IamA producer / musician by the name of Opiuo AMA!

Hey Opiuo! First I just wanted to say that I am absolutely in love with your work, your live presence and energy that you create and then bounce off with the crowd is just incredible. Your set at Shambhala this year was without a doubt my favourite of the weekend.

My only question is that I was wondering if you have any plans to bring the band back together for another tour? That show was one of the best things I've ever been apart of.

Much love, and can't wait to rock out with you in Vancouver on October 1st

I LOVE shambhala so much! Still goes down as one of my absolute favourites in the whole world, and thanks for coming to my set! The band is going to be touring in 2017, and we're also making some specific new Opiuo Band music to tickle your ear holes... Cant wait to come to Van in Oct :)

Big Fan man, Clumpy Cider makes me feel like I'm in the middle of the dance floor at a doof every time I hear it.

Is there any update on the potential collab with Griz?

Had so much fun making clumpy cider! & the colab with Griz is still happening, we just got a little bit busy for a moment ;)

Hey big fan, but to be honest, the new album doesn't really make any sense to me, I've seen you at multiple raves through the mid north coast and believe me nothing travels better through the forest than fizzle tickler, i get this weird anxious buzz every time i hear that song. do you believe this album took a backwards step in production quality from Meraki or would you say it is just a more universal sound (catering to more people)?

I appreciate your honesty. One thing I love about music is it is completely subjective. What makes one person love you more, could do the opposite to another. we all grow at different speeds, and in different directions from each other. To have moments when we are on the same plain at the same time is super special. As an artist I never want to do anything twice, I want to continue to push myself to try new things, and the only way I'll ever know what works is to give it a go. I dont believe the production is a step back at all, its a step forward if you ask me, trying new sounds and continuing to challenge who I am as an artist. I feel lucky enough to be in a positive position to try any sound or genre I want due to the amazing group of fans I have. Who knows whats next... :)

Oscar! Huge fan of yours and love listening to your unique and funked up sound design.

When you were a wee Oscar, and the world didn't know about the madness of Opiuo, what did you do to set up your first shows? Any advice for getting started with booking shows and scheduling your first tour as a new DJ/artist?

Thanks man! Looking forward to seeing you again! (I was the skinny white guy who awkwardly said hi to you in front of the Mezzanine before your San Francisco show). Keep killing it man!

My very first shows before Opiuo even existed were DJing as Oscar at the local beer festivals (when I was too young to even attend). But as Opiuo, playing my own music wherever I could to as many people as I could around Melbourne & some of New Zealand. I put my music up online wherever I could & dropped off mixes & demos to as many promoters I could. I was lucky enough to be booked at a few festivals at great time slots, and that put me in front of a lot of people. I think the best thing to do tho is go out there and meet whoever you can within the scene and take the opportunities you're given. Be positive, friendly, and think, "would I wanna book me?"

Hey O!

I'm wondering if you could enlighten us budding engineers and producers on how a typical mix session looks for you. Like do you use Top-down Techniques etc? What do you think really let's your mixes shine?

I ask because your mixes are so dense, with a lot of stuff up the front, yet you can still hear almost everything that is happening, even the background stuff is fairly prominent. Does this come from a few techniques that you've picked up in mixing, or is it strategic placing of sounds in the making of the tune itself? And could you let us know a few of these badass techniques that you think may fix commonly heard problems in up and coming producers tunes?

Cheers buddeh, keep on doing what you're doing, you're a true g!

Great question. I mix as I produce. Meaning everything I make has its place already in the mix, and isnt 10 layers of the same thing trying to compete with each other when it comes time to mix and master. I think of my songs as a box and I can only fix so much into that box, so Im picky. I delete things quickly when they dont fix and dont get too attached to things I couldve spent ages making. I dont know what Top-down is, but I trust my ears (or ear i should say). I mix a lot in mono as well. I should do a tutorial, as its hard to explain really... Hmmmmm...

Heya Opiuo! Long time fan, cool to see you on Reddit.

Where's been your favourite place to play thus far? Who's been your favourite musician or group to collaborate with? Do you get to spend much time enjoying the festivals you play at, and if so which have been your favourite from the attendance side?

