3FACE & CEE - 10 Questions

Recently releasing their single “Scrolling” musical soulmates from Cape Town, South Africa, Joshua “3FACE” Eagles and Cedrik “CEE” Aberle bring a unique, genre-bending approach to their self-described intergalactic sound that’s at once captivating and illuminating instrumentally and vocally. In an increasingly global society, the pair's mission is to elevate consciousness while simultaneously shining a light on the homeland that continues to shape and mould their creativity.

3FACE & CEE sat down with Wordplay Magazine to answer our infamous 10 Questions:

1. How did it all begin, what sparked your love for music?

3FACE: Cedrik and I got together just before the end of high school, and we were going out one night with a bunch of friends. Beforehand a homie of ours used to play freestyle beats and Cedrick and I would just go back and forth doing freestyles. We were just a little messed up driving and they put on some beats and Cedrick and I went off and everyone started liking it, so we after a drunk conversation and we started meeting up from the next day to jump in the studio and crank out some music.

CEE: That kind of response; the attention we got from it, the reaction we got from people just rapping off beats was amazing.

3FACE: I was doing music in school and stuff, but it was more just like I needed an extracurricular activity.

CEE: We grew up in that dubstep era, when Skrillex were massive, so Josh was trying to get on that DJ level.

3FACE: I was just trying to be a big bad EDM DJ, something like that.

CEE: We learnt a lot from EPOS studio in those days as well, through production.

3FACE: That’s where I got my production from, I was just copping beats on the side then Ceddy jumped in and we started writing together.

CEE: From the start it was actually like a rap fusion, more electronic, then it became more like funk disco rap, on the commercial side.

2. Can you tell us about any artists you’d like to collaborate with in the future?

3FACE: There’s so many. Like all the greats you could name, like Kendrick, J.Cole, D’mile, the list goes on.

3FACE: Working with D was really crazy, coming off Silk Sonic – he’s insane. He’s a freaking wizard.

CEE: Amazing person and producer.

3FACE: Working with him was a real step forward for us. Big evolution for us.

CEE: Just seeing how he works and getting something done with him was crazy.

3. What projects have you got coming up, and can you give us any info on them?

3FACE: Nah, we can’t. Because a lot of the stuff is still in the process of becoming something. There’s new music coming for sure, and there’s always going to be hardcore hip-hop, a little bit of trap, disco, it’s going to go everywhere.

CEE: Right now we’re just playing the singles game, just releasing our bank with singles trying to get as much eyes on our sound as possible, and then when people are ready to listen to a project we’ve got it. And I think in this day and age people’s attention span is only like one visual, one song; to have an audience listen to your full album takes a lot.

3FACE: It’s honestly not that bad sometimes, because I feel like when you do a full project you can get locked into doing the same thing for a year and a half, so by the end of it you’re tired and you haven’t even promoted it yet. We are hoping to come to the UK soon to do a show, we just need to work out all the logistics first but it’s definitely in the works.

4. How would you guys describe your sound?

3FACE: Spacey, first and foremost. Cedrick and I like to think of ourselves being little aliens, and when we make music were just trying to search for a different planet out there or a different planet to get to, doesn’t matter if it’s in our lane it’s just out there so we’re going to find it.

CEE: Our whole thing is just portraying worlds, and each song we want you to be absorbed into that world when you’re listening to it. And it’s the sounds we use too, we put a lot of scents and weird stuff in there.

5. Can you tell me about your proudest moment to date, as artists?

CEE: A big jump for us was the song Revive, which was a disco funk type song, and it got on a Netflix show called Blood and Water, a South African TV show. That was a lot of attention, which was really cool. It got us a lot of traction.

6. Have you got any advice for our readers, who might be trying to play the mad game of music?

CEE: It’s definitely a long game. It takes a while to find your sound and really be authentic and let yourself go on the mic. I think if you stick to it and really have a passion for it you can definitely do something with it in the industry.

3FACE: I think for creatives in general, the best advice we could give it just to be confident in the fact that eventually you’re going to make something great.

CEE: Confidence and authenticity is key. Trust the process.

7. Are there any artists on your radar right now that we should check out?

3FACE: So many, so many. We could definitely do a Spotify playlist (see below), we’ll link you guys with some great music as well. I would say South African artists. Black Coffee, Blackie, Archie, Caleb – there are so many artists, there’s so much talent it’s honestly ridiculous. A lot of it’s just going to stay local if we don’t shout it out, we’ll definitely make a playlist. There’s so many genres out here, that’s where Cedrick and I get the need to not sit in a genre too much, because we’re got hip hop, pop music, folk music, Afrikaans, techno, trance, and it’s all like everybody listens to everything out here. But it’s dope.

CEE: There’s a gap here for fusion because we got so much inspiration from so many places.

8. What album is on heavy rotation  on your playlist right now?

3FACE: Isaiah Rashad basically his last two albums are mad. He’s the best in the hip hop scene right now.

CEE: He’s one of the guys signed to Top Dawg right now, we’re loving it. He’s my top listen.

3FACE: We listen to a lot of the Silk Sonic album too, it’s great.

CEE: And a lot of Mac Miller.

9. What do you guys like to do when you’re not making music?

3FACE: I play a lot of video games, that’s my favourite time-waster.

CEE: 90% of our days are on music for sure.

3FACE: Exactly. Video games, music, sleep – I’m done.

CEE: At this point it’s just pretty much music. We do go out sometimes, it’s nice here in Capetown.

10. What are three things you can’t live without in the studio?

3FACE: You’ve got to get really shitty studio monitor headphones. Don’t buy expensive ones, there’s no point. That’s number one. And a comfy studio chair. And weed. It’s all part of the process.

Bonus Question: What’s your tech set up?

3FACE: My tech setup is pretty simple, it’s just Epos studio and I’ve collected a whole bunch of banks and presets over the years. I’ve got an Acai keyboard, some guitars, a bass guitar and that’s it.

CEE: It’s a classic bedroom set up.

3FACE: Exactly. If I need to do something that needs to sound expensive, I’ll make it sound expensive somewhere else but most of the time I’m happy in the bedroom set up.

CEE: And then the SM7B mic. We love that mic. You can lie in your bed and record a song.

Connect with 3FACE & CEE on Instagram here.