FENRA unveils debut EP Delusional and shares focus track ‘CHICAGO’

Portland-based producer FENRA steps into full focus with his debut EP Delusional, released via 6x Records on 28 November 2025. Alongside the project arrives its pivotal focus track, ‘CHICAGO’ — a footwork-inspired, atmospheric breakbeat that captures the emotional scope of the EP in one expansive sweep.

Across Delusional, FENRA — the electronic moniker of B Laws — threads together found sounds, ASMR textures, dulcimer, choral samples and immersive synth work into a body of work that feels both intimate and cinematic. Previous singles ‘COFFEE’ and ‘DEEPCUT’ earned praise from CLASH and Magnetic Magazine for their tension-and-release sound design, while the EP itself was mastered by Aneek Thapar (Rival Consoles, Max Cooper), adding further weight to an already assured debut.

Rooted in early memories of church hymns and shaped by years touring in bands across the US, Europe and Asia, FENRA’s sound bridges the personal and the expansive. We caught up with him to talk atmosphere, influence and why ‘CHICAGO’ feels like a turning point.

1. Your EP blends found sounds, ASMR textures, strings and synths into something both intimate and cinematic. What sparked the sonic world of Delusional, and how did you approach building these “atmospheres” from everyday life?

Thanks for having me. I’ve always been really drawn to the sound-design side of production, and with Delusional I wanted to make a project that leaned into that instinct without becoming a straight ambient record. I wanted it to still move, to still feel like songs—but built from textures first.

So I started every track with noise: a voice memo, tape hiss, someone talking in the next room, a street I love, the ocean by my pA lot of this EP is me trying to “draw” harmony out of sound. I would take a texture and figure out what chords complemented its mood instead of the other way around. It made the process feel more like sculpting—shaving away until the atmosphere felt honest.arents’ house, birds, wind—anything that grounded the song in a place or a feeling. I treated those textures almost like emotional anchors. The musical notes came later.

2. “CHICAGO” feels like a pivotal track—footwork-inspired, emotional, and expansive. What does this track represent within the EP, and how did it take shape creatively?

Great question. “CHICAGO” is absolutely the center of the record for me. It was the last song I wrote for the EP, and in a lot of ways it became a bridge into the music that’s coming next for FENRA. It opened a door.It started with a field recording. I had this recording of water that felt rhythmic in a strange way, so I chopped it up and let it guide the tempo. That naturally pulled me toward footwork patterns, which I’ve always loved for how emotional and frantic they can be at the same time.

By the way, I have to mention for anyone reading and not listening… this song sounds nothing like footwork, it almost did for a moment in its trajectory, but not anymore—Anyway, From there the track became about contrast: soft textures with sharp percussion, intimate pads with these sequenced synths, sirens and a boys choir. “CHICAGO” is kind of the moment where the world of Delusional cracks open.

3. You’ve spoken about growing up surrounded by art and first discovering harmony through hymns with your grandmother. How do those early experiences still influence your production style today?

Yeah, those early experiences are still woven into everything I make. My grandmother was probably the first person to show me what harmony felt like—not in a music theory sense, but in that physical way where two notes ring together and suddenly the room feels different. Singing hymns with her was my earliest experience of sound as something emotional and communal.Growing up around art in general taught me to treat creativity as a daily thing, not a precious thing. There were always paintings happening, music playing, people making things just because they felt like it. That definitely shaped my approach to production now—I’m comfortable experimenting, layering textures that shouldn’t work, treating “mistakes” as direction instead of problems.

4. Your previous singles ‘COFFEE’ and ‘DEEPCUT’ were praised by Magnetic Magazine and CLASH for their immersive sound design. How did that early support shape your confidence or direction leading into the full EP?

This whole project is barely half a year old, so getting that kind of support so early on honestly meant a lot. When you’re starting something new, you’re basically working off instinct—chasing sounds that feel good to you, but you have no idea how they’ll land in the world. So seeing outlets like Magnetic Magazine and CLASH respond to the sound design, which is such a core part of what I’m trying to do with FENRA, really gave me a sense that I was on the right path.It didn’t make me want to change direction; it made me want to lean in harder. It pushed me to double down on the textures, the atmosphere, the strange. It also gave me confidence to move quicker. I started writing more, finishing more, experimenting more boldly because I wasn’t second-guessing whether anyone would connect with it.If anything, that early support just made the world of the EP feel bigger. It made me feel like, “Okay, people are hearing what I’m trying to say—now let’s keep building.” I’m deep into a batch of new tracks now, and I’m feeling really energized by where it’s heading.

5. You draw inspiration from a wide spectrum—Caribou, Four Tet, Philip Glass, Gloria Ann Taylor. How do you balance these influences while still carving out a distinctly FENRA identity, especially in a debut project?

I love all of their music, but I’m not trying to recreate anything they’ve done—and honestly, I don’t think I could. Those artists are operating at such a high level in their own lanes. For me, it’s more about absorbing what I can from them and letting it surface in ways that feel natural.Sometimes it’s a rhythmic sensibility, or a certain emotional tension.I take those lessons, but once I’m actually making something, it stops feeling like “influence” and becomes more instinctive. I’m responding to the sounds in front of me, not to a reference.Because FENRA is still new, the identity is forming in real time. The more I trust my weird choices or the textures that feel personal to me, the more it becomes its own thing.