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Fehrplay Entices Fans With a Beautifully Dark Progressive Set, Talks Anjunabeats Worldwide Tour, His Mood of Mind Label, & More [Exclusive Interview]

September 29, 2017 By Bianca Benjamin

When we think of the talented Norwegian producer, Jonas von der Fehr, better known by his moniker, Fehrplay, the words Progressive Perfection come to mind. As the Anjunabeats Worldwide 07 tour landed in Phoenix recently, Jonas deemed those words to be true, delivering a beautifully dark set for the attendees of Monarch Theatre to enjoy.

Fehrplay took over the decks and enticed fans with a steady build of progressive sounds and winding synths. His music put the crowd in a dream like state, taking us all on a powerful journey of emotions with his new original, “Tannhauser”, his Anjunabeats compilation single “Aria”, and many more inspiring productions.

Prior to the show, we caught up with Jonas to discuss his growing catalog on some of dance music’s most illustrious labels, his brand new imprint Mood of Mind, and everything in between. Check out our exclusive interview below:

RR – How has the Anjuna tour been going so far?

Jonas – It’s been really really good actually. I haven’t been on all the shows, I’ve been doing some solo shows around it as well, but it’s been very surprisingly good everywhere. You know, I’ve been to some new places and sometimes it’s hard to say, like in some of the smaller places, how they’re going to approach what I’m playing, but it’s been so good so far.

RR – Since you’ve been to some new places on this tour, do you have a favorite city/venue you’ve played recently?

Jonas – I’ve actually played this place before, the city of Minneapolis. I played there last year and it was great, but this show was even better. Minneapolis isn’t particularly known to have an amazing club scene, but it was like really fucking good! It had a warehouse feeling, but on the seventh floor with windows. It was awesome! Yeah, that was one of the coolest clubs so far. And the crowd just went off, so that’s obviously a good thing.

RR – How did you get involved with the Anjunabeats Worldwide 07 tour and compilation? Were you invited by Grum?

Jonas – Well basically, I have some ties with Anjunabeats. I signed one record with them…Wow, only one record, that’s kinda crazy to think about. Grum asked me for some music and I had one track that I thought could fit, but you know, Anjunabeats could be more progressive and trancey, so I wasn’t really sure, but Grum does more progressive house so I thought maybe this could work. The whole team liked it so that’s how “Aria” ended up on the compilation.

RR – You’ve released on many labels including Anjunabeats, Armada, mau5trap, and of course your very own, Mood of Mind. How do you go about picking which track gets released on the various labels you work with? Do the tracks differ in sound/genre depending on the label being released on?

Jonas – This is a good question because this is the main reason why I started my own label and I’m sure I’m not the only one who agrees with this. Since the beginning, I’ve been making music with the intention of putting it out on the label, so rather than doing that, I’ve always wanted to have no restrictions. Because I could be making music, but then you know,”it has to have this kind of theme and has to have that kind of mood, to fit into the label. And then, in my opinion, you’re kinda limiting yourself. Even though obviously I am super proud and happy about the tracks I’ve released on all those labels. I think back to when I was younger and producing music just for the fun of it and not having the pressure of A&R’s approving it. The only thing I can say is, I wish I would’ve started my own label earlier. So what I can do now is I can end up with a track, give it to Anjuna, and if they don’t like it, then I release it on my own. I always have that option, you know. So like, if I release a track on mau5trap and I want to release again with them, I’ll try to figure out what made that track work for them and try to make something similar. It’s kinda cool because most of the tracks I’ve released on mau5trap have a theme to them.

RR – If you had to choose one or two words to describe your sound, what word(s) would you choose?

Jonas – One word is really hard. Hmm, emotional. I would say emotional because I think sometimes I go way too emotional and I have to remember that it’s for a club and not for headphones. I’m so inspired by my music for films and that’s like the most emotional music out there, well in my opinion.

RR – Your latest EP was inspired by the movie Blade Runner?

Jonas – Yeah, but that’s not the most emotional film in that sense, but you know I’m a huge fan of a guy called Hans Zimmer. I saw him live and it blew my mind. I almost cried, that’s how good it was. It was amazing and that’s the pinnacle of live performance of that kind of music.

