Portland-based producer FENRA makes a striking debut with his first single ‘COFFEE’, released via 6x Records, offering an evocative glimpse into his forthcoming EP Delusional, out November 28, 2025. Mastered by Aneek Thapar—renowned for work with Rival Consoles and Max Cooper—the track fuses ambient, downtempo, and organic textures into a lush, cinematic soundscape that feels at once intimate and vast. The electronic project of Santa Rosa-born artist B Laws, FENRA emerges from a background steeped in DIY bands, global touring, and early musical roots shaped by church hymns. Drawing inspiration from Caribou, Four Tet, Floating Points, and Philip Glass, his music dissolves genre boundaries while carrying deep emotional resonance; qualities that shimmer through the dulcimer-lined, vocal-warped reverie of ‘COFFEE’.
Read our conversation with the rising artist and listen to ‘COFFEE’ below.
Tell us about you, how long have you been making music? What inspired you to start?
I grew up in a very creative household growing up, but not necessarily musical. We’d have drawing time every day, but I found music on my own.
Most all of my earliest memories are tied to sound. I can remember the first time I heard a train rumbling by and the first time I heard an airplane in the sky. In eighth grade it clicked that I could make music, not just listen. I begged for a guitar after discovering Black Sabbath, and a few years later I stumbled into synths and drum machines.
The music industry is super competitive these days, was there a moment in your life that you wanted to give up on music? How did you manage to stay focused and achieve what you want?
I actually did give up! I spent most of my twenties on tour with indie bands. Noise bands, math rock, punk, avant pop, some orchestral indie rock. DIY tours zig zagging across the US and later Europe and Asia. After ~1,500 shows I burned out. Somewhere in there I had secured a small publishing deal and I started writing music for commercials and the like. Got burned out on that too. Writing 15 second pieces of music for an uninspiring commercial or whatever was a deep low for me creatively.
I pivoted and landed a “creative” corporate job at a shoe company in Oregon, effectively giving up on music. I actually think I didn’t touch an instrument for a full year. When I started playing again it was for fun. No ambition of recording or releasing or playing live. This kind of cinematic/tech house/downtempo electronic music lane that became FENRA was the music I always loved but never made. It felt like a sandbox—freeing. I dropped the pressure to succeed, used my experiences as a medium, and refocused on what matters to me.
How would you describe your creative processes? Are the music and lyrics written in conjunction, or separately?
It changes with the piece. Sometimes I start with a beat, add chords, then a top line. More often, I chase a sound or sample—field recordings from travel, bits I pull from the internet, or loops I’ve made on drum machines and modular. I’ll collage until the groove feels alive, then play keys and layer textures. There are vocals on this EP, but they’re mostly textural rather than lead. I’m looking to collaborate with vocalists and rappers soon.
Where did the inspiration come from?
It turns out music is an unavoidable part of me.
What’s next for you?
I’m deep into the follow-up to Delusional with new singles planned for early 2026. I’m also working on a small run of live dates—ideally some UK shows once there’s a bit more music out. In the meantime, more collaborations, more field recordings, and pushing this sound further on stage.