Fieves are a Manchester-based duo mixing electronic beats with UK hip hop-inspired raps. The duo consists of 22-year-old Yves originally from Macclesfield and 22-year-old Finn from Maidstone who are both now Manchester based. 

The pair of them both come from towns just outside of major cities, with their influences and access points to music being very different from other artists I’ve spoken to. Yves was influenced mainly by his parents with Macclesfield not having the largest music scenes, “Wasn’t too many musical influences there, I got introduced to dance music through my mum and that was my main sort of inspiration … my main influences for the music we make now mainly came from when I came to uni getting introduced to UK hip-hop, UK garage, drum and bass, really broadened my horizon on what I’d like to make”, similarly to Yves there wasn’t much of a scene for the type of music Finn makes now when he was growing up in Maidstone with his skills in wordplay and ability to put his thoughts to paper coming from unlikely influences, “Big influences for me is hip hop, where I’m from there’s not like a crazy scene like how there is in London, there isn’t really the support network for kids who are into that thing. Luckily there are niche communities, mainly focused around spoken word, self-expression through words outside of traditional songwriting … that was a big influence for us growing up, being in these spaces where you could write stuff and share it in a safe environment, important for me developing my skill as a writer”.

The duo may have started their musical journeys as individuals but came together as a duo after meeting each other at university, “We sort of met in this park randomly through some mutual friends, we just got chatting and we both grew a lot of respect for each other artistically and we just grew from there”. The pair attended the University of Lancashire taking on musical courses that were based in Manchester, Yves shared that after being in Manchester for a while he had failed to meet anyone that was studying the same thing as him or even at the same University as him until he came across Finn, it seems as if the duo was meant to happen. The pair of them released their first track together in 2021 on Yves’s solo project ‘The insomniac project’ on a track titled ‘Shallow’, the track was just the pair of them seeing how they worked together and after getting the results Fieves was born.

Fieves released their first track in 2022 after working together for nearly a year prior, the music they put out is relaxed hip-hop over electronic beats, their talent is undeniable and after talking to the pair the respect and admiration for one another’s craft is admirable.” I think the production is very unique and offer something the scene is lacking right now as well as pairing it with the introspective lyrical content I think it creates something authentic. I write about personal experiences and stuff and the challenges and joys of life and I think it pairs really well with Yves’s ability to evoke emotion through music”. Their creation process was perfectly surmised by Yves when he told me, “I create the foundation and then he (Finn) takes it to another level”.

Fieves may only have 3 singles out right now but the pair are doing so much more, Barz in Carz and Fieves favourite, two platforms that the pair have created to shine a light on other artists coming up around them in the scene, “It’s crucial for Fieves, especially where I grew up, I never had that support, it felt like I had the opposite. Then coming to Manchester and seeing people wanna grow with you rather than pit themselves against you, we always believed its better to grow with people”, Yves went on to say they want to “provide a platform we didn’t have when we started off”. Growing up with a passion for music and nowhere to express themselves is a massive reason for what the pair have gone on to create, helping introduce artists who might not be getting the love or attention they deserve, to the Fieves audience.

The 22-year-olds have been creating music for nearly 2 years as Fieves and are now preparing to release their debut project. The pair have already released their first single ‘Loss is Loss’ and are preparing for their next release ‘Million Faces’ featuring songstress Nyah Grace. The pair may only have 3 singles out but are sitting on tonnes of unreleased tracks which they have been working on since they formed Fieves.

Releasing the music seems to create a weird feeling for the pair with a mixed feeling of relief but also the feeling they have better, “It feels like we’ve been working on this and doing it for ages but people have only seen it for the first time, so its a little bit underwhelming … it feels really good at the same time cause you’re getting these bits of recognition for stuff you’ve worked on like a year ago, it feels a little bit weird but at the same time its really nice”. Yves added on to what Finn was saying with similar sentiments about the music they are currently releasing  “It’s a good representation of where we’re at and how we’re feeling but we have got a load of new stuff which is a bit more exciting for us because its fresher”. The music Fieves are currently releasing is some of the best music I’ve heard from that scene of UK music, not only for the feeling it creates but for its quality, especially for artists who don’t have the largest following or resources. The way they spoke about their upcoming music in comparison to what they currently have out was exciting to hear as the pair of them only look to improve.

We ended our chat in the same way I end most conversations with artists, with a question about the future. I asked the pair where they would like to be in 5 years, Yves recounted a conversation the pair had a year ago, “We have actually talked about this, in 5 years’ time we’d like to support Frankie Stew and Harvey Gunn or Loyle Carner or be on the same stage as them, performing alongside them, that’s where we see ourselves filling in”, Finn added, “We wanna be on big lineups and I never have to pay for festival tickets again”. Achievable dreams the pair have, with their talent, their yearning to grow with others and their individuality. I honestly believe the stages they speak of will be reached in a much quicker time.

Fieves’ newest release ‘Million Faces’ will be released on the 18th of August and is available to pre-save here.