Article Contributed by Universal Music Group
Published on 2026-09-04
Photo Credit: Taku
Last month, 25-year-old Australian artist Ethan French announced ideas of the day vol. 1, a wildly creative project born from an equally wild idea.
Just eight months ago, the Perth native committed to posting an “Idea A Day” on social media: a brand-new piece of music shared every day, no matter what. The results have been spectacular. French has attracted more than 850,000 followers on Instagram alone, earned attention from artists including John Mayer, Justin Timberlake, Jon Batiste, Anderson .Paak, Tom Misch and SZA, and created an impressive body of work through this daily practice and love of creativity.
Last month, French gave fans a taste of the project with “it takes a lifetime - day 58.” Today, he returns to an earlier entry with an extended version of “reckless and arranged - day 56,” a track that has already sparked a wave of online buzz and excitement from listeners around the world.
The song also caught the attention of artists including Kerri Chandler and T-Pain, who created their own remixes. T-Pain opened his Red Rocks set with his remix this past June.
The song came to life in May as a minute-long sketch posted as part of French’s daily practice. After a whirlwind of fan comments and millions of streams across platforms, he knew a full version was in order.
Built around a dramatic piano melody, soft beat and moody vocals, the track’s intricate layers and earworm melody invite comparisons to artists including Radiohead and Tame Impala.
“This idea kinda changed my life,” shares French. “I was already incredibly excited (and surprised!) with how the series was being received, but the scale of support, cosigns, remixes and instrumental covers around this song have been unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.
“I woke up to a notification that ‘T-Pain wants to collaborate on a reel,’ and saw his remix—how do you even respond to that?! It’s pretty wild to see comments on random videos mentioning that someone else’s song reminds them of day 56, and stuff like that.
“It doesn’t even feel like it’s mine anymore; the internet owns it! The amount of people that have heard and shown support on this one is genuinely beyond my imagination.”
Listen to or watch “reckless and arranged - day 56.”
ideas of the day vol. 1 began as exactly that: an idea a day, shared without a larger plan attached. Eight songs deep, all written, tracked and mixed during that daily practice, the collection moves between perspectives. Some songs turn inward, while others focus on the people around him, with identity and the creative process providing the thread that ties them together.
Growing up on the far west coast of Australia, French spent his childhood tinkering with guitars and experimenting with melodies, chasing sounds long before he had names for them. His relationship with music emerged quietly at home. His mother bought him a small keyboard at age four, while his father would noodle around on the guitar and play Pink Floyd songs.
The tinkering became a passion, and at just 15, French won the prestigious Australian Children’s Music Foundation songwriting competition.
His mastery was hard-won, built entirely from scratch through feel and curiosity. Self-taught and obsessive, French still plays largely by ear. His music teachers pleaded with him to attend formal theory classes, but he stubbornly insisted on learning by ear and nearly failed his high school music studies because of it.
When he eventually studied composition at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, French chose composition over formal piano performance, rejecting what he calls “skill acquisition devoid of creation.” He felt the sounds first and only later learned the formal language to name what he had already played.
That instinct shaped the way his “Idea A Day” series came together.
“I get asked about how I came up with the idea and the truth is, I kind of stumbled into it,” French explains.
He initially planned something requiring less effort: a “chords of the day” video for musicians that would provide a simple way to post consistently on social media. After making the first one, however, he realized it wasn’t fueling his creativity the way he wanted and pivoted to “Idea A Day” instead.
“I’ve always enjoyed making shorter, kind of ‘unfinished’ ideas and just putting them out there,” he says. “I did a series of ‘song sketches’ a few years ago that’s a similar concept, without the daily thing. Sometimes people ask how I thought of it—but it’s not exactly a revolutionary concept! I’m a musician, a creator, and I decided to create something and share it every day. It seems obvious in hindsight!”
That same instinct carried through to the project itself.
“I think I’ve enjoyed the creative process on this project more than I ever have,” French says. “I’ve learned that when I place less pressure on each individual idea, it actually improves the quality of my writing. There’s a real risk of making things worse when you obsess over them for too long.
“I love tiny parts of songs and often dislike others—I’ll replay tiny snippets over and over. Run-time isn’t something that concerns me much. Even though a lot of these are ‘ideas’ and relatively short, I still think of them as standalone pieces of music.”
