Eau Claire resident Fuller Moehagen makes part of his living off music, but you won’t see him on stage strumming a guitar.
…Fuller regularly does design work and merchandising for bands, both local and national. We wanted to get Fuller’s take on the best tunes of 2016 because to do this kind of work means listening to and thinking about music and bands a little differently in order to be able to turn around and distill and visually represent a band’s sound and aesthetic in an accurate, effective way. No easy task! Says Fuller on his approach to this particular challenge:
“Like anything else, some projects are definitely easier than others. I can listen to a band or artist and know exactly what to do within a few minutes. Conversely, I’ve been sent jobs and had little-to-no idea of what the fuck to do. So maybe that means I create 10 concepts instead of 5, just to see what sticks. There’s some amount of trial and error to it. Luckily, I’ve been doing this long enough to kinda know what works and what doesn’t. At the end of the day it’s still art and still subjective. I just do whatever I think is cool in the moment. Trust my gut and execute. The rest is kinda up in the air.”
Trusting his gut has led Fuller to get to work with some seriously big names in music; his handiwork has been featured at Eaux Claires and sold online and at shows by numerous artists and bands! Check out a sampling of some of the work he’s done below, and scroll on through for some of Fuller’s favorite tracks of 2016!
Yeah, 2016 had its serious bummer moments – but we still got music, right? In fact, Royal Blues is filled with enough electro-pop goodness that you’ll be saying “Donald WHO?!” in no time. I’m kidding, we’re probably doomed! But maybe this song will help for a few minutes. Turn it up, fam. The chopped vocal sample lends itself perfectly to the dreamy, cascading synths…or whatever. It’s just catchy af.
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Easily my second favorite song called “The Middle”. While they’re not the most SEO friendly band, Wet is dope. This is like a chopped and screwed version of CHVRCHES, if you can follow that. Anyway, this is just a random single they released after their full-length album, Don’t You, came out in early 2016. I can’t stop spinning it. If it’s any indication of things to come, 2017 should be a cool year for them.
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Straight up, this was my most listened to song of 2016 and has become my favorite Arms Aloft jam. What A Time To Be Barely Alive is an amazing album overall, but this one jumped out at me from the very beginning. Maybe it’s because the singer/songwriter in the band is one of my best friends. Maybe it’s because I’ve been around these dudes in one way or another for nearly a decade. Or maybe it’s just a really fucking good song? Yeah, I think that’s the one.
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Lyrically, Shura isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel, but the songs on Nothing’s Real are heartfelt and deeply catchy. Sleek, 80’s pop vibes with dark, melancholy undertones. Also, for being her debut full-length album, it’s pretty damn impressive. Definitely someone to keep an eye on.
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Yeah, guys…I know. Yeezy has been pretty uncool lately, but this song got me so hyped in 2016 that I felt weird not adding it. The production on this track is phenomenal. Mike Dean is just starting to get the real props he deserves. Plus, I had the chance to check out the Saint Pablo tour a few months ago and seeing how kids reacted to this song was kinda surreal. That being said, Ye needs to fix his broken brain as soon as possible.
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See more of Fuller’s work or contact him via his website: FULLER.MOE
