Andrei Broce is a young artist who creates music under the stage name Fiend. Unsurprisingly, he was raised to the sounds of hip-hop, prog, instrumental, jazz, and metal. Through his upbringing of being exposed to a variety of genres, Fiend. continues to envision sounds that fuse multiple genres. As seen in his new release “Berserk,” he is best known for his “psychedelic, genre-bending riffs.” Fiend. is – simply put – a musical fiend! He mixes aspects of pop, disco, jazz, soul, metal, and funk into one big, sizzling pot of musical mastery.
His new release “Berserk” is a completely instrumental gem for music lovers. Fiend. blatantly ignores the lines defined by various genres and aims to create his sound – regardless of what anyone might think. “Berserk” has an alluring beginning that consists of advanced acoustic trills and riffs. Once listeners are comfortable, Fiend. immediately shakes things up with a metal-style electric guitar. He peppers in heavy metal cords to give us a taste, then transitions back into the soulful, rock and roll acoustic. It eventually builds into a rock and rolls electric guitar melody that continues to build. Surprisingly, he incorporates auto-tuned voices in an EDM style at the peak of the chorus – only to revert to the electric guitar melody. If Fiend. does one thing – it keeps his audiences on their toes!
Listen to “Berserk” here.
Welcome to BuzzMusic Fiend! Your natural instrumental talents are evident in your single “Berserk.” Can you tell us more about your creative process for this song?
Funny thing is that, while I was watching the Berserk: Golden Age Arc on Netflix, the creative spark just popped off and I based it all on Berserk itself. It started off with the acoustic guitar intro that I composed a long time ago and it fit the vibe Berserk was all about: melancholy. From there on, I basically went back and forth on writing different parts ‘till I stuck with the riffs Berserk has now. I also listened to a lot of K-pop and J-rock, hahaha. That really sped up the process quite a lot. The song was supposed to be really heavy but I took a step back quite a bit ‘cause I’m not all about that.
You grew up listening to a multitude of different genres. Can you tell us how this has impacted your music style?
Having a plethora of music genres under your belt can be pretty useful, especially when you run out of ideas. It impacted my music style greatly ‘cause I don’t listen to a song for its lyrics anymore, but the instrumentation. The instrumentation is what drives the entire song forward and listening to a lot of genres introduces you to new concepts, new melodies, and new feelings to invoke.
You are motivated by many artists including Tim Henson, Ichika Nito, Mario Camarena and Adam Dabs. Can you elaborate on how these musicians have inspired your work?
Oh yeah, I listened to a lot of prog-rock when I was in middle school and it introduced me to a whole world of guitar-driven instrumentals. Their work influenced and pushed me to become a better guitar player and I really love that they can create well-driven songs, invoking strong feelings without the use of words. That whole concept pushed me a lot farther down the instrumental path in my music today.
Your main instrumental focus for “Berserk” is the guitar. What made you choose this instrument to highlight throughout your career? How have you learned to incorporate the guitar across a variety of genres?
I have always loved, and will always love guitar music. My mom introduced me to John Mayer when I was young and how he articulated the guitar was amazing and seeing that most of my family were musically-inclined and mostly singers, I decided to choose guitar as my focus, and there were no regrets at all. I guess incorporating the guitar across the genres was naturally learned. My family, and there is no exaggeration on this, has their own musical tastes, and it varies wildly. I was the only proficient guitarist in the family that I was sometimes forced to play songs that varied from smooth jazz to punk, to k-pop, to heavy metal, and, since I was a bit of a people-pleaser, I learned the songs they ask. That really helped a lot.
What can we expect to see from you throughout 2020?
I am currently finishing up an EP that Berserk would be in, and I’m collaborating with other producers. Aside from that, I also share new stuff and covers on my Instagram!