Two years ago, sound engineer Stefan Holt began writing music with the intention of being a solo artist. While his highly melodic compositions weren’t lacking in interesting direction, a chance encounter with singer Mario Schepis found him a like-minded soul with whom he shared an understanding.
Schepis’ talent would fit with Holt’s vision and similarly, Holt had a certain spark in his songwriting that inspired Schepis’ lyrics. “When I met Stefan, he showed me a bunch of tracks he had already written down and by chance he gave me one song and I went home and wrote some lyrics,” Schepis says. “A couple of days later we got it down and thought we had something going. We put our heads together to see what we could come up with.”
Ultimately what both Holt and Schepis want is quite simple – to make music. “It’s always been my life,” says Holt. “I just want to release this album and see where it can take us. I believe in the songs and the sound we have – it’s a new sound I think. I wouldn’t put it into any sort of genre. It’s The Fuse, it’s a new sound, that’s what I always call it.”
It’s not uncommon to hear bands like Linkin Park, Guns N’ Roses and Pink Floyd mentioned when trying to put a finger on The Fuse’s sound. But even then, The Fuse defy categorisation. There’s no stereotypical classic rock elements, no nu-metal elements, no experimental aspects to speak of. If you were going to call The Fuse anything you’d call it indie – but even then, with Holt’s melodies and Schepis’ lyrics it doesn’t ring true. “I wouldn’t call it that,” says Holt, “What would you call it?”
That’s the thing about The Fuse, they want listeners to draw their own conclusions. Are The Fuse something new? Are they a fusion of existing styles? Whatever they are, they’re good. “Something new – I think so,” says Holt with contemplation. “It’s got a lot of room, I try to make the songs feel like they have space but take you on a journey as well.”
The Fuse want their listeners to experience a journey in sound as much as they’ve experienced a journey with their songwriting. “It comes from within, it’s very emotional,” says Schepis. “When I hear the songs that Stefan’s put together, they paint a picture already – I’ll go into my quiet place and start writing.
“Set Free was one of the first songs we wrote and I did it for my ex-girlfriend who had a mental illness. She passed away so I wrote that song for her. That’s why we decided to release that single.” A very tender song in particular, Set Free is one of The Fuse’s creations that won’t be up for interpretation. Whatever the performance setting, that raw and pure emotion will be unwavering. “When I hear that song,” says Schepis, “The first thing that comes to my head is the meaning.”
Such is the nature of their relationship, when Schepis put his powerful lyrics for Set Free with its deep meaning to Holt’s melody, the latter didn’t intervene with Schepis’ direction in any way because he felt that this was the voice that particular melody needed – regardless of those tragic personal events. “Mario, you look at his lyrics and they’re unbelievable,” says Holt.
“He surprised me as a writer, I didn’t think he had it in him. I didn’t know him but everything we’ve done, I record the songs and give it to him and the next day, he’s got it all down.”
Though still a work in progress, the remainder of The Fuse’s debut album operates in the same vein – Schepis and Holt simply click, with little discussion required to make things work. “I write all the parts and record it,” says Holt. “When I finish a song I give it to Mario. They’re not put together, really. I do one side, Mario does the other and it just happens. That’s it.”
