SOLOMON FOX INTERVIEW: North Carolina-native Solomon Fox is a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose left-of-centre recordings combine funk-influenced grooves, lush vocal harmonies, and off-kilter lyrics. As a producer, he has earned two Grammy nominations and one Oscar nomination for Best Original Song for the Gospel-infused anthem ‘Stand Up’ for the film Harriet. With over 250 million streams to his name, some of his production credits include Smino’s ‘Mike Jones’ and ‘Year of the Goat’ which he produced alongside Thundercat and Groove, Emeline’s RIAA Certified Gold hit ‘cinderella’s dead’ which he co-wrote and produced. Get familiar…
What five words define your sound?
Warm, buttery, eclectic, soulful, off-kilter.
Tell me something unique about your creative process.
I like to write my songs backwards, starting at the end where I wanna end up and working my way to the front.
Which song of yours would you like people to hear first?
I think they should start with my new single ‘Reconcile’.
What inspired you to make that song?
It was inspired by my past relationship and this realisation after months of back and forth that we were never going to reconcile with each other and it was really truly over.
What’s the most vulnerable you’ve allowed yourself to be when writing/making music?
I think my upcoming album ‘Sweettooth’ is the most vulnerable I’ve been to this point. I’m digging into my personal life and trying to be as honest as possible, even about the parts that aren’t easily explained.
What’s the best/worst experience you’ve had on stage?
Oh man, the best was probably playing at a festival I put together with my friends last year in Virginia. Such a good energy and crowd and surrounded by people I love. One of the worst was when I got booked for a show in the campus bar at Harvard and there was also another event going on in the bar at the same time with their own competing music. I tried to turn the other crowd to my side and it backfired horribly.
What is your favourite song to perform?
My favorite song to perform is my song ‘Unusual’, it just feels really good live.
Which artist/song/album made you want to make music?
There are a lot but I’d say Radiohead inspired me to write my own songs / build out musical worlds.
What’s the meaning behind your name?
My mother gave it to me.
If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing instead?
I think I’d be a writer of some kind, or possibly working as a salesman of rare objects.
What’s success to you?
Success is happiness: not overthinking your next move and following your intuition with the security that you will be fine.
What moment in your life/career forced you to change direction?
I think leaving college and having to get a day job and really support myself pushed me to kind of take music more seriously and commit to it on a deeper level.
Where can people keep in touch with you?
People can find me on Instagram or TikTok @solomonthefox or sign up for my newsletter at solomonthefox.com
Photos by Demarquis McDaniels
