Oh!SoSpectacular Interview

Flawless Hustle: What’s good Oh! What you been up to fam?

Oh!SoSpectacular: I’m good man, just staying busy, producing, writing, teaching, working on this Masters.

FH: So your originally form London, when did you make your way out to the U.S.?

Oh!: My mom decided to make the move back in ’94 and I’ve been living here ever since. In fact I recently got sworn in as a citizen so technically I’m American now. But like a lot of us who’ve been dispersed I’ve always had a slight issue with how I identify myself. I’m English by nationality but culturally speaking I’m Jamaican, from the food to the dialect that’s my heritage.

FH: In your own words tell us a little about how you get started in the music business? How long have you been producing for?

Oh!: My freshman year of college [2004] a friend introduced me to Fruity Loops and that’s when it started. I remember he was kinda surprised at how nice my first beats were coming out. But to be truthful, prior to that I used to mess around with this Korg Triton at my church, so I kinda knew how to make beats I just never sampled. On top of that, there was a recording studio at my high school where I learned a lot about mixing and engineering. So that’s how I started with the beats. I’ve been producing for maybe 2 years, and by that I mean working with artists to create a full record. As for the business, I never had ambitions of being in it until I put out my album, which served as my personal litmus test.

FH: I wanted to discuss your new project Once Upon a Time which was featured on FH recently.  Tell me a little bit about the project.

Oh!: I had a lot of these “unreleased” songs sitting around that I produced. I had always envisioned doing some kind of mixtape featuring different rappers on my beats, but it never materialized. Once Spectacular Ever After was out I wanted to let people hear where I’m coming from as a producer. Like, you know I have a ‘different’ sound but after listening to this project I think you’ll see the wide spectrum of styles I cover, while keeping it Oh!SoSpectacular.

FH: So the project Once Upon a Time is more of a prelude to your Spectacular Ever After?

Oh!: Yea basically, which is how the title came about. It’s a prelude in a sense that these songs were completed long before I had even thought about doing a solo album. I’m taking the listener back to a time when I was strictly doing beats for other people, you can say it’s an audio resume.

FH: You’ve been giving out your last two projects for free download. How do you think this has helped you as an artist?

Oh!: It’s helped tremendously. When zero people are familiar with your music you can’t expect them to buy it because you haven’t created any value. Not only that but with the internet being the medium that it is, there’s virtually no barrier to entry. Anyone in the world can log on and experience my music. Not only that but the feedback is immediate so ultimately I think its a win-win for both myself and the fans.

FH: What kind of setup do you have in your studio?

Oh!: Currently I’m running Logic Studio/ ProTools/ midi controller and a bunch of VST’s. I’m not really a hardware guy, yet. But thats more about economic reasons than anything else [laughs].

FH: How do you put together a track? Whats your inspiration, or thought process in putting it all together?

Oh!: I tend to go through phases. For example, I’ll go a few months where I’m sampling specific type of record and the formula will be pretty much the same. Then I get tired of that and I might take a different approach using more original sounds and melodies. Generally speaking however, I always start with a melody and build the drums around it and the rest just flows. If I’m doing a song I have to write it while I’m working on the beat. That way the lyrics and the beat are born together.

FH: How do you produce for specific artists? Is there a specific type of beat you envision for a specific type of personality?

Oh!: I used to just make what I felt like and then let the artist pick. Nowadays that’s changed. The artist will give me the direction they want, which typically translates to something left-field but still radio friendly. But within those parameters I really try to push artists with the tracks I produce for them. I might throw in an unusual time signature, or a faster tempo than they would typically rap on.

FH: Who are your influences on the production side? Who do you like to listen to?

Oh!: When I started my primary influences were Kanye and The Heatmakerz. Through the Wire was the beat that made me want to start making beats. The sped-up soul sample thing was so hot to me at the time. The whole Dipset era. When I got my hands on Fruity Loops I was finally able to emulate that sound. Other influences would be The Neptunes, Polow da Don, Just Blaze, Ryan Leslie. That really shaped my foundation and you can hear that influence a lot on Once Upon a Time. Next to hip hop, I listen to gospel and reggae/dancehall. I pull a lot of inspiration from those two genres and I think it’ll become more apparent on future projects. There’s more, but I almost feel like its becoming cliche to say “oh I listen to everything” so I’ll leave it at that [laughs].

FH: Are there any genres which you think you’d like to try producing for that you have yet to try? What about the ones you have tried?

Oh!: I’ve pretty much covered all the sub-genres within hip hop and I’ve ventured into dancehall riddims and electronic music. I definitely want to get more into live instrumentation because that will open up more opportunities in terms of the kinda of music I can produce. Once I enter that realm I wanna take on a Brian Eno or Quincy Jones role, you know, hands off but still very involved in the overall sound.

FH: What’s the next project we can expect from Oh!?

Oh!: I’m working on two projects simultaneously right now. Tentatively titled Uh-Oh! and Divine Intervention. I can’t speak much on them at the moment but I’m really opening up on these records and showing a side of me that you might have only glimpsed on Spectacular Ever After.

Oh!: What’s your ultimate end goal as an artist? When will you say you’ve finally reached a point where you’re satisfied?

FH: The end goal is to create music that will stand the test of time. Don’t know if I’ll reach it but thats the bar, true timeless music that will resonate with people from all walks of life.

Oh!: Where can people learn more about Oh! and follow you?

FH: You can keep up with me at ohsospectacular.com – that’ll connect you
to my twitter, myspace, facebook, what have you.

FH: Is there anything else you’d like to mention to our readers?

Oh!: I appreciate you for listening! Thanks for the opportunity.