When considering the most exciting and naturally intriguing artists emanating from London right now, oogie has to be at the forefront of the conversation. Albeit a relatively elusive presence on the scene, clocking just the seven official releases since 2020, the quality oozing from his releases is impossible to ignore. By delivering raw anecdotal tales through his unique tone and seemingly ambivalent cadence, oogie is able to create some of the most refreshing music in the scene demonstrated by his latest project “phew”.
Consisting of ten intricately inter-woven soundtracks inspired by couch surfing around the country in search of opportunities, the tape builds upon familiar oogie themes of an awkward family structure, loneliness and self-discovery. Polishing off the EP, the London enigma has invited a slew of close friends and collaborators to feature throughout, including BINA., Denzel Himself, jenny and Reckz’Capo.
Following the release of phew, we were able to catch up with oogie to discuss the project and see how things are going for the young star.
Listen to “phew”…
Read the interview…
Hey oogie, how’s things at the moment? What have you been getting up to recently?
Studio, studio and more studio to be honest. I wanna really push myself this year to stay in flow.
To a first time listener, how would you describe your overall sound and direction?
It’s the mini movie playing in my head over a beat. I want people to vibe and connect to put it simply.
Who and what were your musical influences growing up?
Almost too many to mention. Tyler the Creator, Ghetts, JME, Earl Sweatshirt, Scorcher, Chance the Rapper, Azealia banks (during that fantasea era), and going further back, Kanye, Outkast, The Streets, could be here all day tbh shouting out legends!
You’ve just dropped a wicked new single titled “KANYE ME”. Can you tell us more about the inspirations behind the single and how it came about?
Kanye was being Kanye at the time, and it ended up as a metaphor for me of how I’ve got a good and bad side that makes up the full person. And my love/hate relationship with all of those habits (good and bad)
Alongside the track you dropped an official video which is garnering some serious views already. What did you want to convey with the video and can you tell us more about the creative process and inspirations behind it?
Just to give people a visual experience to vibe alongside the track. Visuals are really important to me, as I think quite visually when making song. The concept was to present that juxtaposition within the song between light and dark in a light hearted way.
You’re about to drop another new single called “bake” which shows your ability to incorporate a range of different genres and sounds into your music. How important is this to you? And are there any genres you’d like to implement in the near future?
It’s super important, I’ve always got a stage show in mind, and I want that to be a real experience, so that’s why I’m always experimenting with ways and sounds to bring my ideas to life. Not to be corny, but I don’t really see genre, so whatever moves me, I’ll do.
“KANYE ME” and “bake” are from your project, “phew”. Can you tell us a bit about what inspired the record, thematically and/or sonically?
South London living, with all the ups and the downs, and experimenting with sound all the way through it. Stretching myself and seeing how far I can take things.
Talk us through your creative process when writing and making one of your favourite tracks from the project. What does it look like?
It starts with a voice note, somewhere random, probs the shower. For some reason water always get my thoughts flowing, by the time I’m in the studio, I’ve got a rough idea, and then it’s about building a sonic around it.
What message do you want to send out with “phew”, and how do you want people to feel when they listen to it?
I don’t wanna put too much on specific messages, just to connect and vibe tbh as long as people feel something, I’ld be happy!
How does it differ from you previous project, “Somehow It Makes Sense (Sims)”?
I would say I’m pushing myself much further, experimenting a lot more. It’s another chapter, hopefully one of many.
What’s on the horizon for oogie this year?
Too much too put in a few sentences man, I can’t wait for people to see, we’re gonna really push ourselves to the limit this year.