Tourist Interview - Instincts Are Really Important
We caught up with renown UK producer, Tourist following the release of his third studio album, Wild. We previously interviewed Tourist for his Everyday LP, and we’ve continued our album deep dive with Wild.
Futuremag Music: Hey Tourist, how’re you going? How’s life over in England at the moment?
Tourist: Hey I’m good, yeah it’s a beautiful day over in London. I went for a run and I’m now having breakfast. It’s pretty rockstar!
Futuremag Music: How does it feel to have Wild, your third album out in the world?
Tourist: Ahhh it feels good! The lesson I learned from my previous album, Everyday, is that you don’t need to overthink things too much. I feel instincts are really important, also I’ve felt very creative this year. All I wanted to do after I finished my old record was write another one, so it feels good. I didn’t think I could get it done, but it seems I did and it’s out for people to enjoy.
Futuremag Music: You have such a diverse sonic from pop to electronica. How does Wild fit into your sonic journey?
Tourist: All my music is related because it’s coming from me. I guess the sound can be different in a sense, but the vibe and atmosphere all comes from the same place. If I only did one style or sound that would just bore me. I feel the least inspired when I’m the most restricted, that why you see variants of sounds in what I do. Wild is sort of the middle ground between Everyday and U in a sense. Everyday was a bit more mellow where as U was more dance focused. I’m trying to sell them well in a journalistic point of view but I don’t really know. Each record means something to me and something to people who listen to them.
Futuremag Music: Talking about records could you please outline the process of structuring Wild’s track list and how did you pick what would be in the release?
Tourist: I think of a lot of it is informed by the music. I’ll write a bit of music to fit into the album but it might not fit next to a certain track, so I’ll have to fill in those gaps. It happens as it happens, it blooms into its own way. I’ll write something banging then I’ll have a plan to shift the mood to somewhere else. It organically turns into its own thing. Most of the stuff I write ends up as part of the record. There’s no ordering, it’s more of a journey.
Futuremag Music: You said you jumped straight into Wild after releasing Everyday, are you working on the next body of work?
Tourist: Always man, if I’m not writing music, I’m going nuts… I rather not go nuts.
Futuremag Music: To wrap it up, if Wild was a cocktail, what would be in it to best describe the record?
Tourist: I’m pretty sure it would be a Campari soda. Visually it looks very similar to the art. Sonically I didn’t want the record to be too sweet so there are areas of intensity.
Tourist by David Ellis