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Interview: Skeleten
- olivemccagh
- 4 days ago
- 11 min read
Interviewed by Olive McCagh
"I think the tackling of those ideas is not what I do as some kind of social commentary or some project where I'm intending to use my voice to converse about these ideas. It's more about how in the world we live in, things are crazy and it’s on my mind all the time. And this is me processing stuff." RUSSEL FITZGIBBON
Russel Fitzgibbon a.k.a Skeleten, is an artist whose work comes naturally and instinctively. His music focuses on the present, ‘Mentalized’, and his most recent EP ‘Facility Extras’, which includes the leftover tracks from his album, are relatable records to anyone living throughout the 21st century, where the world is digitised and confusing. He prioritises honesty with himself and his audience, ensuring he perfectly encapsulates each moment through repetitive and pensive writing. He carefully constructed these tracks in a two-story studio/semi-illegal home near Sydney’s airport. Between late-night private sessions and jams with friends, he found the perfect balance to curate an album that reflected his interaction with the world. Russel sat comfortably as we analysed and poked our fingers into his process, showcasing his thoughtful artistry and the importance of person-to-person connection.
I read that your music-making process is slow and meditative and built on repetitive playing. So I was really curious about the timeline of creating ‘Mentalized’ and ‘Facility Extras’, and how much time it actually took?
Yeah, that's a good question. I'm actually in the thick of trying to finish another album right now, and it's taking longer than ever before, but in a nice way. I think my process is very, as you said, meditative and slow because it's trying to let it just exist until it feels right. I never try and push for something that I think should be there. I always try and discover what it should be, so it's pretty open-ended. It can sometimes take longer than you thought, and it can sometimes be a lot quicker than you thought. Some songs I'll live with a song for a year, and then some songs will be done within a few days. ‘Mentalized’ was one of the quicker projects I've done, I think, because it was all in this one space, which was actually the studio that I had for a couple of years, which we called The Facility. Because it was all in that one space, it felt like I could really get into that headspace a lot easier. It was easier to identify when things are right. The ‘Facility Extra’ stuff was just kind of everything that didn't feel quite right to go with the rest of them. It was nice to let those songs have a place to live, because it was not like I didn't like them. It was just that they didn't quite fit.
That's awesome. I can imagine it would have been a really enjoyable process. And that's why you tend to take your time with it.
Absolutely. Yeah. If I'm not enjoying it's never good. I have to be really enjoying myself; it's like flow state kind of stuff. If you're not enjoying your time doing it, then you're doing work, and anyone could do that.
I feel like the space of electronic music doesn't really have any bounds. And you were talking about, you know, figuring out when a song was right and when it was finished. How do you recognise when a song is finished and when to walk away, not push it further?
I think it's that moment where it feels crystallised. As soon as you're trying to invent things and you're thinking, “maybe it should have this extra bit, or it should be faster, or it should have a shorter intro, or it should you know, anything?” It feels like you're trying to impose some arbitrary bounds on the thing instead of just understanding and being intuitive, feeling the energy of it.
I don't really struggle too much with understanding when a song is finished because I sometimes go the other way, and I'm like, “this song's finished”, and it's definitely not. It’s because I’m like, “Oh, I understand in my brain what this song is about, what it represents, what's the space of it, what's the point of it”. Once I understand what the point of the song is, I'm like, “Well, that's done”. Sometimes I have to force myself to actually go back and polish it and make it actually ready for other people to hear. But that's more of the final shining on it as opposed to any kind of songwriting stuff. I think it's when I understand the point of a song, then I'm like, “Well, that's cool. I get it now.”
I wanted to ask about working at The Facility and if there were any memorable or favourite moments from making the record there?
Yeah, so many, to be honest. It was this beautiful old office building down near the airport in Sydney. I just somehow, over a couple of years, got to use the entire top floor of it, and I was living there as well, semi-illegally. It meant I would be in the studio room all night some nights, and it was very free-form. As soon as I felt it, I could do it. There were lots of late nights, and getting up on the roof of the building and looking over the airport was really lovely. Also, we had this beautiful, big live space setup in there. Most of the Skeleten stuff is very solo – just me spending hours late at night getting meditative. But I think the other side of that coin is just doing the complete opposite, which is just jamming with friends and pressing record and seeing what comes out. To be able to do both of those in the one space was so special, and some of the ideas definitely started from those kinds of sessions. Yeah, I miss it every day, to be honest.
