Music producer extraordinaire FINNEAS has played a crucial role in helping shape his sister Billie Eilish's work. Since Eilish first exploded onto the scene in 2015 with Ocean Eyes, the dynamic duo has redefined what pop music is.
With her latest album, HIT ME HARD AND SOFT, they’ve brought the guitar back to the forefront of the mainstream music conversation, a feat achieved in part through FINNEAS' signature Fender Acoustasonic Player Telecaster.
“It’s much closer to an electric guitar’s action than an acoustic guitar’s action,” he says in an upcoming Guitar World interview.
“Billie has spent less time playing guitar, and I often teach her how to play the songs on the Acoustasonic because it’ll be easier for her to get the chord shapes down and practice on it.
“I also always try to get her to play as much as she’s willing to on our records because, even though she feels like she’s less experienced, I really like her sensibilities.”
FINNEAS reveals that Eilish has a particular guitar technique that she prefers, and one that she insists appears on her records – even if there’s some debate around it.
“Her number one piece of feedback is to be quieter,” he admits. “She’s a big fan of me thumbing stuff. Oftentimes, it’s not even between an actual pick or me strumming. She’s like, ‘I want the thumb!’ She wants that super, super-tender thing.”
“Then, sometimes, we bicker and maybe I win. With WILDFLOWER specifically, I remember that was a case where I was strumming a certain way and she wanted it way quieter. I said, ‘I think that this strumming is really effective for this song. We’ll turn it down and it’ll be great, but it has a lot of rhythm in it.’”
Just a few weeks ago, FINNEAS released two signature Acoustasonic Telecaster models, slim-bodied acoustic/electric hybrids that he describes as “a guitar first, but also a piece of technology”.
Guitar World's full interview with FINNEAS will be published later this month.
