Nieuws

In this lively interview, Oski brings the energy as he talks about supporting Blanks and the thrill of reconnecting with the artist for the second time. From pre-performance rituals to his eclectic music style, Oski shares anecdotes about his journey, including the unexpected success of covers like “Déjà vu” and “Teenage Dream,” created for fun on TikTok.

Kavka: You’re supporting Blanks today, how do you feel about that? How did you find out about Blanks?

Oski: I feel great, I feel honored, this is actually the second time I’m supporting him, the last time he was in Antwerp, it was about a year and a half ago and I was supporting him then and I’m supporting him now so it feels very nice to kind of keep that contact. And I think I found out about Blanks like most people, through YouTube, through the internet cause I think that’s where he’s known for, for his online presence, which is amazing to see how he’s built up that to a real-life fanbase that comes to see his shows and I think that’s very inspiring. 

Kavka: Do you have any rituals before going on stage to calm yourself?

Oski: Well, usually I’ll have a 5-minute warm-up which is pretty standard for me but apart from there’s not really a routine that I have, I try to just mentally prepare myself and go through the track list again, just make sure I’m feeling alright and then hit the stage.

Kavka: For those who don’t know your music yet, how would you describe it?

Oski: To put it simply, I think my music is very much a combination of different things I like, so there’s a lot of pop music and indie-pop-inspired stuff, and sometimes there’s a little rap and hip-hop influence as well, and the other electronic elements because I actually grew up producing electronic dance music which kind of shifted onto the thing that I make now, so now that I think about, I think it’s accessible for everyone.

Kavka: You recently released a cove for “Teenage Dream” and you also did “Deja Vu” before, why did you choose to record those songs?

Oski: I did “Déjà vu” because at the time, I was very much going through something similar and I just wanted to give it a try and I was a fan of how it turned out and then I decided to put it online, and “Teenage Dream” was an idea for a series I was doing on Tiktok where I covered songs in a specific style of another artist so it was “Teenage Dream” in the style of The 1975. That got so much attention that I kind of thought to myself: “Okay, I have no choice but to put it out”, like it would be a crime not to. I’m very glad that I did because I’m also I huge fan of the song itself. 

Kavka: Are there any more songs you’d like to cover?

Oski: I’m not sure, I want to do “Boyfriend” by Justin Bieber, it’s one of the songs that is on my bucket list cause I feel like at the time when it came out it was such a cheesy pop song but I think it’s actually a good-written song so I kinda wanna give it my own spin.

Kavka: We’d be excited to hear! Are you constantly writing music or do you take breaks, are there periods when you’re not writing anything at all? Where do you start with your songs?

Oski: I try to be as consistent as possible, I think consistency is key in a lot of things, so not necessarily writing every day but trying to get a couple of ideas each week. Lately, it’s been really tough because I’ve been filming a new series that I’m playing in which is very time-consuming, so I haven’t been in the studio as much as I’ve wanted to. Usually when I do get to the studio, I start off with instrumental ideas and rough melodies which grow into more concrete, solid foundations for songs, so layer by layer building everything.

Kavka: You mentioned that you’re in a new series, how do you find acting compared to singing?

Oski: It’s very new for me, it’s the first time that I’m doing something serious in acting, I took drama classes in high school but not with the intention that this is something that I wanna make a serious career out of. I was asked to come and audition for the role and eventually got after a couple of rounds. One part of me is very insecure because it’s the first time that I’m doing it and I have no idea if I’m actually doing it right but there’s another part of me that’s saying, you did this many rounds of auditions, you got it for a reason. I try to assure myself in that aspect, I’m having a great time filming, I’m having a lot of fun and I’m very curious to see the end result and how everyone feels about it.

Kavka: Yeah, that’s the most important thing – to have fun! Who is the first person you show your music to when you write it?

Oski: Usually, it’s my mom because my studio is the top of my house, the small room, she’ll come in every now and then just to say goodnight or whatever and I’ll be working and be like “Hey, this is what I’m working on, do you wanna hear it?”. It’s either her or my little brother who also likes to come in and bother me for no reason, you know that’s how brothers are. So I’ll bother him by playing him some new stuff.

Kavka: You have four EPs released for now, are you planning anymore new releases this year?

Oski: There’s no plans for bigger projects at the moment because any time that I do a more complete body of work, I feel like there has to be a certain concept or an idea behind it. The last couple of EPs, there was a story behind it but at the moment there’s not really a bigger picture that I have to place the songs in, so for the moment it’s just loose shots of putting songs out which is still equal in terms of how much work I put into it and how much work I put into it, how much I care for it. 

Kavka: What’s the last song you added to your playlist?

Oski: It was the song “Burn” from the last Kanye West album which I didn’t like at all, except for that one song so yeah, it’s that one.

Kavka: Who would you like to work with or support next?

Oski: Well, I was hoping to play Holly Humberstone support in Trix but she brought her own support so I can’t do that and then The 1975 in Forest National which I would’ve loved to play as well but they also have their own support, so I think I need to start aiming a little less high. I’m trying to get my name more into the indie-pop scene so any artist that I look up to in that genre would be cool.

Kavka: Any more goals for 2024?

Oski: I would like to grow my catalog as a producer to other artists cause I like bringing other people’s vision to life as much as I do my own ideas, so more collaborating and more songs.

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