Austrian music producer, filous, is proficient in 20 instruments, first finding success in 2015. To date, he has achieved over 500-million streams, +12 Hypemachine #1’s, a European Border Breaker Award in 2017, three Amadeus Award Austria nominations, topped the iTunes electronic chart in +9 countries and has created official remixes for Selena Gomez, James Bay, Kiiara and more. His latest single, “Bicycle,” features Bristish songstress klei, was produced by Brisbane-based Golden Vessel and dropped October 5th via Ultra Music. Have a listen below.

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SunCity Paradise: Kicking it off with your home of Austria, what really stands out and makes it special to you? Where would you send a first-time visitor to get a real sense of the land?

filous: The culture sticks out most to me. I’d suggest to anyone to just sit in an old Viennese cafe and let the rush of rude waiters come over you!

© Jacek Dylag

SCP: What was your first real exposure to music? How did you get inspired to create your own and eventually pursue it as a career?

f: Music was always around in my family, as we always had instruments at my home. One day, I just picked up a guitar and everything else just sort of happened really.

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SCP: To create music, and traveling to promote it, must be such a feeling. What’s the most impactful and meaningful part you cherish about it? Does the travel help inspirationally?

f: What I like most about traveling to new places is meeting new people. You can always learn so much through making music with strangers, especially if they have a different cultural background.

SCP: What’s one stark difference between traveling as an artist versus personal travel?

f: Probably the amount of luggage you have. When I’m traveling personally, I only bring carry-on luggage. When I’m touring, the cases never end.

SCP: Your latest release, “Bicycle,” featuring klei, dropped in September. What was your thought process around this song? Describe the reaction by your fans since it’s been out.

f: “Bicycle” was a song that came really naturally! klei and I were doing sessions in [Los Angeles] and one day this song just revealed itself to us. The feedback has been overwhelming. I’ve never gotten as many positive messages about a song before!

SCP: When searching for a personal getaway, are you looking for a serene beach or after a more active, adventurous getaway? Why?

f: I really just want to get good food when I’m traveling. So, anywhere in Italy and France are usually pretty safe bets for me.

SCP: Everyone has a list of places that they still have to hit. What are three destinations, either work or pleasure, that you need to see? Why?

f: Probably India, Japan and South Africa. I’ve never been to any of these countries and would love to play there or just visit them. Especially India, it’s such a fascinating country to me. I really want to go there soon!

© Arihant Daga

SCP: One of our core objectives at SCP is to bring people together while traveling, not only to influence people to see and appreciate our beautiful world, but to also minimize cross-cultural divides. What effect does traveling, specifically surrounding dance music, have on humans in this regard? How has it broadened your perspective of the world?

f: Getting out of your comfort zone and exposing yourself to new things is really important to getting out of your bubble. For me, traveling around the world really made me see how similar we all are really. Of course there are big cultural differences in the world, but I think at the core we all really want the same things in life.

SCP: When you’re relaxing on a beach or just have some downtime are you listening to music? Do you like to switch up the genre you listen to? If so, to what?

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f: When I’m traveling privately, I try to listen to the least amount of music as possible, just to get my ears cleared for a while. If I listen to music while relaxing it’s got to be bossa nova though!

SCP: What are some travel essentials you need to help through long transit?

f: Noise cancelling headphones are the most important traveling item for me. Being able to just cut out all the noise is just the best feeling ever and it keeps me sane on a long flight.

SCP: Lastly, what else do the next couple of months have in store for you?

f: So much music! I’ve been working on a ton of songs in the last few months and I’m finally ready to share them all with you.

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For more on filous, visit his website: