Interview: S. Fidelity Discusses New Album I Guess I'll Never Learn, Creativity and Collaboration

5 years ago, we had a chat with Swiss producer (and vocalist), S.Fidelity, just a few days after he released Fidelity Radio Club. A record, I consider very dear in my personal collection.

We live in turbulent times, and life isn't always easy, but one thing's for sure - Tim keeps pushing forward and evolving. While his new record arrives under the bold, funny, and intriguing title I Guess I'll Never Learn, I reckon there's a lot that's new around him.

I'm excited to bring back the spotlight on his persona and art because I really loved the new album. Because of a lot of last-minute work related to running our own label, it took me a moment to fully indulge in its beauty, but it certainly grew on me. With a galaxy of great collaborators, this is an album that would live its mark on my sonic 2026. Hope you like our conversation and sparks your further interest in I Guess I'll Never Learn

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Hey Tim, it's so good to have you here! Congratulations on the release of I Guess I'll Never Learn. What's the one word that best describes how you feel today?

Hungry.

Fidelity Radio Club is still one of my favourite albums of 2021, and I frequently play it on my record player. While the new album is called I Guess I'll Never Learn, what have you learned over the past five years?

That I’m stubborn enough to keep going. Being a musician these days is so difficult, it almost feels like a radical act to keep doing it. And I’m still finding new ways to be stunned by - and fall in love with - the creative process over and over again. Beautiful stuff.

I Guess I'll Never Learn is the most cohesive (genre-wise) record you've released so far. There's a strong consistency woven throughout it, and while it features many collaborators, there's a clear path and theme. What prompted you to tone down the sonic experimentation? Is it simply a sign of growing up?

It might be. Mostly, those are the songs I kept coming back to because they have something unique about them that feels distinctly like an S. Fidelity song. No one else would have done it that way. I think the experimentation became much more detailed and deliberate on textural and harmonic levels, rather than through big jumps between styles or genres.

I loved hearing your voice on the record. "When Dumb Thoughts Learn How To Walk" is such a bop! Do you plan on doing this more often?

I've been using my voice a lot, even on my last album. On "Something Good", for example, the vocals are already fully in your face. I think because of my producer background, people assume the vocals in my records are sampled. I don't mind it. I use my voice much like I use instruments - for layering and texture. I don't really see myself as a songwriter or anything like that, but it's a powerful tool for giving songs a personal touch, and I definitely plan on doing that more and more.

Do you feel more vulnerable when it comes to singing than producing, or does it come naturally to you?

More vulnerable, for sure. But there's also a certain freedom to it because it's very easy to just play it by ear. I'm not a trained instrumentalist, so it can sometimes be difficult to translate what's in my mind through an instrument. The voice can be much more intuitive.

Collaborators have always been a vital part of your music. What was different this time in the way you worked with all these talented people on I Guess I'll Never Learn?

The biggest difference is the number of artists and stories that are told throughout the album, and being mindful of respecting each artist's contribution while still getting the larger narrative right. Also, most of the production was created while being in the room with the artists, which creates a very different atmosphere. Songs become much more intertwined with the mood we're sharing while creating them.

You've emphasized the importance of storytelling on social media and how central it is to this album. In an era of AI-generated music, do you think authentic storytelling is what sets real artists apart and keeps listeners coming back?

I think being human is what keeps listeners engaged. I'm always looking for the human element in art, and storytelling is one of those things. I also love mistakes and weird little moments in records - although I think I tend to clean them out too much in my own work. If you're not a vocalist, you have to find other ways to tell stories, and it's an interesting time for producers. We have to reinvent ourselves again.

Do you see AI as a threat to artists, or more as a tool that can be integrated into the creative process?

It's a threat, for sure. Song-generation platforms have been built by scraping music from virtually every artist in history, and no major institution seems able to get a handle on it. Entire cultures and movements get reduced to a single prompt. But it won't change the human urge to connect through music made by other humans. I'm not too worried about that.

One major issue is that it takes away many of the financially viable side jobs that have helped keep large parts of the music industry afloat because the art itself often doesn't pay enough. Artistically, the biggest issue for me is that some of these tools feel too easy and too broad. I love how difficult it is to make a great song. If something "solves" the problem for me, I get bored and move on. If AI tools solve a narrow technical issue, I'm all for it.

You've worked with our friends at Jakarta Records for quite some time. What's the most important trait of a record label in 2026, and what role should labels play in an industry where artists can do so much on their own?

I love working with a team. I need people who can give me deadlines and bounce ideas back and forth. We're living in a time when it's very easy to feel alone and powerless with big tech everywhere. Having a partner you can discuss issues, wins, and losses with feels like the right approach for me. Of course, I'm still doing a ton of work myself, but it allows me to focus a bit more on the artistic side and a bit less on paperwork.

There's a strong sense of heartbreak running through the record. Do you see this album as something that could help listeners process similar emotions?

Absolutely. I think it's important to be reminded of the emotions that might be waiting around the corner when we're hurting. Throughout the album, you're cycling through different emotional states. That's why the record ends on a high note with "I Guess I'll Never Learn" rather than ending with "Glass on the Floor". Contrast is what keeps things interesting and stops us from becoming numb.

Staying with the theme of learning, do you have any advice for producers who are just starting out, or mistakes they should try to avoid early in their careers?

Have fun and find peers in real life. Go to jams, events, and local shows. Focus on the music for a few years and don't worry too much about anything else. Don't go online too early and get distracted by content creation and view counts. Then you'll find out whether making great music is enough to keep you motivated. And don't sign anything without a lawyer.

What's on your playlist these days? Any artists we're missing out on over at Stereofox?

The Chocolate Jam Co. – The Spread Of The Future (a classic that keeps popping up in my head)

Neromun – welk (a wild German rap album)

Detroit Filthiest – 100% Authenticity Guaranteed (well... filthy)

If you could collaborate with anyone in the world — regardless of how famous they are — who would it be and why?

Maybe BlocBoy JB. That could be an interesting combination. Missy Elliott would be the dream collaboration. Chad Hugo, too. I think we'd complement each other well in the studio. There are too many to name.

Sorry, you may have answered this before, but since we're in the more "generic" part of the interview... where does the name S. Fidelity actually come from? We didn't ask in our last interview. :)

I might have denied this answer before. No comment, haha.

What's next for you? Anything exciting you're looking forward to over the next few months?

I'm going to become a father this summer, so that's going to be an exciting change. But I also have a ton of music on my hard drive that was made after the album tracklist was finalized and still needs to be worked on. There's also some new Underground Canopy material in the works, plus a few more album-related goodies. And I'm working on new creative spaces for artists - hopefully I'll be able to share more about that soon.