FIIZ
The first time I heard FIIZ new single “Lungs”, I got immediately mesmerized by the production. It’s a mix of electronic, pop and UK garage all at once, and it is absolutely phenomenal. On top of that, the duo came up with memorable melodies and lyrics.
“Lungs” is one of the best songs I’ve heard lately. It’s captivating and explosive, and it is out now !
Photo credit: Lara Tedesco
Introducing the duo - what's your story?
We went to college together for musical theatre but really didn’t cross paths until Junior year. Fiona's roommate had to leave school due to a medical emergency and that brought us into the same orbit (Thanks Billy!). We instantly connected and spent that year writing plays and tv shows together. Then came quarantine. Our senior year, we were sent home. Live theatre became completely obsolete and we went through some significant family trauma together. Between the political climate and the global pandemic, we spent our days listening to music and then eventually making music. It all almost started out as a throwaway; “we have a great artist name between the two of us, Fi for Fiona and Iz for Isabelle, FIIZ.” Plus, we were drinking a lot of prosecco at the time so the name just made sense.
"Lungs" is your latest single - what's the inspiration behind this song?
(Fiona) Well, as a class A simp, I started writing “Lungs” during a first date and I finished by the third. My big plan was to finish this song and use it to ask this girl to be my girlfriend. That’s why the opening alludes to this “Will you be mine?” motif. But she ended things with me soon after and I decided to finish the song anyway… for catharsis? I was pretty devastated, but I sent it to Iz for feedback and she was like, “What are you doing? Let’s get this girl's name out of the song and release it”- Fi
Could you describe the songwriting/production for this song? Who helped you create it?
(Isabelle) When Fiona sent me the first demo, it was a heavily R&B-inspired song produced by her brother (Noah). I thought it had so much potential for FIIZ but wanted to be delicate about how personal this gift was. To be completely candid, I knew this girl wasn’t going to last and because I’m obviously protective of Fiona and slightly petty, I couldn’t wait to rewrite it, turn it into a banger, and release it. Months later when we chose to work with our producer, Sietse Fase, we completely gutted the song. We ended up only keeping verse one and a new chorus and then went more in the UK garage-style production.
What did you feel when writing this song?
(Fiona) That crazy feeling when you’re crushing on someone so hard but it’s still so early. Am I falling in love? Is that possible? When you’re coming out and dating women later in life all of these feelings come on so strongly, like you’re having teenage love as an adult. There was an immediate physical attraction that just exploded out of nowhere. I was like ‘This is it. This is what I’ve been missing.’ It felt like I would do anything to keep that feeling alive for as long as possible.
(Isabelle) It felt exciting. Getting to see this kernel of a sexual awakening translated so quickly into a demo. This was also at a time when we were teaching ourselves how to produce so it was a big step towards creative agency. I wanted it to sound as big as it felt, so I was really focused on making the chorus a classic One Direction “Gotta Be You” moment. It felt like we were reclaiming this song for Fiona and really using our collective experience during a whirlwind crush she was going through.
What made you want to release "Lungs" as a single?
Even early on in the process of writing our EP we suspected “Lungs” was going to be a single. It’s written in a more traditional format when compared to most of the other songs and it's been getting stuck in our heads from day 1.
What can you tell us about the artwork?
(Fiona)We wanted to create art that emphasized the breath that “Lungs” is centered around and we wanted our looks to create the idea that we’re at a party but really we’re alone. We thought it would be better to play with multimedia and photoshop an image of lungs to match the smoke. We always come to a shoot with months of vision boarding and there’s a lot of negotiating the vision and what’s possible with the logistics of two bodies who happen to have a 1ft height difference.
(Isabelle)Our photographer and friend Lara was able to get lighting right so real smoke would show up on camera. I love how I’m sort of this siren entity and you can’t even really see my body. We’re just growing out of each other. We wanted to play off the larger theme of substances and ‘what's your poison’? “Lungs” is essentially a love addiction, and we wanted that to feel cinematic.
How's it like to be in a duo? How do you complete each other?
(Isabelle) It's incredibly rewarding and incredibly hard. Being creative with Fiona is literally one of my favorite things. We share not only similar interests, but very niche interests. Once we were out of college and our quarantine era, there was a really big leap of faith and commitment to FIIZ that we didn’t have to face before. Like many, we lost comforts and convenience, and had to step up into the responsibility of adult life. We’re also juggling life individually and together so it's important to check in on a personal level and an artistic one. We always give space for each other's ideas and genuinely have so much care for what we want to say and how we want to say it.
(Fiona) It’s just a constant flow of ideas. After one of us finishes a verse, it inspires the other to write a melody for the chorus. We’re constantly making lists of all the ideas that we come up with together while we’re out, or in our apartment, or traveling. It also just adds this extra fun element to the creative process. I’m not just writing a song, I’m creating an alternate reality with my best friend and we get to make all the rules.
What advice would you give to anyone who'd like to form a duo?
(Fiona) Most importantly, pick the right person. Make sure it’s someone you feel comfortable sharing any part of your brain with. Any bad idea, or embarrassing thought, someone who gets how you think and create and wants to work in a similar way and at the same pace. For us, we both knew we wanted to go full steam ahead into FIIZ. But we also decided from day 1 our friendship would always come first. So we still have to put aside intentional time where we just hang out, no business. And that keeps the spark of the whole project alive.
