Formula Indie Sessions : Interview with Femi
Q: What is your earliest memory connected to music?
A: My earliest memory is sitting a piano in my childhood bedroom at 9 years old trying to write my first song. It wasn’t very good but I loved the idea of writing songs then and it’s only grown over the years.
Q: How did your passion for creating music begin?
A: Church gave me the foundation, but my obsession with making music started in high school when a friend showed me dance music for the first time. I remember thinking, “Whatever this is, I need to know how to build it from scratch.” That led me into production, staying up way too late teaching myself how to write, arrange, and mix. By the time I was juggling pharmacy school and music, I realized music wasn’t just a hobby, it was the thing I kept choosing even when life was already full.
Q: What’s the story behind your current music project?
A: For a long time my story was “kid from NY trying to get his music out into the world” under the name Frank Pierce. Now the story has flipped: I’m trying to bring the world back home to Upstate NY. The songs I’m releasing as Femi like “Days & Nights,” “More Or Less,” “Come My Way,” and now “Who U Goin Home To” are all about that transition: boundaries, love that changes shape, and finding peace where you are instead of always running somewhere else. In a way, this project is me letting my worlds catch up with each other: my Nigerian roots, upstate NY life, love of music & the people that inspire it.
Q: How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music before?
A: I’d say it’s emotional pop music. A lot of people describe songs like “Come My Way” as late‑summer, last‑dance energy, and “More Or Less” as that 2am, headphones-on, thinking-about-your-life song. Melodically, I’m always chasing hooks that feel like they could live in a stadium, but I want the lyrics to hit like a personal conversation. If you like songs that feel warm on the surface but say something honest underneath, that’s my lane.
Q: What is one thing you’ve learned that completely changed the way you make music?
A: The big shift for me was realizing my songs are answers, not questions. For years I thought I was writing to start a dialogue with listeners, but I eventually understood I was really trying to answer my own “why”s—about relationships, faith, ambition, even burnout. Once I leaned into that, the pressure lifted. I stopped over‑producing, left more space, let the melody and one honest line carry the weight. Ironically, when I stopped writing for people and started writing from myself, more people connected.
Q: What tools, instruments, or software are essential in your creative process?
It always starts with a simple chord progression on piano or guitar, and a melody I mumble into my phone before it disappears. From there it’s me, my friends, a laptop, Ableton and a pair of headphones I probably spend too many hours in. I love building tracks around a vocal, so a good mic chain and the ability to stack, comp, and texture vocals is huge for me. But honestly, the most important “tool” is still voice memos; that’s where the rawest ideas live before they get polished.
Q: Which indie artist or song are you loving right now?
It changes every week, but I’m really drawn to artists who live in that space between pop and something a little left‑of‑center. Writers who can give you a hook and still make you feel like you’re overhearing a diary entry. I’m constantly inspired by people who don’t have huge numbers yet but are already writing like the world is listening. Artists like Joshua Sloane, Grace Enger, Blessing Jolie & Hudson Freeman.
Q: How have your personal experiences influenced your music and artistic vision?
A: Everything I write is filtered through that dual life of being a Nigerian Upstate NY-er who played piano in church and a pharmacy student who used to be in class all day and then make dance records all night. There’s always been this tension between “safe, structured path” and “jump into the unknown,” and my songs end up living right in that tension. Tracks like “More Or Less” are literally me talking to myself about boundaries and choosing better for myself, while “Come My Way” is me letting myself be playful and open again. Living in Upstate NY has also changed how I write. I leave more space in the music.
Q: What emotions or messages do you hope listeners take from your work?
A: I want people to feel seen, first. A lot of my songs sit in the “in‑betweens” of almost relationships, almost decisions, almost versions of yourself. If someone hears a track like “More Or Less” or “Come My Way” and feels less alone in that gray area, that’s the win. I also hope my music gives people permission: permission to set boundaries, to feel joy without apologizing, to change their mind, to start over
Q: What’s the most important lesson music has taught you so far?
A: That consistency beats perfection. The records people connect with the most are rarely the ones I tortured myself over. They’re the ones where I showed up, told the truth, and let go. Music has also taught me that you can’t “optimize” your way into meaning. You can learn all the techniques in the world, but if you’re not willing to be a little vulnerable, the song won’t land.
Q: What is a dream venue or festival you would love to perform at?
Madison Square Garden is the obvious New York dream, but honestly a dream scenario for me is a proper “homecoming” show somewhere in Upstate NY where I’ve lived and studied like Buffalo, Rochester, Binghamton, Syracuse and seeing people from all those chapters in one room. Festival-wise, something like Coachella or Glastonbury would be insane, but I also love the idea of playing more songwriter‑focused festivals where people actually come to listen to the lyrics.
Q: If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who would it be and why?
Avicii is the first name that comes to mind—I wouldn’t be doing this the way I am without what he did for melodic dance music. Max Martin is also on that list; the way he builds songs that feel huge and still emotionally specific is something I study all the time. On the artist side, I’d love to work with someone like Jon Bellion, Post Malone or Drake—artists who aren’t afraid to bend genre but still write songs that could be played on just a piano or guitar and still hit.
Q: Where can our listeners follow and support your music? (Website, Spotify, IG, links)
A: You can find me on all the usual spots:
- Spotify / Apple Music / TIDAL: Femi
- Instagram / TikTok / X:
@onlyfemi - SoundCloud & YouTube: just search Femi – Who U Goin’ Home To / Come My Way / Days & Nights / More Or Less and I’ll pop right up.
Q: Looking toward the future, what’s your dream for the next chapter of your musical journey?
A: For a long time the dream was “get out, get big, get noticed.” Now the dream is to build something sustainable and honest from Upstate NY that still reaches the world. I want to keep growing as a writer, both for my own artist project and for other artists, and eventually land a publishing deal that lets me spend most of my time in rooms making songs that matter. Long term, I’d love to look back and see a catalog that helped people through specific seasons of their life, the way my favorite records carried me.
Q: What do you hope listeners will discover about you along the way?
A: I hope they realize that behind the stats and playlists, it’s just a guy from Upstate NY who really, really loves songs. That I’m not trying to be perfect; I’m trying to be honest. And that as the records evolve, from Frank Pierce to Femi, from dance floors to late‑night drives, I’m growing with them. If people can hear that growth and feel like they have permission to grow, too, then all of this is worth it.
Q: If you want here you can add a representative Youtube video to insert below the interview 🙂
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