Following the release of their brand new album “Icarus”, our team had the opportunity to share a short conversation with the band to find out more about their journey music. Here are a few excerpts from the interview:
We are happy to have you today. Tell us about your 2021 so far! What have you guys been up to?
Back playing live shows promoting the release of our latest album Icarus as of right now. Things have been good, the crowds are getting bigger and the songs are doing well. I’ve also been doing a lot of writing in preparation for a third and forth album along with a piano EP I’ve been wanting to put out for a couple years now. I’m always writing, so there’s a good chance if you ask me what’s next for the band I’ll be plugging some form of new music. A lot of the shows I play end up being testing grounds for new songs being written so you never really know what you’re going to get with a Fixed fate setlist.
Can you share more with our readers about your latest release “Icarus”? What inspired the album?
The theme of the record follows the Greek tragedy of the flight of Icarus. The lyrics on the record sing mostly about conflict in twos. So while the opening songs on the record follow conflict amongst two adversaries, the middle part speaks to conflict in love and then the closing songs cover conflict within oneself. The energy of the tracks also follows a flight pattern similar to the story so the album opens heavy to represent the beginning of the flight and continuously gets softer as Icarus swoops downwards towards the water. The album ends by progressively getting heavier again as Icarus flies up in a panic towards the sun until ultimately ending with the chaos of Pennies, the closing track. Most of my songs in some form are me singing about experiences I’ve been through so it was fun to use my personal style of writing and fuse it with a little bit of metaphor to something familiar in the culture. There’s a lot of that in the lyrics, going back and rereading them that’s one of the things I’m very proud of with these songs; the lyrics are deeply personal with a lot of little easter eggs in the words that point toward the aforementioned theme.
How did the band first get started?
When I started calling what I do a band. I’m half kidding. I am the primary creative force in the band as well as the primary instrumentalist so the music really is just an extension of me. Back in high school I had a drummer and rhythm guitarist in the band, but once we graduated we went separate ways as they didn’t want to be in the group anymore. Outside of having a rhythm section the band today is essentially the same as it was when we started and just goes wherever I bring my guitar and voice.
How did you all decide on the band name Fixed fate?
Well, it all started one day when I had an epiphany in the desert. I walked for three days in the Sahara with no food or water until I came upon an oasis. I was thrilled, saved even. I ran to the water to quench my insatiable thirst, but just as I leaned down, a coconut fell on my head and nearly killed me. Another three days passed before I awoke. When I finally came to, a camel named Chrysanthemum was licking my forehead and speaking in tongues. At first I was afraid, but something deep within me reassured me Chrysanthemum would do me no harm. The strangest part was I could understand everything she was saying. After a heated debate about the merits of 1 vs 2 hump camels finally subsided, she gave me directions back into town as well as supplied me with three bags of beef jerky and a concubine to escort me there. Wow. I thought. Fixed fate would be a great name for a band. And the rest is history.
How would you describe your sound to someone who just listened to your music for the first time?
Wide ranging. I usually just call it “Rock” for the fact that it’s all just guitar driven music. Sometimes that can be chords on an acoustic guitar with a soft melody over the top and other times it might be something fast and heavy on an electric guitar with a more aggressive approach to the vocals layered on. I just try to write stuff I like and that typically sounds like classic rock with a darker edge. There’s definitely an experimental side to our sound too. If you listen closely to the songs on Icarus you’ll find that there’s a ton of layered guitars and vocal harmonies across the music and in the background, I often included noises and sounds that I felt fit the music. The intro to The Tar Pit alone has a beer can opening, a plane flying over the studio, ankles cracking, a Theremin making demonic sounds…there’s just a lot going on in these songs, but every sound on this new record was intentional.
How has these past few months of quarantine affected you all creatively?
I’m always writing. The world around me doesn’t change that.
What advice do you have for anyone interested in starting their own band?
Be careful how you define success. If you don’t think about what goals you want to accomplish in your career you’ll spend your whole life chasing an invisible end without finding satisfaction in the progress you make along the way. Also, write for yourself. Don’t put a song out there you don’t like just because you think it might be a hit. Times change, taste fades and all that remains is good music.
Biggest lesson learned in your career so far?