(Isabelle) There has to be a reason why you’re doing this with someone and not alone. I think a huge reason why this was the easynchoice for us was it's never been about our individual egos. We genuinely have so much fun together. I think it's important to work with someone who wants to discover life the same way you want to. Of course we’re all individuals but sometimes you want someone to challenge you, someone you trust, someone you feel rounds you out. We’re honest with each other about what we think our strengths and weaknesses are.
As artists, what is the hardest part? And what is the best part?
The hardest part is supporting ourselves and our music simultaneously. It’s the classic starving artist trope. It’s really expensive to produce music, and it takes a lot of time to make enough money to do so. It's ironic how much society relies on entertainment but the arts are notoriously underfunded. I mean look at the writers strike happening now. Most artists pay a lot with their time, energy, and money to do what they love and want to do. The best part is performing live, and being able to live fully in what you’ve made and share it with people who want to experience it. It's such a privilege to make music, especially when you are doing it all yourself. We’re both rooted in live performing, having done musical theatre and plays for most of our life so being able to sing our own work live is a huge goal with this upcoming release. It's empowering and liberating to be making our own art especially when you’re doing a lot of unlearning and reframing.
Who's helping you build your career/artistry?
Well it's helpful to have each other as muses, due to the fact that most of our art is autobiographical. We’d be remiss to not shout out two people who have been instrumental to our support system. When I approached our friend Kyle Viti about making FIIZ he was instantly like “Yes let's make it happen”. He’s doing some incredible digital marketing work for Atlantic Records and has been helping us navigate the admin/business side that we’ve been learning as we go. Also have to shout out Conner Wynn, another best friend from college who is a rising fashion designer, stylist and artist. He's the first person to try and make our visions come true.
What are your thoughts on today's music industry? If you could change one thing, what would it be?
There’s something really thrilling about how fast-paced the music industry is now but that doesn’t necessarily mean it's accessible. We’re always consuming and it can be so fun to get to explore so many genres and sounds but that comes with a really quick turnover. In this age of streaming, album culture is not as prevalent anymore, which is sad. You have to have certain stats and optics to put out a successful album with all the music videos, visuals, lyric video etc. Of course, it can be done DIY but it is harder with electronic music to get the quality without support (and working multiple day jobs to make the money for it). When we first started we were told you have to stay in the singles market as much as possible to keep up and make sure your release isn't falling on deaf ears. There is truth in that but with social media, we also felt it was compromising our creative capacity and our growth. We always write and brainstorm in albums, so we’re excited to get to that point someday. With everything online, it's harder to be holistic in your approach to projects and discography. It's a learning curve for us in this industry and we’re just trying to find our own way.
As artists, what are your thoughts on social media?
It’s definitely a double-edged sword. On one hand, it provides accessibility which is a great resource of course but at what cost? I think it will all continue to become more clear to us over the years. But as for right now, we’re all about using social media as a resource with boundaries. Let’s use Tik Tok to promote our music, but let’s not lose ourselves in the sauce, always trying to capture a moment instead of enjoying it.
Could you list a few records that influenced the music you are making today?
Tove Lo “Dirt Femme”, WET TENNIS Sofi Tukker, ENDORPHINS EvanGiia, IN A DREAM Troye Sivan, Charli XCX, Caroline Polachek, MEMBA, Flume, and honestly a lot of movie soundtracks (anything Hans Zimmer, Joel J. Richard, Howard Shore)
What's the best advice you've ever been given?
(Fiona) Musically, EVAN GIIA gave us the advice when we first started- find a producer you love and stick with them. After we took our hiatus from the city to write our new EP, we wanted to take the time to find a producer who could really take us a step forward into the world of EDM but keep our narrative storytelling alive in that space. We started looking at producers in Northwestern Europe because we love the sound there. That’s how we found Sietse Fase, and we worked together on this whole project. And of course, there are already lots of plans for the future.
(Isabelle) It's trial and error over and over again, my mom always told me, “Make rejection your best friend” and that's always shaped my confidence.
What biggest life lessons have you learned so far?
(Fiona)You can’t rush the process. You have to strap in for the long haul and learn as much as you can along the way. That way you’re ready when it happens.
(Isabelle)Everyone has their own definition of success. I think if you’re doing what you love or even trying to do what you love, you’re successful. You get to choose the people who are in your life. I think a huge thing for us in this career pivot was learning that some people only support you when you’re the version of you they want you to be. Do what you want to do because effort is never in vain.
What message do you want to give to the LGBTQIA+ community?
(Fiona) Don’t be afraid to take up space with your creative touch, your voice, or just in general.
(Isabelle) Continue to phase out the binaries, I think right now we’re at an interesting impasse of labels rapidly coming in and out of fashion and everyone seeking representation. Just existing is power and we can continue to harness that. Also, stream FIIZ.
In your opinion, what would make the world a better place?
If people started caring about the earth and the environment. Really listening and allowing people to live authentically without immediately weaponizing gender identity, sexual identity, race identity, etc. The culture around overcorrecting is really something we’ve seen absolutely change people in these past couple of years. There's so much more nuance in the gray of life and we’re more interested in the humanity of that. Get off your phone and be present with what's happening in front of you.
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