Stoked to finally be on Reddit :) I've been lucky enough to tour the world a fair few times over, something I could only dream of 6 years ago, so choosing a favourite place is pretty much impossible. As I grow and change different places have different affects on me. I remember my very first burning man though as quite possibly the most insane experience of my life. It truly changed me forever. I arrived into USA for the first time 2 days before and went out to the desert. I'll never forget that.

As far as colabs and musicians go, Gift Of Gab goes down as one of those dream moments. I've listened to Blackalicious for YEARS, and when my manager asked who was at the top of my list for I wanted on the track, I said Gab. So we reached out, and he was into it. I couldnt believe it. I was so fucking stoked!

Re festivals: These days its harder and harder to stay and enjoy them as Im often doing a couple in a weekend, but I used to have more time to stay and hang out. Shambhala, Rainbow Serpent, & Glastonbury spring to mind when I think of those savoured experiences.

Love you man! My favorite thing about your music is the way you use 'negative space.' Is this a conscious choice or just a side product of you doing your thing?

Also, anything forthcoming from Sun:monx

Yeah its absolutely a conscious choice. It gives me the ability to let people breath for a second before slamming them again ;) I love how the little gaps allow the much fuller sections have more impact.

O!! Dude, you gotta help me! It may have been a mix on Triple J? but you spun up a tight rendition of Mr. Kicks by Oscar Brown Jr. Where can I listen to this mix again? Better yet - you ever think about working a track with it? 100% my favourite eargasm yet brother, stay rad!!

Look up a remix by Vent :) I love that track!

Hey Oscar, I saw that you have a moog voyager and a virus, how/how often do you use these in your tracks?

Also I saw you live for the first time with emancipator and pretty lights in Sydney, probably the best concert I've ever been to. Keep up the good work!

I use my virus all the time for pads or bass, but the moog not so much anymore as I got a prophet 6 which is THE BEST FUCKING SYNTH I NOW OWN!!! Ahhh Im so in love with it :)

Can we expect you to drop Jelly when you open up for bassnectar 10/29?

Big fan and have been waiting to see you for awhile!

I think its safe to say YES

What was it like playing with Pretty Lights down under?!

It was great, as we'd never properly met before so we got to finally kick it and hang. He's a pioneer of a musical world I am a part of so it was a true honour.

do you listen to lettuce? one of the greatest modern funk bands, right up your alley as every musician in the band is a god damn genius

well this question was answered for me above..hang up your hang ups and can see that my earlier question was moved down the list, probably not being answered. do you avoid all criticism? it seems to me everyone sucks up to you telling you everything you do is good, i admit you are amazing but that new album is just no where near the level of Meraki, or even some of your more basic earlier music. technically you are killing it more than ever, but your ideas have been warped and lost somewhere in the world of edm and the opinions of people that only listen to electronic music.

Nah I dont avoid it, we are all entitled to our own opinion and music is extremely subjective. I answered your other question yeah :)

Hey Opiuo, I rocked out to your Glastonbury 2014 set and would like to thank you for that fantastic experience!

What was it like working with Culprate, Asa and KOAN on the movember track?

And do you have any business tips for those trying to make money off of their music? Currently I would only be able to pursue music part time

PS: I mashed yours and KOAN's tracks together here haha https://soundcloud.com/profound/koan-sound-vs-opiuo-mashup/s-Qq96N

I miss Glasto every year Im not there now. What a place!!! Those 4 guys are amazing producers, so it was an honour to be in the same room making music. A great experience. Making money off music is tough. I never thought I would be able to live off it. My drive was and still is all about the music. I worked part time for years, and borrowed money many times before it became my income. Quit ya job as soon as you can. Live on your arse if you have to, but never give up the dream of making music. Dont let money get in the way, as we dont need much to survive. I believe music should always be about the love of having the opportunity to do it at all... Make music and a show people cannot resist and you'll never look back :)

Opiuo! I love love love your music! I bought tickets to your next Denver show an hour from when they went on sale :) I was just wondering about your live band! It seems to be fairly rare that a glitchy artist as yourself would actually work as an actual band, but you absolutely kill it!

Do you write music specifically for the band? How does it translate from djing on stage to working with multiple people live?

Thanks for the support!!! Yeah the band is still definitely rocking and we're planning a lot of touring next year as well as writing our first band EP. As far as live performance, so far we've adapted music that already exists as Opiuo into a band format. Taking it a part and working out how best to translate it so it doesn't loose the power and punch of pre recorded music. It took a long time (6months) to figure out how to do it properly, and I'm glad we took the time. Playing with people live is amazingly rewarding, and also fucking scary as theres so much that could possibly go wrong. It's such a great challenge and super fun. I'm super proud of how the band sounds.

