Interview: Oliver Tank
Oliver Tank. Twenty-one years old, Australian, mop-headed. Musician. The adjectives can keep coming, but all of them lead Oliver Tank to be unassuming of so much talent. I’ve compared him to Bon Iver and James Blake. He doesn’t seem to get the comparison, but I think that’s just him being humble. The second I heard his music, I had to talk to him. Who is he? Where did he come from? Where does his music come from? Why am I just now hearing of him? Why oh why is he so talented? Well, wishes came true and I got a chance to toss a few questions at Mr. Tank. We discussed everything from his musical interests, inspirations, and sexual fantasies. Well..okay…maybe that’s extreme. Read on; find out for yourself.
Lydia: Well hello, Oliver. Thanks for talking to me. To start out with, I’d like to ask a question that I received from a fan of yours…who just so happens to also be a fan of this music blog. What did you listen to as a kid?
Oliver: My mum and dad used to have a huge collection of music on tapes, I remember listening to stuff like Simon and Garfunkel and Michael Jackson when I was really young. In primary school I listened to Blink 182, Eminem and Limp Bizkit. As a matter a fact ‘Chocolate star fish and the hotdog flavoured water’ was the first album I ever bought.
Lydia: Nice! I’m a huge fan of Simon and Garfunkel. So can you tell me where the inspiration for your music comes from?
Oliver: I try really hard to create something unique and original, I feel like at the moment the most original music being made is electronic music. So that is where my inspiration comes from. Artists like Nosaj Thing, Boards of Canada, Jon Hopkins and the list goes on.
Lydia: And where do you typically write and record your music?
Oliver: Mostly in my bedroom, sometimes at uni [*Lydia insert: that's college for those of us who only speak Americano] but the majority of time I just do it at home.
Lydia: Simple as that, huh? Incredible. Can you explain the song “Last Night I Heard Everyting In Slow Motion?” What does it mean to you? When did you write it? Is there a story behind it?
Oliver: A lot of people ask me questions about this song. It was actually a uni assignment, originally it didn’t have strings in it and I felt it was a bit lacking so I asked a friend of mine to add strings and she did a fantastic job. Thank god I put them in cause it really makes the song.
The song itself is about being unsure about something to the extent that it plagues and consumes you.
As far as the name goes, I was at a friends house drinking and getting blazed and I remember listening to “One” by Ratatat, I could swear I was hearing it in slow motion. So I wrote down in my phone “Last Night I Heard Everything in Slow Motion” knowing that I would read it the next day having no idea what I was talking about. I felt like it suited the song so thats what I called it.
Lydia: Wow. Well it’s artistic and unique. Thanks for sharing the story. Badass.
Is there anybody out there who you dream of working with?
Oliver: I’d love to work with some hip hop artists from the US. Weezy, Snoop, Dre. I really like the production aspect of hip hop and I feel like my music combined with theirs could be something really cool and original. Of course I’d love to work with electronic artists like James Blake as well.
Lydia: Okay and who do you straight up dream of?
Oliver: Straight up, I dream of fish and waterfalls.
Lydia: I have compared you on Sunset in the Rearview to Bon Iver and James Blake. How do you respond to this?
Oliver: I don’t really think I sound like either of them that much. I guess I had it coming using auto-tune and I was listening to a lot of James Blake when I was making “Last Night…” I think they are both phenomenal artists so it’s a huge compliment, but I’m just doing my own thing. The EP which will be out soon has a pretty original sound I think.
Lydia: I really look forward to hearing it. I trust you can pave your own path. Let’s take a little turn here. Katy Perry or Lady Gaga?
Oliver: Katy Perry, but mostly because I don’t like Lady Gaga.
Lydia: Me neither. I don’t think. But I’m scared she might come after me for saying that. Slap me in the face with some raw meat or something. Who am I kidding…I am nobody to her. Here’s another: Tupac or Biggie?
Oliver: Probably Biggie. Other than that I much prefer West Coast.
Lydia: All the way from Australia, and partial to West Coast. Awesome. Biggie for life.
I highly recommend listening to Oliver’s music. It’s an incredible experience. I expect a large future for this young musician.
Oliver Tank || Facebook | SoundCloud
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