Practice. Just because you’re good doesn’t mean you can just be on cruise control with the talent you’re trying to promote. Work at it everyday and be better than everyone else at it because that’s the reason people are coming to see you. They want to hear songs that were uniquely crafted and instrumentals that are played tight and well.
How do you get pumped up before a big event?
I usually try to steal at least one guys girlfriend right before the show starts to make sure there’s sufficient drama and adrenaline around getting up in front of the crowd and yelling into a microphone about broken hearts. Besides that it’s the usual party backstage; a nice reading circle and a spirited discussion on the merits of capitalism typically gives me just enough pep to go out there and deliver the goods.
Thank you for speaking with us! For our final question, is there anything else you would like to add?
Hi Mom! I guess I’d say you can find us on all major streaming platforms and keep an eye out for new music, it’s always in the works! Thanks for bringing me on I love talking about myself and acting like I have answers to things.
Katika wimbo wao mpya wenye mchangamsho “Play Your Clarinet!”, Into the Blood wanaunganisha midundo ya kielektroniki inayoshika kwa urahisi na mgeuko wa kusisimua: solo la klaneti lenye mionjo ya jazz kutoka kwa Peter Fuglsang. Uchezaji wake unaongeza mguso wa uchezaji wa moja kwa moja unaokamilisha msingi wa kidijitali wa wimbo huu, na kuunda tukio la kipekee kabisa la kusikiliza.
Wimbo huu utazinduliwa kimataifa tarehe 22 Novemba katika lugha 11 tofauti—ikiwemo Kiswahili, Kifaransa, Kiingereza na Kichina n.k.—pamoja na toleo lisilo na sauti za kuimba.
Jiunge nasi katika safari ya kimataifa Acha “Play Your Clarinet!” ikupeleke kuvuka mipaka, sauti na tamaduni. Wimbo mmoja. Lugha kumi na moja. Utasikika kwenye majukwaa yote makubwa ya kusikiliza muziki mtandaoni, na video za maneno ya wimbo zitapatikana kwenye YouTube. Jifunge mkanda na ufurahie safari!
Kuhusu Into the Blood Duo la Into the Blood—Jens Brygmann (sauti za kuimba na ngoma za kidijitali) na Carsten Bo Andersen (kinanda na sintesa)—imekuwa ikifanya kazi tangu mwaka 2016. Muziki wao umekuwa ukipigwa kwenye vituo mbalimbali vya redio duniani, vikiwemo vya Uingereza, Australia na Ufaransa.
Toleo la asili la “Play Your Clarinet!” pia linapatikana kwenye rekodi ya vinili ya inchi 12 kama sehemu ya mradi wao mkubwa wa Destination 11, unaojumuisha video ya muziki ya dakika 11. Video hiyo imewahi kuonyeshwa katika matamasha mbalimbali ya kimataifa ya filamu fupi, na hadi sasa tayari imeshinda tuzo mbili nchini India, kufikia hatua ya fainali kwenye East Village New York Film Festival na Las Vegas International Film & Screenwriting Festival, nusu fainali kwenye Seattle Film Festival na robo fainali kwenye Synergy Film Festival huko Los Angeles.
Mradi wa Destination 11 umefadhiliwa na White City Consulting na Custom Coaching.
Montreal-based pop sensation and LGBTQ activist Van Hechter is back with “Boy Problems,” a stunning new single. The track merges his signature upbeat charm with rare emotional depth. Hechter, known for hits like “Disco Brother,” “Hot Damn,” and “Love Elastic,” reveals a new side to his magnetic electro-pop personality, offering a message that is both radiant and raw.
At 4 minutes and 24 seconds, “BoyProblems” is a bilingual (French & English) eruption of glitter, melancholy, and empowerment. It’s built on irresistible synths, glossy production, and pulsing basslines. The song invites listeners into a world where heartbreak beats in rhythm with liberation. The melodies feel euphoric on the surface, yet are stained with a haunting vulnerability, proving that dancing and deep feeling can exist together.
At its core, the song is a manifesto about refusing to settle for half-love. Van delivers lyrics that make you sway, smile, and suddenly pause; the truth stings. If love isn’t loud, real, and fully given, he’d rather walk away. It’s a reminder wrapped in rhythm: loving yourself means refusing the small version of what you deserve.
