Angelus
Parisian producer Angelus was born in the United Kingdom to parents from Guadalupe and Germany and grew up 20mins outside of Paris. Angelus, who is only 18 years old, is a veteran and breakthrough star of the burgeoning teen-generated trends digicore and hyperpop. Despite their youth, they've been an important part of the scene since 2019, and a vital part of the hyperpop lift-off.
Beginning as a producer influenced by Metro Boomin, they proceeded to make loud, neon pop songs inspired by Beabadoobee, Billie Eilish, SoFaygo, Michael Jackson, and Yves Tumor Angelus has just released "Heartless," - the first look into their upcoming EP "MAJORETTE."
"Heartless" melds ethereal soundscapes with their typical passionate vocals and is supposed to provide a doorway into their adolescent fantasy world. 2022 has also seen angelus begin to take the fashion world by storm, as they walked for the Marni AW22 show at Milan Fashion Week earlier this year and have even bigger plans for the future.
Coeval Magazine catches up with Angelus in an interview below to suss out their musical aspirations and find out about their hyperpop journey.
How did you get into music? Have you always wanted to pursue a producer career since being a youngster?
I was a big Michael Jackson fan and I wanted to be a pop star when I was like 9-10, but didn’t have the equipment. A few years later, one of my internet friends that I knew at the time started getting into music and he told me about FL Studio…then I got the hang of it myself and just started experimenting from there. I used to just want to be a producer, but now I like being both a vocalist AND a producer.
At just 18 years old, what have been your favourite music moments so far?
Probably just meeting all of my friends around the world that I’ve known through the internet for years for the first time. I was able to meet a lot of them this summer in America and it’s made all of the connections we’ve grown come full circle.
And, what inspires your music? Personal memories, art, etc.
Definitely personal life experiences and memories…but also consuming a lot of media, especially music. Some of my song ideas have come from the movie and show concepts, but a lot of the tracks on my upcoming ep got their start from personal experiences and general feelings that I want my audience to hear and formulate their own ideas about what the song is about.
Tell us a little more about the release of ‘Heartless’ (the first single from their forthcoming EP MAJORETTE) and what the single conveys.
“heartless” is a song I made with my friend ardist who produced the song with me. I usually keep the meaning of my songs to myself so that listeners can develop their own stories, but I’ll give you this gem:
I had so much fun in New York filming the video over the summer with my friends Mimi (AKA Babebee) and ardist. Getting to shoot in my favourite NYC restaurant (San Marzano) and shred guitar in the middle of Manhattan was definitely a summer highlight.
And what is in store for MAJORETTE? What does this body of work mean to you?
MAJORETTE OTW!
I’m so excited to release this EP! I’ve been working on it for the last year and it’s much more of a pop project for me which has been unique. I’ve been able to work with friends all over the world from Ardist in America to Mingo in France. It’s a celebration of friendship and music :)
From the upcoming EP, how many tracks are there and which are your favourite and why?
There are 7 tracks on the EP and I think they’re all my favourites! I had a lot of fun making music for those specific songs and made a lot of cool memories making them. They all show a unique part of myself - some songs are in a different language, genre, and sound than I’ve ever tried before so I’m excited for the world to hear it.
Alongside the talents you possess in music, you are also involved in the fashion industry. You walked the Marni AW22 show at Milan Fashion Week earlier this year - can you tell us why you resonate with fashion
I’m not really the biggest fashion guy, but I do find some of it interesting - like buying clothes, but I’m really not a nerd for fashion, I guess. It was so dope to go to Milan this year, it was unexpected but so so fun. The casting director for Marni hit me up directly on Instagram and I ended up getting to meet lots of interesting people and find out how those huge shows come together. But day to day, in reality, I just wear whatever, as long as it feels right.
And do you see the creative spaces of fashion and music combining? How so?
Yeah for sure. I’ve always wanted to tap into my producer side and make music for runway shows. Fashion, just like music, is a creative outlet that people can make into whatever they want, so I feel like that’s how they combine so easily.
Describe how you see your music developing over the next couple of years?
Actually, I don’t really predict the future for myself. I’m a very in-the-moment person so I guess you’ll just have to sit and watch : )
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