Ocean Pleasant – up ‘til six (feat knight)

By starrymag | September 3, 2018

By: Lisa Steinberg

 

 

Q) How would you describe your sound?

 

A) Intensely personal and universally relatable.

The mechanics of my sound are always evolving as I grow and change, but right now I’m enjoying an exploration of folktronica and indie/alt-pop.

 

Q) Who are some of your musical influences?

 

A) Style and sound: Maggie Rogers, Sigrid, Cautious Clay, King Princess, Jidenna

Songwriting: LP, Lorde, Beck, Randy Newman, Julia Michaels, Jacob Banks, JP Saxe, Molly Venter

 

Q) Talk about the story behind your new song “up ’til six (feat knight).”

 

A) I wrote this after falling for someone who didn’t want me back. While this experience isn’t necessarily novel, I wanted to play with the juxtaposition of putting these nostalgic, emotional lyrics to the backdrop of fun music you can dance to.

 

Q) What do you think it is about the song that fans connect to?

 

A) Unrequited feelings are a quintessential part of growing up and I think that’s also something to be celebrated; we’re human. We get hurt. Then, we dance it off and carry on. Or in this case, go “back to friends.”

 

Q) How did you come to work with knight on the track?

 

A) I met knight when I first moved to Los Angeles. We became good friends, but for some reason it never occurred to us to collaborate until this summer.

He’s a prodigy, one of those people who are annoyingly good at everything they do. So, when it dawned on us that we hadn’t worked together yet I was really excited to mess around and see what we could come up with. He sent me some instrumentals the very next day and we went from there.

 

Q) How does the video for the track play into the message behind it?

 

A) We released a little teaser on social media that was literally just footage knight took of our friends at the beach one day, but we are working on an official video that’s dropping soon. The vibe will be the same as the song; carefree, candid storytelling.

 

Q) What is your songwriting process? Do you need music before you can create lyrics?

 

A) I almost always write lyrics first. I got into songwriting through my love of poetry when I was fourteen years old, so that has been my go-to process. When I do start coming up with the music or work with someone like knight who creates the instrumental, melodies come really naturally once I have some words to play around with. I’ll experiment singing the lyrics a thousand different ways until one in particular gets stuck in my head, and I’m like, “Cool, let’s use that one.”

 

Q) How much of hand do you have in the production of your music?

 

A) It depends on the song and the person I’m collaborating with. For previous releases like “All or Nothing,” I was in the room with my producer the entire time making edits and tweaks. With knight, his vision was so clear for the sound that my input was primarily lyrical.

 

Q) What can fans expect from your live performance?

 

A) I like to share the stories behind my songs and get the crowd involved. Sometimes I’m by myself doing an acoustic set. Other times I’m with a full band, and people are dancing and singing along. No matter what, it’s an intimate and fun time.

 

Q) Will there be a full EP or album coming in the near future?

 

A) Absolutely. I’ve got a catalogue of unreleased music that I’m so excited to share. I’ll be announcing more about that soon!

 

Q) Where are some of your favorite places to perform and what makes those locations so significant to you?

 

A) This incredible band SOJA took me under their wing a few years ago and most notably brought me onto the main stage at Bonnaroo to sing for 80,000 people. Jacob (the lead singer) got the crowd to chant the chorus from my song, “Love Letter to Myself.” That was surreal.

Most recently, I performed at Hotel Cafe. I’ve dreamed of playing there since forever, so that was definitely a bucket-list moment.

 

Q) Who would you most like to collaborate with on a song in the future?

 

A) Any of the people I mentioned as inspirations earlier! I’m a huge fan of Maggie Rogers. I adore her sound and how she’s helped pioneer this new genre of folktronica, which really resonates with me.

 

Q) What album/band are you currently listening to and why do you dig them? 

 

A) I stumbled upon Cautious Clay a few months back and have had “Cold War” and “Joshua Tree” on repeat. The production is really unique. In a time where everything starts to sound the same, that’s such a special quality to have.

 

Q) You are a part of social media. Why is that such an important way for you to connect with your fans?

 

A) I don’t really filter anything I do or say in real life or in my music so if people are connecting with my work, I want to make sure that they interact with the same person who made the music they like, not some pre-packaged social media weirdo. I try to keep my online persona as authentic as possible.

 

Q) You were the founder of REAL Magazine,which landed you on Forbes’ 30 under 30. What did that achievement mean to you?

 

A) It was a huge honor; it’s incredible to be able to showcase your work through that kind of public acknowledgement and I’m very grateful.

 

Q) Why is social activism so important in our current day and age?

 

A) Silence is complicity, no matter what the issue is, whether it personally affects you or not. Social activism is crucial right now because of how easy it is to be misinformed or checked out. I catch myself avoiding the news when I feel really overwhelmed by everything that’s going on. The thing is, that ability to “tune it out” is rooted in privilege. Privilege is a demented cosmic lottery, I didn’t earn it. That’s why it’s important to me that I use it when I can, to do what I can. There’s too much at stake to stay silent.

 

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?

 

A) Sometimes I forget there are people out there who listen to my music! That’s wild. I hope the art I’m creating through my weird human feelings makes people feel more seen and recognized in their own weird human feelings. I’d just say thank you to anyone who feels connected.