Having spent the last few years releasing a breadth of bold and diverse releases, London-based artist Oscar Mic has now returned with his latest catchy offering ‘GET YOURS!
Described as Beck meets Sleaford Mods, ‘GET YOURS!’ was inspired by a near-death experience the frontman had in Brazil some years ago. The message behind his new release is to take every chance and opportunity while you can, told through a guise of bright and bouncing aesthetics.
So with the new single impressing so many right now, we sat down with him to find out more about his latest gem and what else he has planned for the future.
Words by Chris Bound
Discovered via http://musosoup.com
Photocred: Christoper Brew
Chris) Hi Oscar, how are you today?
Oscar) I’m a little hungover. I had a bit of a lockdown bubble party yesterday. Gotta fill those days!
For those that haven’t heard of you yet, how would you best describe your sound and who have been your biggest influences so far?
I play garage rock and post punk mixed with rap using live loops, beatbox and percussion. Biggest influences are probably The Sonics, The Kinks, The Cure, Wu Tang Clan, The Pharcyde, Little Richard and in terms of loops I was definitely inspired by Reggie Watts.
And what would you say inspires you to make music?
Hearing other music, hearing people do new things with music. Lyrics that move me. When you are a songwriter you are always thinking about that next song. The subject matter, that killer chorus that people will never forget. I could write the music forever but it’s harder to come up with the lyrics. You want to say something honest and worthwhile and worthy of your listeners’ time.
You have just released your new single ‘GET YOURS!. Can you tell us how that track came about? Is there a story behind it?
I think the lyrics came about by finding the sounds of the words first. Sometimes the lyrics begin as vowels and consonants. Once I came up with Get Yours the rest came together. It’s about going for it. Stop waiting for people to do you favours, you deserve what you want and you need to take it. It’s about how British culture can be jealous and distrustful and often seems bitter about other people’s success.
And what about the video? Where did the idea for that come from?
The video concept came from me and my girlfriend Dovile Meilute. We were about 2 months into lockdown and seeing that all the new music videos were shot at home, inside people’s flats and houses. Lots of people sitting in the bath and overuse of green screen. We wanted to do something different. So the idea was to look into our flat from the outside, with the living room being the theatre, or music hall and the audience were looking in, watching someone else’s lockdown. The hero is a magician who lives alone. He’s lost his spark because the virus has stopped him from performing. His misses his art, his assistant, love, sex etc. We see him fall apart and we see his devilish alter ego.
Can we expect a new EP, or even an album from you in the near future?
It probably is time to do an album after 5 or so singles. I have so many songs though. Maybe an EP then an album...
The coronavirus outbreak has obviously affected everyone’s plans, but what have you got in store for the rest of the year?
Well I had some gigs that were cancelled. The next month will be lock down and I’ll be working on the next few songs. Hopefully rebooking those gigs in December and booking some festivals that may or may not happen.
And finally, what has been the funniest moment in your career so far?
Hmm….not sure about that. Weirdest moment? That was playing to naked people at the Secret Garden Festival. One of the stages I played (Lost Horizon) was a kind of nudist affair. I was the only one there wearing a tie.