RR – You’ve released three of your own EP’s on Mood of Mind. Any artist(s) that you would love to sign on your label or anyone that you have already signed that you can tell us about?

Jonas – There’s a few, but the thing is, I want to still have a bit more music out there for myself to build the brand a little bit more because the artists I am looking at are quite established already. There is a guy called Raxon, he is really fucking talented. They don’t have to be very famous or big or anything, just catering to the sound that I’m after. There are also two guys called OC & Verde, I think UK based, they make really fresh techno, but with melodic and kind of more of a progressive build, which I think some techno lacks because techno can be very linear, so I love that. They have the drops, they have old school techno vibes, I love that stuff. If they read this, just know I’ll be coming for them. (laughs)

RR – Out of the three EP’s you’ve released, do you have a favorite? Is there a story behind the EP?

Jonas – My favorite is definitely the first one ‘Skarven’ because that was obviously a milestone. It also has one track that is very personal to me, it’s not even a dance track. People come up to me and say that it’s really nice to hear that track and it’s given people the same feeling that I had when I made it, which is great. You know, I do believe that electronic music doesn’t have to necessarily be club music.

RR – What has been the most rewarding and the most challenging aspect of starting up your own label?

Jonas – The most rewarding aspect is kinda freeing yourself from people’s expectations. Not thinking too much about what the label people are going to think about it. And what it does essentially is it makes the product and tracks better, it’s fully not inspired by the wrong things. I don’t know, it’s just people put too much effort into what other people think. The most challenging aspect is promoting because it’s changing so rapidly, like what’s the next step to promote the track. I wish it was simple, that I could just put music out and use my Twitter and social media, but it’s not and it’s very expensive to use promotion. It’s kinda like trying to find the right direction for that EP. You know there’s all these great blogs that you can pay and they can help you, but maybe it’s not the right place. It was also challenging to find the right kind of mood for it and how the visuals would relate to the music.

RR – How did you come up with the name of your label, Mood of Mind?

Jonas – It was essentially a blog that my girlfriend ran and she’s like, “I’m not gonna do it anymore”, and I’ve always loved the name. And I meditate, so for me it was like more than just the mood, it was another way of saying, a deeper way of thinking. Another word for me to transcend in a way. I get a lot of new ideas when I meditate, so I thought it would fit nicely.

RR – You’re about to go on in a few hours, do you have any pre-show rituals?

Jonas – Usually, I drink beer (laughs). I don’t anymore though because I was in the hospital last week. Because I, for some reason, have pancreatitis and they said it could be alcohol induced. I had the levels of a full blown alcoholic and it doesn’t make sense because I don’t drink that much. I drink like a normal guy. So that kinda sucked, you know. It’s a little bit scary, but they said I can go on with the tour, but really need to follow up when I get back. That was about a week ago and I feel good now, but that was one of the most painful things I have ever experienced and I don’t want it to happen again, so I’m staying off the booze.

RR – What do you do to prepare for your live sets?

Jonas – Preparation for the live aspect is in the studio. I’ll make music that I have in mind, so the elements will be laid out, key elements like the bassline, so I can actually play that live. In terms of setting up a playlist, I really don’t do that much anymore. Like tonight, I have no idea what I’m even starting with. I would wish to play as much live stuff as possible, but a lot of it is kinda experimental. If the crowd doesn’t like it then I’ll switch it up. Obviously, I prepare so much for the live stuff that I would love to do more of it live. It’s kind of a hybrid set. I’ll switch it up and play other people’s music. I’m not gonna limit it and people think it’s boring just because I don’t do something live.

RR – Anything else you’d like to share with your fans?

Jonas – In terms of making your own music, don’t box yourself in and listen to what other people think. I wish I knew that earlier. It’s become really a revelation for me in terms of my own label. My mind set has changed. I do get a lot of demos sent and 90% of it either sounds like me or someone else. I just wish I could tell them, just to try and not do that (laughs). I actually read something from Patrice Baumel, who’s a really cool DJ, he said the same thing. When I read it, it was in the back of my mind even more and I just want to convey the message.

RaverRafting would like to thank Jonas for taking the time to chat with us!

Be sure to check out Fehrplay’s latest EP ‘Tannhauser’ and follow his socials below to stay up to date on everything Fehrplay and Mood of Mind.