City Nomads Radio: Oliver Osborne

PUBLISHED July 8th, 2016 07:00 am | UPDATED May 18th, 2020 04:58 pm

Oliver Osborne moved to Singapore from London, where he was a regular face at notable clubs such as Fabric, Corsica Studios, 93feet East, and Shoreditch (Soho) House. And during his time in London, Oliver played alongside the likes of M.A.N.D.Y., Maya Jane Coles, Stefan Bodzin, Noze, and Matt Tolfrey.

In Singapore, Oliver has started a series of pop-up parties – After Dark at Kilo Lounge organized regular parties at CATO and the successful Eyes To The Front pool parties at Sofitel So Singapore. Originally on a strict diet of jungle, drum and bass, and hip hop, he has eventually turned to house and techno, playing in some of the best spots in Asia such as Glow in Bangkok and Lola in Shanghai.

Eyes To The Front (ETTF) has been throwing many parties recently. How did ETTF come about?

Ha, partly out of my company name, Osborne Holdings, sounding pretty boring.

On a more serious note, ETTF was initially launched as an agency. I went through a stage where I was being offered a lot of gigs that I couldn’t take, or didn’t feel were appropriate for me, but always spent time to put people in touch with someone who could do it. This escalated to the point where starting an agency was a logical step. The events aim to help raise the profile of the agency, but that said, a lot of people just know ETTF for the parties.

In the same way that ETTF was a platform for DJs to get more gigs, ETTF Music, the label, came from the same place. I wanted to be able to represent Asia based talent without relying on other people to put the music out.

Other than ETTF, what have you been up to?

I have been really working on my sound. Both in terms of the tracks I am producing and my sets. I have been nerding out big time watching production tutorials, getting loads of cool plug-ins, and trying some new stuff out. I’m trying to avoid using too many of the standard production and arrangement trends you hear in house and techno. I’m also starting to use my voice more in my tracks (for better or for worse). The next digital release will sound a little different from the first 3 tracks I put out.

On the DJing side, I realised a couple of months ago that I was taking on over 100 new tracks a month, and that this was leading to a situation where I didn’t know my music as well as I should. I was finding myself flicking trough tracks during a set and genuinely having no idea what a lot of tracks sound like. So I set my self the goal of not taking on any new music for a few months in order to really get to know the tracks I have. That said, there are some promos coming in that I just can’t resist, like the new Anya Schneider release.

Tell us one thing that people don’t know about you.

In my teens, I used to be in a theatre company that did musicals. West Side Story, My Fair Lady, Joseph etc. So I have been performing (in one mode or another) for longer than I haven’t.

You’ve been supporting DJs in the region. Who should be on our watch list?

There is a lot of talent in Southeast Asia at the moment. One of the people that I am most excited about is JonnyVicious from Kuala Lumpur. Super focused, super passionate, and famously spent 9 months straight edge working on his flow and his technique. He’s hip, he’s young, he’s down to earth (big plus), and I really expect to see him break out in a big way over the next few years.

I also see bright future for people like Dan Buri from Bangkok, Wisdy from Bali, Axel Groove from KL – the list goes on.

What are your thoughts on the future of music industry in Asia?

That’s a huge question!! I would love to see some more big break out acts across the region from the house and techno world. People like Sunju Hargun and Xhin have shown that talent from SEA can be recognised on the international stage, with some big releases and support from some very high profile artists. I think what we need more of is young creatives playing and producing house and techno.

I spoke to someone who had recently graduated from the music production course at LaSalle, and he told me that of the 23 people on the course, no one (that he knew of) was producing house and techno. This makes me think that the scene could be doing more to make house music relevant for younger people. So essentially, for any of my industry peers reading this, the responsibility of inspiring young creatives rests mainly on us.

I also think that people like JonnyVicious, who I mentioned above, play a big role in inspiring people to get involved. Young Asian talent has much more potential to inspire other young Asian creatives than a white guy in his mid thirties. As such it is important that people in the industry are recognising young talent, helping them develop, and in turn further engaging the younger crowd.

I also feel that at the level of your regularly gigging locally based DJs there isn’t a large number producing music on a regular basis.

Producing and releasing music seems to be key for the progression and recognition of a particular scene (or DJ). However production is something that takes a lot of time to master (if that’s even possible). I produced my first track when I was 15, and I am still regularly frustrated with what I am able to achieve. So for anyone out there who is thinking about getting into production, START TODAY!! Get a trial copy of Ableton for free, or spend $250 on the latest version of Logic, look up a load of tutorials online and start playing around with stuff.

Tell us more about your curated mixtape for City Nomads.

I have tried to put together tracks that are doing something a little unusual. A lot of the time I really focus on the groove, and let that be what ties my sets together, however this time I wanted to focus on musicality and creativity. So in each track there is something that has stood out as a bit wonky, whether in an overt or a subtle way.

[mixcloud https://www.mixcloud.com/citynomadsradio/city-nomads-radio-18-oliver-osborne/ width=100% height=120 hide_cover=1 light=1]

Any shouts?

I’m very excited about some of the DJs I have playing over the next few months. I am bringing Stefano Ritteri and Dan Buri together for the first time, and later in July, I have Morocco’s Amine K playing along side JonnyVicious.

And a shout out to my team, who put up with our ad hoc schedule, and for handling everything I throw at them.

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