Filled with Hechter’s signature humor, glamour, and optimism, “Boy Problems” is a club anthem and a soul-stirrer all at once. The bilingual lyrics expand its emotional reach. The track feels at home anywhere, from Parisian dance floors and New York rooftops to headphones on a bus or speakers at Pride.
This is a jam that makes you feel like you’re flying, free from pretense. It’s definitively dance-pop and unmistakably Van Hechter, though the smile has a real heartbeat underneath. Listeners will hear that signature flair; he’s still cheeky, stylish, and unapologetically queer. His artistry is simply sharpened with new emotional honesty. This is a growth moment, delivered with a wink and a synth hook.
“Boy Problems” is a significant step beyond a simple catchy single. It’s a toast to self-worth. A glittering rebellion against lukewarm love. A reminder that the dance floor can be a place to heal. This sonic centerpiece belongs on your playlist, and on your friends’ too.
Sometimes a song shows up like that friend who kicks open the door without knocking, grinning and saying, “get your shoes, we’re leaving.” “Tule Tule,” the new single from South Sudanese artist TR Craze featuring Jamaican-UK rapper Caine Marko, moves exactly like that. The track is bold and charged, carrying the weight of lived experience while stomping over a dark, menacing drill beat that feels built for the streets as much as the club.
TR Craze’s backstory reads like a movie script Hollywood studios would fight over. He was born in South Sudan, shaped by the trauma of civil war, and pushed into the harsh realities of refugee life. He literally survived the treacherous routes through Libya and across the Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe. This man distills survival into rhythm. On “Tule Tule,” you can feel that heart, that urgency, and that fire in his delivery, channelled into a raw, assertive drill performance that cuts through even if you don’t understand a single word of the opening verse. At its core, “Tule Tule” is a raw, assertive drill track that isn’t afraid to bare its teeth.
The word “Tule” comes from Nuer. It refers to youth games and the electric thrill of chasing something, whether that’s victory, joy, or destiny. TR Craze uses that spirit like a drumbeat beneath his voice. The choruses hit with a communal, call-and-response warmth but here that playfulness is flipped into a gritty, chant-like hook – “Tule Tule” – that feels like the rallying cry of a crew on the move. Even without translating the lyrics, the tone tells you everything. This is about motion, pursuit, celebration, and refusing to stay stuck in the past, all wrapped in an unapologetic, high-adrenaline atmosphere. Lyrically, the track leans into street life, dominance and crew loyalty, matching the tension in the beat.
Behind them, producer Kyxxx builds a dark, tense soundscape, stitching drill drums with Brazilian bounce and Bhangra-flavoured rhythmic elements that keep the track constantly on edge. The result is a gritty, energetic and unapologetic atmosphere that pulls you straight into their world.
Then Caine Marko slides in for the second verse, and the whole energy pivots into a sharp, swagger-heavy bounce. His flow is clean but gritty, confident and confrontational, shifting between braggadocio and sly charm.
“She knows I’m a wolf and I run the pack,” he starts, classic alpha talk, but delivered with a laid-back grin. “She come first like running track,” he continues, flipping between affection and athletic metaphors like a man who’s too used to moving fast.
Then he opens up the verse more: “Doing dirt and getting with a bitty, I only pretty… then back to the city. Got me some liquor then it got me some weed.” It’s lifestyle rap, but the reckless, unapologetic kind. It’s the messy, outside-at-night, live-in-the-moment vibe that balances TR Craze’s more grounded narrative. When he ends with “you going to hang with the gang,” the energy snaps into a group-hyped finale, a reminder that music like this isn’t meant to be consumed alone, underlining the crew-first loyalty at the heart of the record.
“Tule Tule” works because it blends worlds without softening its raw, street-hardened edge. It merges East African emotion, Caribbean-UK swagger, drill and hip-hop grit, Brazilian and Bhangra textures in Kyxxx’s production, diaspora storytelling, and a spirit of joy that refuses to be dimmed by pain.
Let “Tule Tule” run while you’re walking, cooking, texting, or plotting big dreams – or getting ready to step out with your crew.