You wear so many hats under ‘Skeleten’, because you're writing, producing and playing on your songs. What is your favourite part of the process or favourite role to play?
Oh, that's a good question. I mean, it's funny because for me it's very much all one thing, like the writing, the producing, the recording, it’s like a feedback loop in itself. I've never thought, “Oh, I'm going to sit down and write these songs, that I'm going to produce these songs, I'm going to record these songs, or even like mixing and stuff.” Because I find, as we're talking about before, that sense of just trying to understand when the song makes you feel a certain way. So, I'll find songwriting decisions will be so informed by production decisions or arrangement decisions. Because a change in a sound or a change in how things sit will mean that a section of the song will make you feel a certain way, or give a certain space or emotion to it.
That means you're already there in a song, where you are like, “okay, well, that bit's working”, you're not actually making further songwriting decisions. So, I think for me, I guess it is production where it comes back down to. I think I work best when I'm playing with ideas and moving things around like Play-Doh, changing stuff. Even if I'm doing visual things, it's the same thing. I hate a blank page, but if I've got something in front of me, I can start listening to it, moving it or looking at it and find something in that.
You've been a part of Sydney's music scene for some time now, but what pushed you to start this solo project?
I have been making music for ages, just because it's what I do. I started playing in bands when I was in uni and high school. Then, I was making more electronic music, more dance music for a fair while. After making more instrumental and dance music, I naturally fell into making stuff where there were no rules at all. I wasn’t like “I want to start this new project”, I was really just experimenting and playing around. I wanted to be like, “What's the music that I would make if I could make anything I wanted with no goal?” That’s how it started and after I was doing that for a while then I started to be like, “oh, this is actually sounds like something that's exciting to me or this is music that I actually want to hear. I think that was the thing I was searching for, “can I make music that I want to hear that doesn't really exist?” So, when I figured out that maybe I could do that, that’s when I was like, “well, I guess it's a new thing. It's a new me project.”
Has all of the music that has followed since fallen under this project? Or do you still dabble elsewhere?
I'm particular about if a song fits, if it doesn't give me that same feeling. If I'm working on music that I don’t really want to hear, that I'm not excited about, it doesn't make the cut, or I don't even keep working on it. So, most of the music that I make by myself is in this project, but I still do lots of collaborations. I've been working with my sister Ellen, who plays keys in Skeleten, producing a bunch of her music. She released her first EP last year. I'm always making music with other people, and that's really important because I don't want to do anything by myself apart from the actual making. You've got to keep a balance, otherwise I would just freak out.
Yeah, definitely. Well, that's awesome that you've seemed to find your way with Skeleten. I feel like you should be your own favourite artist, right? Your songs should be your own favourite songs. They should be what you enjoy listening to. And that's hard to do.
Absolutely. It's kind of like the marker, like you said, how do you know when a song is finished? How do you know when a song is good enough or what you want? And at some point, every song that I've released has been my favourite song that I've ever written. Which is always fun to trick yourself into that thinking, where you're making it and to know at one moment when I first did this or something, I was like, “this is the best thing I've ever made. I'm a genius. Like, this is incredible.” And then obviously in a few days’ time, you're like, “Oh, it's just that's pretty cool. It's a good song. Maybe it's nice. Maybe it's terrible. Who knows?” But, trusting that little thought. Trusting that excited feeling like a little kid, I think it's important.
I wanted to talk about the concepts in all of your work, because you're tackling quite massive topics of capitalisation, mentalization and world hope on your first album. Has that ever overwhelmed you in your writing process? You know, at times when you're alone in The Facility.
