Solomon Fox moves between worlds, Harvard and Hollywood, viral memes and soft bedroom beats, eighty acres of Virginia quiet, and the digital noise of now. His sound feels lived-in and a little feral: part confession, part collage. Talking Sweettooth, farm festivals, and the fine line between irony and intimacy, Fox proves that sometimes deleting everything is the only way to get closer to the truth.
You’ve worked across film and music. How do you shift your mindset when producing for film vs producing your own material?
It’s actually not as different as it seems; both of them require constant experimenting and finding new palettes, but what’s fun about doing it for myself is I get to write the story of why it matters to me. So that makes it a lot more personal since it’s sort of all up in the air. But also more time-consuming because I’ll sometimes delete everything and start over when I figure out that narrative piece.
“Fallin’ Back” was entirely written and produced in your bedroom studio. How does that intimacy inform your sonic choices?
My bedroom is very soft and cozy with lots of little trinkets, so that definitely affects how the music made there feels. Sometimes I also end up playing or singing things really, really quiet and then turning them up, which can make for a sound that matches that environment.
You studied Religion and Music at Harvard under mentors like Cornel West, Vijay Iyer, and Esperanza Spalding. What conceptual or moral ideas from those studies still shape your production decisions?
Yes, I was very blessed to have some musical and intellectual heavyweights as teachers, but I think what they showed me is that there is really no limit to where you can draw inspiration from to be creative. They taught me to think of music in terms I had never considered before, like density or width or color, and to consider art outside of the boundaries of genre and accessibility. I think I also learned from them how to be a lifelong student of whatever you’re doing.
When you’re producing for others (Smino, Emeline, etc.), how much do you let your “signature” style come through vs adapting to their voice?
I’m usually trying to think about what choices are best for the song and the story, and less about putting on some kind of signature touch. But also, I guess my style probably bleeds into everything I do. The best collaborations in my experience have been sort of unexplored terrain for both me and whoever I’m working with.
“One day, I’ll go full hermit mode and make an album just out of sticks and plants I’ve foraged.”
Your viral social media videos have become part of your artistic identity. How do you balance that meme edge with the more serious, emotional side of your music?
Still figuring that one out. I think for better or worse, we’re in an age that is both extremely serious and darkly hilarious, so I feel like bouncing between them is actually weirdly natural. But sometimes it can be hard to know which side I’m channeling.
You bought 80 acres in Virginia and host your own farm festivals (Grouse Fest). How does that physical, immersive space influence how you think about sound and production?
Ah, yes, my favorite place. I live in Hollywood, but in my heart I love being surrounded by nature, and every time I go there I leave feeling extremely refreshed and rejuvenated. One day, I’ll go full hermit mode and make an album just out of sticks and plants I’ve foraged.
On your sophomore project, Sweettooth, what’s the hardest part about translating deeply personal emotion into production that still resonates with listeners?
Honestly, the hardest part is balancing moments where it’s about the story with moments that are about the groove or the feeling of the tracks. I have a short attention span, so I think it’s nice to continually switch things up in a way that keeps the listener in i,t but also gives space to let things breathe.
What’s one production trick or texture you’ve been experimenting with lately that might surprise people?
Lately I’ve been trying excessive speeding up and slowing down, and resampling. It’s not a new trick at all, but it lets me finish an idea and then almost reapproach it from scratch as if I’m a completely different producer.
Watch Solomon Fox x DUCKWRTH ‘Starry Eyes’ Live Performance:
