ANNOUNCEMENT: FOAM Releases Haunting New Track “Elysium” - and We Got the Full Story
- STAFF
- May 21
- 6 min read
By: Staff
There’s something brewing just beneath the surface of the latest release from FOAM. It’s not just another single, it’s a fully-formed atmosphere. “Elysium” arrives like a mirage, raw and stripped, with just enough beauty to keep you chasing it and just enough grit to know it’s real. It doesn’t shout to be heard. It lingers.
This is music that sidesteps easy definitions. It’s vulnerable without begging for sympathy, loud in its quiet moments, and built on the bones of influences you think you know, until FOAM pulls them into their own distorted reflection.
We had the chance to dig into the band’s creative world: the mythology behind the title, the stripped-back production, the cryptic-but-crushing lyrics, and the artwork that says as much as the songs. FOAM opened up about their process, the push and pull of being vulnerable on record, and what comes next.
Step inside the world of FOAM, starting with our exciting interview below.
Hello FOAM, we’re thrilled to have you here for this interview! We've had an amazing time exploring your music and diving into your creative journey. Now, we’re even more excited to get a deeper look into both your brand and your personal and professional inspirations.
Q. Can you tell us who is behind the artist(s) behind the project known as FOAM and what is the role(s) played in the project?
A. FOAM is my solo project, but I try to emulate the sound of a band as that’s the type of sound I’ve always enjoyed the most musically.
Q. What’s the story behind the name FOAM? Was there a particular moment or feeling that led to it?
A. FOAM is just an ambigious word that has no meaning behind it, you create your own meaning as to what it means.
Q. How would you describe your sound to someone who's never heard it before? Are there subgenres you play around with that might surprise people?
A. I think my sound isn’t an extremely polished sound, it’s one that relies on authentictiy and rawness, I want you to hear me and see me exactly as I am. My lyrics and voice are purely myself authentically.
Q. The title “Elysium” carries a lot of weight—both mythologically and metaphorically. What drew you to that word? How does it connect to the core of the track?
A. It’s meant to be an ironic title. Many parts of the song are in a pretty sarcastic tone. As if our world is an ideal utopia, when it is so far from it. How hard life can be when you just don’t want to try, but at the same time it’s easy to just drift on by and watch the days pass.
Q. The song “Elysium” feels stripped down compared to some of your more textured tracks on Spotify. Is this minimalism part of a new chapter for you, or was it just what the song called for in the moment? And have you had the chance to test it live yet?
A. This just what the song needed. The song needed to be arranged that way. Acoustic guitar, vocals, and some oreintal drumming is all that was needed. I wanted it to be more folky. I enjoy listening and creating folky music so yea, for sure FOAM will always implement this type of sound in a lot of it’s music.
Q. Your album artwork is striking and full of detail. It seems to pull imagery from wartime or maybe different periods and cultures. Can you walk us through: what the artwork is showing?
A. It’s a pencil drawing of a photograph by photographer Sergey Prokudin Gorsky. I think he was the first or one of the first people to ever use colored photography in the world. He lived in the mid 19th century in Russia.
B. how that connects to the music?
Honestly I liked how the photograph looked originally, and I liked the folkiness of the people and their culture. Don’t get me wrong, FOAM is not a folk projcet, we take elements of folk, sure, but we aren’t solely a folk project although there is a lot of it.
C. what you were hoping people would take from it?
I don’t care what people take from it to be honest. I guess I just want them to think it looks cool.
Q. One line that really stuck with us was “I have the sense of an everlasting trance / where people will just …” and how that second part morphs throughout the song. What was the intention behind that structure? Can you share a few of the variations and why you used them?
A. I didn’t overthink those lyrics, the lyrics you see now on the final song are the same lyrics I wrote down first. I don’t really like to share the meaning of lyrics very often, I think whatever someone interprets is what that specific listener needed to hear, I don’t want to validate or invalidate what someone takes away from the music.
Q. Where does the creative magic usually happen for you? Is it a basement jam session kind of vibe, or do you prefer the polish of a studio setting?
A. I have to be alone I think. Where I can just connect to the collective conciousness and tap into a type of flow state thing.
Q. Do you self-produce your work or work with collaborators when it comes to mixing and mastering? How do you bring your songs across the finish line?
A. I write the music and control the vision of the sound and arrangements, and the producer I would work with would bring my vision to life.
Q. What’s the most nerve-wracking part of the process for you—writing, recording, releasing, or maybe even the reception?
A. Performing.
Q. We read you once described your music as a gritty mix of vulnerability and defiance. When you're being that open in your lyrics, how does it actually feel to put that much of yourself out there?
A. I just have to remain indifferent to outside and irrelevant opinions. Sometimes it’s difficult, especially from closer people such as a family and friends, and typically easier from farther away people like critics or interviewers. But I mean I think the best way to connect with fans and for them to truly view you as something special is to be completely yourself, to open up entirely, not to hide anything. Being fake just makes you look like an asshole. People like that can stay far far away from me.
Q. FOAM channels a punk ethos with grunge roots, yet there’s a real softness and introspection in some of your work. Is that contrast intentional or just a byproduct of how you naturally write?
A. It’s not intentional, I don’t overthink my work, I just let it flow and I let my heart take over. What you hear is just what comes out.
Q. Your influences are a mix of genre-defining icons—Nirvana, The Beatles, Oasis. What is it from each of them that you carry into FOAM’s DNA?
A. I like Nirvana’s rough and gritty sound and their obscurity in lyrics. The Beatles and their knowledge of melody, poppy and catchy melodies. Oasis has the same DNA as The Beatles and Nirvana, and I know many people would disagree but I think the holy trinity of catchy pop tunes are these three bands. Their writing is raw, expressive, 100% authentic and original, obscure and abstract, and most importantly catchy as fuck.
Q. A lot of your music leans into themes that feel serial and abstract, but also piercingly honest. Do you write with a narrative in mind, or do the songs grow out of fragments and lived moments?
A. I dont know I just write what I like and what comes to me. It’s very rare for me to second guess my lyrics.
Q. There’s a ton of tech available to artists right now. Some say it’s empowering, others call it overwhelming. With computers playing such a big role in both creating and perfecting music today, do you think that’s been a good thing—or is something getting lost in the process?
A. All I’ll say is 99% of DJ’s are shitheads who are too lazy to pickup an actual instrument.
Q. Leaving aside things like ticket sales or crowd size, what kind of venue do you actually love performing in the most?
A. Intimate, dark, cozy, small.
Q. Social media tends to split people down the middle—some thrive in it, others avoid it entirely. Where do you stand on it these days?
A. I hate doing it but I have to do it. I’m currently searching for the right team to take it over for me because I find it a complete nuisance.
Q. Has there been a moment when someone said or did something about your music that really hit you hard or stuck with you in a big way?
A. People who didn’t believe in me at the start turning around and changing their opinions always feels great.
Q. So what’s coming up next for FOAM? Can you give us the full scoop on what you’re working on and what fans can start getting excited about?
A. I’m always releasing music, seriously, always and consistently. It’s my life. Just stay posted.
We’re beyond excited to bring you this interview. FOAM isn’t just making music, they’re crafting an entire universe with it, one raw, resonant track at a time. If "Elysium" is any sign of what’s ahead, the next chapter won’t just be something to listen to, it’ll be something to live through. We invite you to step in and feel it for yourself.
