Oscar’s all about the DIY spirit which is why the wear-anywhere vibe of Levi’s holds endless appeal for the 26 year old who wants to write books, make films, design clothes and carry on producing the kind of perfect pop that’s won him fans like Annie Mac. We found out what makes the man who wants to do it all ticks.
What made you want to swap the academy for the studio?
My parents are musicians and artists and so I sort of got into music at an early age. I went to a sort of art-based school, and really got into painting. So I decided to go to art school and try my luck there, but ended up coming all the way back to music. It was the most immediate form of expression, and kind of a lifeline when everything else was sort of going wrong.
Why’s the DIY ethos seem increasingly prevalent?
Largely because of all the equipment and technology that’s available to. I think it’s a really great, exciting and challenging time to be an artist, because anything’s possible.
How do you go about deciding what to wear on stage?
Clothes and performance really go hand in hand. If I don’t have an outfit that feels right, it’s harder for me to feel good about it. In the same way I’ll try different styles of writing songs and different production techniques, I’ll try different looks, you know? Currently it’s a lot of double denim. A kind of UK Garage thing.
Is experimentation—in music, art, style—pivotal to you?
Progressing and developing is the goal. I don’t see the point of doing the same thing twice. I’m really not attracted to that, nor would I want to represent that mantra. For me, trying to do something exciting and trying to do something that stands out from everything else is the main thing. Striving for a unique quality, something that’s identifiable as yours
Do you think that music still has the power to bring disparate groups of people together?
I think it’s the most important art-form in the current climate. You see every day how music brings people together, and how people share their emotions and their experiences through that art form. It’s such an immediate thing—it’s music and it moves you. t’s a physical thing. It’s not really cerebral. I think that people need it more than they ever have. I don’t think it’ll ever stop.
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