10 Questions To... Thomas Feurer (11 Acorn Lane, Intended Immigration, Annella)

Interview With Thomas Feurer (10 Questions to…)

Thomas Feurer is probably one of the most exciting Electro Swing personalities. A musician with many years of experience, a brilliant creative producer – simply a professional in the full sense of the word. You may mainly associate Thomas as the founder of the 11 Acorn Lane project and Intended Immigration. But did you know (as I found out when I was doing the research for this interview!) that Thomas Feurer was the producer of Annella‘s greatest hits? There are many other interesting facts you may not know about this artist, but you will find out more by reading this interview. It is my pleasure to present to you another 10 questions to…. – this time with Thomas Feurer.

01. LadyDot: Hi Thomas, I’m very glad you agreed to answer my 10 questions, it’s an honour! We would love to know, how did your adventure into music in general start? When did you decide to become a producer? Did you learn the craft at some school, or were you self-taught?

Thomas Feurer: Thank you so much for inviting me to do this interview, Ania. The honour is all mine.

I grew up in Switzerland and as a kid I wanted to play drums. But unfortunately, that was not an option given the fact that we lived in an apartment building. My next choice was the saxophone. But to play the saxophone, I was told I had to start with the clarinet first. So I did. And I was immediately obsessed with it. Often my mother had to remind me it was time to STOP practicing!

I played in the local youth orchestra, a mixture between concert band and marching band, and soon I added the saxophone to my arsenal and started playing in a jazz funk band with fellow teenagers.

I later studied performance and theory at music schools in France and in the U.S. and my main passion and focus was initially to perform, compose and arrange. When I discovered that I could record and produce music with the help of a computer, I was totally hooked. I loved it so much. I didn’t have any formal training as an engineer or producer, I just taught myself and learned from other people around me as much as I could.

02. LadyDot: I know that you have lived in the United States for many years, but you are originally from Switzerland. What made you decide to move to a completely different continent? Was it related to the development of your musical career? Tell us about what your beginnings in the US were like and what was the biggest challenge and surprise for you?

Thomas Feurer: Before coming to the U.S. I was going to law school in Switzerland and I was practicing saxophone a lot on the side and was playing with nationally successful bands. My favorite music and sax players were all from the United States and I was dreaming of being a little closer to the source, so to speak.

When I heard that Berklee College of Music was holding auditions in Europe I gave it a shot and they offered me a flattering scholarship. So I put my law studies on hold for a year to go study music in the U.S. But that initial year turned into a much longer period of time!

Everything in the U.S. was new to me. I was pleasantly surprised by the concept of “free refills” in restaurants and shocked by how little money musicians got paid on gigs. But those gigs were a lot of fun! And I was willing to live very modestly. I loved it!

I ended up settling in New York. I started by working as an assistant and engineer for an established composer and producer, played gigs with all kinds of bands in all kinds of styles, and composed and produced my own music venturing more and more into electronic genres. I was also slowly getting gigs to write and produce for other artists and publishers.

I love the energy here in the U.S., the people, the mindset, the opportunities. There’s a lot of love and enthusiasm for music. It’s inspiring, challenging and motivating.

03. LadyDot: Okay, I absolutely have to ask about Electro Swing. How did you come to produce tracks in this musical genre? What artist inspired you to do this? What do you like most about Electro Swing?

Thomas Feurer: My good friend Neal Pawley and I had started releasing music as 11 Acorn Lane in 2008 and from the start we liked combining electronic styles with vintage and traditional influences such as jazz, tango or ultra-lounge. We kind of stumbled into Electro Swing without knowing it. One day we got a request for one of our songs to be included in an Electro Swing compilation and we started discovering a whole new world of music and a lot of great artists such as Caravan Palace and Parov Stelar.

When it comes to Electro Swing, I love the combination of different musical elements from different time periods, the old and the new, the real instruments and the electronic ones. It makes for such a creative and exciting musical playground. And there are so many artists and producers out there now whose work I love like Wolfgang Lohr, Pisk, Odd Chap, Klischée, Swingrowers, Jamie Berry, Proleter and so many more.

04. LadyDot: In 2008 you released your first album as 11 Acorn Lane – ‘Painting Coconuts’ (oh, for the time, it was incredibly innovative, jazzy and totally surprising at the same time!). You are the co-founder and co-creator of this musical project. Tell us how you met the other member of your duo, Neal Pawley? What is your division of responsibilities in 11 Acorn Lane? What do you think has made you successful in releasing songs together regularly for over 16 years?

Thomas Feurer: I met Neal on a gig in New York and immediately loved his wonderful personality and amazing musical skills. One day we wanted to write and record original music together. We had a total blast and loved the result. 11 Acorn Lane was born.
Between Neal and myself we play a lot of different instruments. Neal plays guitars, basses, brass and is also a fantastic vocalist. I’m trying to keep up with saxes, clarinets, flutes, percussion and electronic elements. Below is a picture of our acoustic arsenal.

