Producer Deep Focus: FINNEAS
Finneas Baird O’Connell, professionally known as FINNEAS, is a hugely successful producer, singer, and songwriter.
However, he first got his start in acting. He was featured in shows such as “Modern Family” and “Glee.” FINNEAS began producing at age 12, and had always been a lover of music.
He is widely known as the brother of Billie Eilish who is one of this generation's biggest superstars.
FINNEAS has been involved in the production of all of Billie’s iconic songs, as well as producing all of his own songs featured in his solo LPs.
He has begun to expand his production credits to outside of working with his sister and has already started working with massive stars including Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber, Kid Cudi, Demi Lovato and Halsey. FINNEAS also released his debut studio album, produced by himself, last month.
FINNEAS has been nominated for nine Grammy’s and has won eight of them, including two Record of the Years, Producer of the Year and Album of the Year.
FINNEAS is only beginning his career as a massive producer, but he has already shown that he is a phenomenal producer.
5 Essential Finneas Songs
“Bad Guy” by Billie Eilish
Arguably the most popular song of 2020, this song is a masterclass in production. The production is ever changing and filled with a ton of charisma.
Billie Eilish is an incredible vocalist, but this song would not be the massive hit that it is, without FINNEAS’ perfect pop production.
The song has a ton of funk and has one of the most unique pop beats in ages. The production is over the top, which really works for this fantastic Billie song.
“Moral of the Story” by Ashe & Niall Horan
This incredible song, written and produced by FINNEAS, was a massive Tik Tok hit in 2019, thanks to FINNEAS’ addictive melodies that easily get stuck in anyone’s head.
This production is more lowkey, relying more on piano’s and the voices of the vocalists, but this production has a ton of layers including the show-stopping vocal layering created by FINNEAS.
“Bikini Porn” by Tove Lo
This is a crazy song, yet it somehow works. The production in this song is absolutely chaotic, including the crisp productions and vocal distortions, all created by FINNEAS.
It is clear FINNEAS had fun making this song that features unique synths and very eccentric vocal effects.
Although it may be a unique song for FINNEAS to do, it has all of the elements that makes his production great.
The melodies are insanely catchy, the production is smooth and crisp, and also there are vocal effects, which FINNEAS loves to add to his songs.
This is definitely a strange song, but it is one of FINNEAS’ best.
“I Lost a Friend” by FINNEAS
This song off of FINNEAS’ first EP “Blood Harmony” is a perfect example of how he can shine as both a vocalist and producer.
FINNEAS sounds incredible on this track, but the production is the real star.
The production of this song is quite unique since FINNEAS treats the song like a ballad, but the production is definitely not suited for a ballad.
The weird mix of vocals and production works insanely well and makes this a unique twist of the standard ballad format.
This is a perfect song to represent FINNEAS’ talents as a vocalist and producer.
“Watch” by Billie Eilish
“Watch” is one of the songs featured in Billie Eilish’s debut EP. This is an incredible song to this day and one of her best tracks.
The production in this song is absolutely phenomenal, the build up to the chorus is fantastic and the match effects added to the beat works perfectly.
FINNEAS and Eilish are a perfect team and this song perfectly exemplifies their blend of vocals with a fantastic production behind it.
Essential FINNEAS Album: “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?”
FINNEAS was responsible for co-writing and producing the entire album “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?”
This album, which won Album of The Year at the Grammy’s is responsible for boosting Billie Eilish and FINNEAS into super stardom.
This is an incredible album that features many insanely successful hits such as “Bad Guy, “When The Party’s Over” and “Bury a Friend.”
This album’s production is also very diverse. There are many types of songs on this album that all feature widely different productions.
Whether it be “xanny” with the insane bass in the production, to “listen before I go” which features a very simplistic production.
FINNEAS also adds vocal harmonies for incredible songs such as “when the party’s over” and “i love you”.
The production in this album is seamless and also features many beautiful transitions from songs which make the experience of listening to the album from start to finish very rewarding.
As of now, this is FINNEAS’ most notable album and it is very deserving of that title.
This is a marvelous album that deserves all the praise it gets, and this is mostly due to the flawless production created by FINNEAS.
Jack Freiser is a second-year majoring in telecommunications. To contact him, email jef5614@psu.edu.
