unknowable god. It’s hard to let go what I feel when I dream,” he sings. “It’s all that I want / It’s all that I need.” The synths are dreamy, nestled somewhere between the conscious and subconscious and taking on an ever-shifting form. “I don’t wanna break your heart, but you need the truth,” he later admits. “What’s good for me won’t be good for you.”

Two specific break-ups fuel the song’s volatile emotional mix, a vat of sadness filtered through the pandemic’s sticky, amber lens. Despite the relationships having only lasted a few months apiece, and taking place four or five years ago, Walters found himself circling the drain as he rehashed “my past on a constant basis,” he says. “I was writing and jotting notes and ideas down whenever I wasn’t recording.” It wasn’t until two years ago, early spring, that the title came into view as the framework around which he then built the track.

“Both relationships ran a similar course and ended the same way,” he adds. “Only after the second one ended did I realize I needed to focus on myself more before I could entertain another relationship.”

Walters has no plans (yet) of releasing a record, but a slew of tunes are in the pipeline to be released in the coming months. As attested with his latest mood-burning release, you can’t anticipate exactly what he might do next. You just have to enjoy the ride, wherever it may take you.

Below, Walters speaks candidly the song’s production process, change, and cathartic songwriting.

As far as production goes, was the process pretty painless for this song?

It honestly was. The two main elements that helped create the foundation were the bass line and the drum beat. And I knew I had to treat the drums in a specific way so they would compliment the other tracks in the song — cause the synths are pretty dirty, plus there’s some lo-fi stuff going on, as well. So I had to find a balance, but I’m really happy with how they came out. And then for the synths, I just followed my initial gut instinct. What I recorded in the first few weeks remained the same until mixing.

The vocals you hear between the verses and in the bridge were the biggest curse and the biggest blessing. It was what helped finish the arrangement. I would sit down and try to break past the chorus and first verse without any luck. I struck out week after week. And then more than a month later, that vocal melody and harmony came to me, and I couldn’t believe it. I still think it’s one of my favorite things I’ve ever written. It’s so simple but incredibly impactful.

Why is songwriting such a cathartic release for so many songwriters?

Everyone has a different lens for viewing the world, but we all feel the same emotions. So taking my experiences through my personal lens and transforming that into its own world of music and melody is basically giving someone a new opportunity to see something from a different angle or make them feel something in a slightly different way. It’s a therapeutic outlet for the songwriter and for the listener if they choose to accept your message. And that’s the amazing thing with any art medium. You’re giving birth to an idea that can potentially resonate with another human to help them feel seen and show them they’re not alone. Music heals both sides.

With this artistic endeavour, was it tough to put your trust into the creative process?

It was harder finding my own voice than trusting in my creative abilities or process. Coming up with an idea is relatively easy, but choosing an idea that elicits an emotion that you want to repeatedly vibe to is much harder. It needs to feel authentic and not forced. And a lot of the time I would come up with an idea and shelf it because I got bored of it. The creative process is just showing up and doing the work and having faith that a song worthy idea will show up. And, eventually, it will.

What have you learned most so far?

Anytime I start a song and know what the finished product is going to sound like, I’m absolutely completely wrong. It always manages to take a turn at a certain point, often for the better. And the other thing is to always trust your gut instinct. It’s easy to let your brain get in the way when you make art. The best writing sessions are the ones where you meditatively drift into a flow state and you come out of it thinking, ‘How the hell did I write that?’ It’s because the inspiration led you and you stopped overthinking. It’s a lovely way to let four hours go by unnoticed.

To get to this point in your life, what things have you had to leave behind?

I think my closest friends can attest, but any sort of comfort has been sacrificed since the beginning. Any notion of ‘I can’t.’ Negative friends. Negative energy. People, places, and things that prevent growth.

How would you compare yourself now to yourself 5-10 years ago?

I’ve become more self-sufficient over the years. 5+ years ago I was barely able to use a Pro Tools session other than hitting the spacebar to start and stop a song. I had no knowledge of waveforms or how synthesizers worked. [I] wasn’t knowledgeable about hertz or kilohertz other than bass, mids, and treble. I only wrote music on the guitar. I hadn’t taken voice lessons yet. I just didn’t invest in myself. But over the years, I dedicated more time towards studying those things and building up my knowledge so it best serves my songwriting and production style. The more I learned the more confident I became in my songwriting and producing abilities.

And I think writing alone versus in a band helped me hone my instinct and ear because I can honestly take as much time and space as I need to come to a conclusion — whether it’s a good or bad idea. And it might take longer to finish a song, but at least I know I’ll have the ability to chase my vision.

Another thing has been appreciating different artists and genres. I was a bit more closed off a decade ago with what I listened to. And now Fela Kuti, Jorge Ben Jor, and The Intruders have been in my rotation among dozens and dozens of others. It differs vastly from the music I write, and it’s beautiful because there’s always something to be felt and learned.

Do you find the songwriting process makes you think differently in any way, either personally or professionally?

Having written these songs without a common thread to tie them closer together in an album arc, it’s helping me mentally prepare for a possible 2024 album. I don’t think there are rules for albums. I could technically stitch these together and call it a day, but since that wasn’t my intention, I’d really like to curate an album meant for listening from start to finish.

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