It overwhelms me in my real life. I think we all feel like the world is overwhelming and getting more overwhelming by the day. I am in no position of authority to speak on any of these things. But I can speak on how I feel in my day-to-day. I think the tackling of those ideas is not what I do as some kind of social commentary or some project where I'm intending to use my voice to converse about these ideas. It's more about how in the world we live in, things are crazy, and it’s on my mind all the time. And this is me processing stuff. I feel like the best thing or a valuable contribution that I can make is just to be honest. In whatever way, that is, no matter what you’re talking about, the act of being honest about your life without pretence is a good thing. It's a community, and it makes people feel connected. I think it's funny, on the new record that I've just started, maybe I finally got overwhelmed, and I'm back to writing some more songs about being in love and shit. But I don't know, you know, it's just whatever comes, comes.
I think being honest is definitely the most valuable thing. The way that you can connect and trust with each other, like an artist to an audience, is through that. I think as well for dance music, it’s fun, let's all dance to these things that are scary, right? You know, that's what I enjoy about the album. These concepts and these things that are happening in the world are scary. But let’s all dance to it to figure it out.
Yeah, I like that. I want these songs listened to in a real present way, where it's not like the songs have a message. The songs are an experience to have at the time you're listening to them. I like to be quite direct and conversational because it's not like I'm trying to teach anyone anything. I want you feel a certain way when I say that stuff in the moment. Hopefully, people feel a certain way when they hear that stuff in the moment, it's heaps less complicated.
I'm someone who's working in a dying industry and, you know, we're all part of the generation of social media and algorithms. So, I'm curious as to what practices you may have in your daily life to own your identity, behaviour and choices to battle this world we live in.
That’s a big one. I'm constantly struggling with it. It's a real thing that I'm sure we really have to be vigilant and work not to just let go and slip into the slop. But I do slip in. I'm bad at having practices. You know I'm all over the place. But I think it's like community, friends and nature. They're the big ones, right? I'm not good at meditating, I'm not good at journaling. But actually, it's making the music, that's the practice, you know? Making music, making music with friends and playing music. That's the best way for me to do it in a way that is about the practice and the moment as opposed to goal-oriented. Because as soon as you start thinking about what it's for, then I think you lose the point of doing the music, at least for yourself.
I wanted to talk about your connection to Sydney because I feel like your love and loyalty to it is really evident in your work. I love your music video where you were in the underground tunnels. I’m curious what has made the Sydney scene feel so special to you?
Yeah, it's a good question. I do love Sydney, like I love and hate it, obviously, as we all do about where we’re from. But I think Sydney, like it's small, it's big, obviously. But the music and art community is relatively small, by virtue of it not being a big part of the city's cultural identity. People aren't moving to Sydney to get a part of the art scene or get a part of the music scene in the same way that one might move to Melbourne, London, Berlin or New York or something like that. I think by virtue of that, it gives a lot of freedom for people making music in Sydney to do whatever the hell they want. It's a small community, and there's no point really trying to be that cool because you're trying to be cool for like a few hundred people with no real, broader economic step up. If you're the coolest person in Sydney, you're still not that cool. It gives that freedom for people to be themselves and for communities to come together around the actual experiences and be supportive instead of this abstract concept of what you should be making or what's cool, or what people are going to like. That's no rag on any of the other cities, because they're sick in their own way. You need cities that are cool as well. You can't just have Sydney. I think that's why I really appreciate Sydney as a place to live.
I feel like your taste in music is obviously great. It's shown through your music. On the topic of battling algorithms, I was wondering if you could put our readers and me onto any artist that you love right now or stuff that you have been listening to?
I mean, there's so much. Something I've been listening to a lot from Australia that I really like recently is this group ‘trickpony’, which is a collaboration of Mike Midnight, Roza Terenzi, and I've forgotten. I think the other person is from overseas, I think they're from Berlin, I only know the Australians. It’s a really cool downtempo, like trip-hop, club, it’s a really nice EP.
I’m listening to lots of this album, ‘Flawless', which came out last year, the Other Joe album. He’s from Melbourne, I listen to a lot of that.
They're the ones that are just coming up in my brain right now. I also heard one of the best dub songs I've heard. This person, called Desiree, has a song called Love in Your Meditation, which is one of the best songs that I've heard in the last year. I think it was from like 2010 or something.
Skeleten is performing at Black Bear Lodge with Blue Diner. as support April 10th