The fun part with 11 Acorn Lane is the writing and recording. It’s the type of ancient collaboration where two humans gather in the same room at the same time and start (to say it in Rick Rubin’s words) “fishing”. We never know if we’re going to catch something, but the process is magic, really, and the result sometimes exquisite.

How come we’ve managed to do this together for over 16 years? It’s the no fart rule in the studio.

05. LadyDot: I associate 11 Acorn Lane primarily with bangers such as ‘Let’s Face It I’m Cute’, ‘Perfect (Electro Swing Remix)’ and ‘Time for Tea (Melbourne Swing Mix)’, which incidentally have several million streams each on Spotify. That’s a huge achievement! And what, in your opinion, is actually the biggest success you have achieved as a duo?

Thomas Feurer: Our biggest success is no doubt recording and releasing our second album “Everybody’s Here”. Neal always says: “Anyone can record one album. It’s the second one that is the hardest.” And he’s right.
We love it when occasionally our music gets used in connection with moving images. Here’s one we enjoy watching, a trailer for Antman that features our track “Mr. Mambo (Hips Mix)”.

06. LadyDot: Some time ago you created your solo project Intended Immigration. After a hiatus of a few years since the release of, among other things, the truly brilliant remix of ‘Tout Tourne’, you reactivated this project, which focuses mainly on remixes and new versions of well-known and loved timeless hits. I can’t help but mention that even Alice Francis, when I interviewed her, admitted that your remix of her song ‘Catch the Killer’ is, in her opinion, better than the original version! Why do you think people like remixes so much? What is your personal recipe for the perfect remix?

Thomas Feurer: Oh wow, I’m so happy to hear this. I love Alice Francis’ music and was thrilled about the opportunity to remix “Catch The Killer”.

I think people like remixes because remixes often bring out or even add something new and surprising to the original version.
For me as a producer, doing a remix is like getting a second chance, a second bite at the apple. Especially if I’m remixing one of my own songs. I might hear things differently the second time around and approach the song more from a bird’s eye view.

It can feel liberating because it’s ONLY a remix, not the main version. So it’s easier to take risks and be adventurous which in return can lead to even more exciting outcomes.

07. LadyDot: I recently found out that you were Annella‘s producer for a while. How did your collaboration start and develop? Apparently, you produced her most popular bangers such as ‘Kisse Misse’, ‘Perfume’ and ‘Trouble’? Tell us more about this please.

Thomas Feurer: Annella is simply amazing! A few years ago, Nick Hollywood introduced us online. Shortly after that Annella was in New York for something else but we managed to meet up for a coffee and clicked. The next day she came over to the studio and we started recording. Her vocals, vision and work ethic blew me away. I absolutely love the songs we have created together so far. And I can tell you, there will be more. ;-)

08. LadyDot: As well as being involved in several musical projects, you have also set up your own label, Wooden Hat Records. What made you decide to release music on your own? Would you say that music is not only your passion, but also your full-time job?

Thomas Feurer: Yes, music is my passion and my full-time job and I love both the freedom and the feeling of responsibility that this brings with it. My music always had a tendency to be a bit eclectic and niche and I never envisioned that a bigger label would consider signing it, so I just started releasing it myself and Wooden Hat Records came out of that.

09. LadyDot: You are an experienced musician and producer, so I would love to ask you about what kind of music you listen to on a daily basis? What are your favourite tracks, not just the Electro Swing ones? What criteria make you able to say ‘okay, this track is great, excellent!’?

Thomas Feurer: I listen to a very eclectic and wide range of music. Often dictated by my young daughter who is a Broadway fanatic and also supplies me with the pop tracks du jour. I love to find the beauty in all kinds of different styles. I love to find elements that grab me, that touch me somehow, maybe even in a style that I don’t listen to very often.

I can get carried away by a vocal by Billie Eilish or a lyric by Garth Brooks. I can endlessly bob my head to a groove by Count Basie or a beat by Deorro. I can get lost in an arrangement by Esquivel or in the intricate textures in a production by Madeon. There’s so much amazing music out there.

10. LadyDot: Finally, I have my favourite question for you: what are your musical plans for the next few years? A new musical project, more releases, going on a long tour? Or are you preparing any surprises for your fans?

Thomas Feurer: I hope to be continuing to produce music that excites me, and hopefully resonates with fans. I’ve got new releases in the works with several projects and artists, including Intended Immigration, 11 Acorn Lane and Annella, and I’m very much looking forward to sharing these with the world.

Interview by LadyDot; Date: 2024-09-30