Kickin’ It With Prince Fox
Despite the massive year that Sam Lassner has had, he remains humble and steadfast in his quest to be the best musician he can be. The Republic Records signee has risen to prominence on the back of his signature future pop production style—a blend of classic house sounds and more new-age future bass that he’s claimed as his own. He recently returned home to New York from a national tour with StéLouse, so we jumped at the chance to speak with him about music, fashion and the future of Prince Fox.
The average non-touring day of the young Brooklynite has him waking up at about 10am “…because I’m up late.” He walks around the corner for a turmeric-based immunity shot and two additional types of juice from Fuel Juice Bar before heading home to brew some coffee and sit down to work. From about noon to 7pm, he’s glued to his desktop or in his studio doing any number of things, from producing music, to planning artwork for upcoming releases, to designing clothes. After the hours of multitasking subside, he’s either off to dinner or out on the town to explore the city’s rich music scene.
He stays extremely busy yet thoughtfully proficient in every endeavor he takes on. “[I’m] trying to push myself all across the board, in or out of the studio.” He recently announced he was collaborating with L.A.-based collective We R Massiv, which piqued our interest in his fashion chops. Sam being a self-proclaimed sneakerhead, we felt it appropriate to ask him about the top five shoes in his collection. In no particular order, they are:
Red Vintage Adidas Stan Smiths
“I picked these up in L.A., right near the MASSIV store, and was pretty much in love with them from first sight. I always liked how, on the vintage Stan Smiths, the tongue was one slim piece of leather, rather than a more bulky, synthetic material. I also love the color red for solid-color shoes, as I wear a lot of monochrome/earth-tone clothing, so it works well together.”
Black/White/Grey Nike Flyknit Chukka
“My senior year of college, I was tutoring Hebrew a bunch and wanted to get back into the sneaker game. I followed a bunch of random sneaker Instagram accounts and saw this pair on one of them. I basically spent the next three months trying to find them, before I found them right by where I was living at the time, at Flight Club NYC.”
Vans ERA Low
“I have a bunch of pairs of these: white, black, and off-white. Recently I’ve been calling them the ‘Damn Daniel 7s’ (a parody of the Jordan line and the ‘Damn Daniel’ viral meme). There is no outfit that does not go with a pair of Vans. Clean or beat-up, they’re classics and always work; same with Converse Chuck Taylors.”
Jordan 1 Cyber Monday
“These were the first pair of Jordans I purchased. After my first headlining show in Chicago at Studio Paris, I went with my manager Marc to purchase these. Super clean and simple, but felt like the right introduction into the Jordan brand for me.”
Black Yeezy 750 Boost
“I got these as a gift from this boutique owner (Antler and Wood). We became friendly after I walked into the store for the first time and ‘I Don’t Wanna Love You’ was playing on the store sound system.”
When it comes to shoes, it’s hard to ignore the two biggest players in the game, Nike and Adidas. With Adidas having such a massive year in terms of new models and styles, Nike’s dominance seems to be waning, if only slightly and partially skewed by press coverage.
When asked if he had a preference, Sam says, “This year, Adidas is definitely winning, with the exception of the Jordan brand under Nike. Nike is putting out cool stuff like they always do, but as far as what everyone is talking about, Adidas has been really good.”
Beyond shoes, Sam prides himself on having a well-rounded, head-to-toe sense of style. His biggest piece of fashion advice is “spend more money on a lesser quantity of high-quality basics.” Not only does simplicity offer a timelessly clean aesthetic, but “if you keep it clean, fresh and simple, your kicks will always pop off.”
Sam could chat about shoes all day, but we must also mention the moves he’s making on the music front. He’s excited to share a clip of his forthcoming single, “Fragile,” featuring fellow Republic artist Hailee Steinfeld. I had seen a brief video on Facebook of him debuting the track at a spring break gig, but I was pleasantly surprised hearing the warm chords and poppy melody directly through Sam’s speakers. The honing of his production skills are evident with every release, and “Fragile” is definitely the most eloquent to date.
I mention that his sound seemed like it would cater well to a live production, which he quickly confirmed as one of his big goals for the upcoming year. He references his appreciation for what Porter Robinson has done with his live show post-Worlds, both in terms of physically playing out his tracks and the stunning visuals that accompany the sound. Specifically, his ideal live setup would be “one or two guitars, keyboard, my APC-40, the Roland SPD-SX, be triggering stuff in Ableton while picking an instrument for each song, as well as have one or two multi-instrumentalists onstage with me.” It’s safe to say he’s thought this through a few times.
In the coming year, Sam wishes to hone further the future pop sound he has been cultivating. He wants to “get on the same production levels as Skrillex, Diplo and Calvin,” but he’s aware that he differs sonically from all of these guys. He aims to achieve this by playing more shows, meeting more fans, working harder, and staying hungry. He left me with some advice for aspiring producers: “You have to hustle and play the game so you’re not dropping your magnum opus on nobody.” Prince Fox and his team have been hustling harder than most, and I think it’s all about to pay off.
Photo credit: Andrew Rauner. Contact him here.
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