Inside the Influences of Fuji Gateway
The music of Fuji Gateway pulls from decades of indie and alternative music history, blending melodic guitar work, immersive production, and emotional songwriting into something deeply personal. We invited the Asheville-based artist to break down the five acts that helped shape his musical identity.
John Michie: Welcome Fuji Gateway, please introduce yourself and tell us about your musical journey.
Fuji Gateway: Hey, I’m Steven, out of Asheville, North Carolina. I played piano, guitar, and saxophone when I was a kid. I first got a music interface and started messing around with recording and putting songs together around the end of middle school.
By the end of high school, I had become more focused on other things and ended up going to college for statistics. While there, I started building a deep appreciation for making music again and slowly started getting obsessed with improving at the guitar and learning to record and produce. I realised I felt really out of place in school and didn’t feel like I was suited for the corporate world. So, I dropped out of college to focus on music.
At the time, I pictured myself being a guitarist in a band, but after a couple of attempts at bands didn’t work out, I realised I wanted the creative control of writing and producing my own music.
It took another eight or nine years for me to build up the skills and confidence, but I started putting out music under the name Fuji Gateway in the beginning of 2023. It was something I wanted to do so badly for so long, but was so afraid to. Looking back, it was such a dramatic shift in my life that made me feel so much more confident and fulfilled. I almost feel like a different person.
I’ve always been obsessed with music and used my favourite artists and albums to escape reality and live in their world for a little while.
John Michie: This is where we hand it totally over to you! What five acts are the ones that inspire you the most?
Fuji Gateway: Five artists that have had the biggest impact on my taste and songwriting are The Strokes, Alt-J, The Beatles, Tame Impala, and The 1975.
The Strokes — “Cool but emotional”
Julian Casablancas has to be my overall favourite vocalist of all time. I love his cool but emotional tone and range. The Strokes have so many albums that just feel flawless all the way through. I love the contrast between the super tight rhythms in the instrumental parts and the laid-back vocals.
Alt-J — “Music that creates its own world”
The first time I heard them I thought their sound and the way Joe Newman sings was kind of weird and it didn’t really connect with me. Over time it really grew on me and broadened my perspective. I love that they have such a unique sound and create what feels like their own world. My favourite live concert experience was an Alt-J show at an outdoor amphitheatre. It started raining halfway through and fit the vibe of their music in a way that just felt magical.
The Beatles — “The blueprint for songwriting”
Of course, I was always aware of The Beatles but I didn’t really start loving their music until I was in my early twenties. I especially love their first few albums, up to and including Rubber Soul. I love the contrasting guitar rhythms panned to either side and easy-going, upbeat vibe. At some point I purchased a chord book of all The Beatles songs and learned and studied a bunch of them. It really helped me learn how to put chord progressions together, especially when it comes to transitioning between different song sections, whether verse to chorus, chorus to bridge, etc.
Tame Impala — “Immersive sound and psychedelic atmosphere”
The first time I saw Tame Impala live was at a festival where I had never heard of them before. We were walking by and had to stop when we heard them playing. It felt so different and mesmerising. Tame Impala has to be the artist that most dramatically changed my taste. It was at a time where I had recently gotten really into The Beatles and it felt like an extension of that world. The way he uses reverb and delays really connected with me. It’s reminiscent of the rhythmic patterns in nature, like waves in the ocean, and adds a whole other layer that makes it feel extremely immersive.
The 1975 — “Rhythm, emotion and the pull of the 80s”
The 1975 is another band I had heard before and didn’t really think I connected with, but their sound grew on me over time. I’ve always really loved funky, rhythmic guitar so that was one of the first things that pulled me in. Matty Healy’s voice took me a little longer to get used to, but once I did, I fell in love. He has such a dramatic way of expressing emotion in his voice. Their music also got me really into the 80s drum sound.