Oscaaaar! Let me get the obligatory fanboy stuff outta the way first - been on you since i saw you first time at a UFO event in sydney - last time i saw you at OAF was my 10th time! I never miss you when you come through sydney! See you at earth freq 2017 :)

Question 1: everytime ive seen you play you are almost more into it than i am - how do you stay so positive and excited with such a busy touring schedule?

Question 2: i appreciate this may be your trade secret, however ive been trying to replicate your bass sound design for months - what would be a good direction to point me in? Do you primarily resample from your moog? Or does the squelchy crunk munkyness come in your mixdowns?

Thank you so much for your time and providing a never ending source of positivity in my life :)

Ps - PLEASE RELEASE THIS VIP!!!! https://www.instagram.com/p/BEpckVFt5GC/

Thanks for coming out so many times!!!!!! Legend. R1: I love what I do so its impossible for me to stand still & not have an amazing time. R2: I usually start with a bass sound from either Virus Polar, Moog Voyager, or Prohpet 6, resample it, then process it to shit via various bussing chains. Camel Phat is often used, as well as some vocal transforming. Stay positive :)

How would you recommend getting your music "out there" to a wider audience who don't know you? It seems like everybody is a "DJ" nowadays, and it's becoming harder and harder to make productions stand out from the crowd.

p.s. your set at shambhala was unbelievable, seriously one of the best sets of the whole festival this year! Ever since I got back I've been making a whole bunch of glitch hop, largely inspired by the fractal vibes ;)

I think remaining individual and keep being yourself. Work hard to find that sound that makes you you, and then push it to your local promoters. If you dont sound like everyone else then hopefully you'll have enough of an impact on them for them to book you. Pick the right promoters tho, as your sound also needs to align with their market. Make soundcloud or mixcloud mixes with your own music and stay positive

When are you coming back to NYC? I was devastated I missed your set at Elements.

2017 for sure :)

Do you have any advice on maintaining productivity and passion with multiple song projects going on at the same time?

Never spend to long on one song at one time. Always switch between a few, and refresh your ears and mind with music nothing like what you are trying to make. Also I find doing it early in the morning is good for my excitement levels.

Hey Oscar! Thanks for doing an ama, It's cool to see you on reddit! I saw you for the first time at shambhala 2014 and became an instant fan. You also killed it this year :) Basically my question is are you coming for the 20th anniversary?! Also how do canadian parties compare to doofs? Much love, keep doing what you're doing ♡

I dont know about next year yet sorry, but I absolutly love canadian parties and the people as well. there's an air of pure enthusiasm and love for the music and life in general. People are friendly and proud of who they are. Its super refreshing.

Huge fan and so cool to see you travelling heaps and playing gigs everywhere but when will you be back for a gig in wellington, NZ?

I'll be back in November! :)

Have you ever considered the screaming guy in Chubby Putty sounds like two 1920's strong men throwing each other into the air and landing?

Every day ;)

How long have you been producing music? Are you classically trained or self-taught? Any tips or words of advice for beginners?

I've been doing it for around 12 years. But solidly for 10 I reckon. I wasn't classically trained, but I did learn piano for a year when I was super young, and played & learnt drums throughout high school. Advice for beginners is be yourself, stay individual, believe in your own sounds, focus on quality not quantity.

Who are your greatest musical and non-musical influences and inspirations?

Musically I grew up with Beastie Boys being one of my favourite groups. They were raw. The In Sound From Way Out changed my life. Plus Rage Against The Machine. More recently people like Noisia, Tipper, Koan Sound, Griz all have thrown some solid inspiration on me. Non-musically I think anyone who is proud of who they are and remains themselves, who spreads positivity & supports each other. My family are super fun individual supportive people who inspire me day in day out, and Im extremely thankful for that.

Oscar! I was able to catch you and the band at Infrasound in 2015. You had mentioned that you enjoy rap music before you played a Pharcyde remix. Any new material coming out soon involving rap? (Life with Gift of Gab is amazing btw).

Im actually working on something right now with an MC based over there in NA.. Hopefully something comes of it coz I absolutely LOVE hiphop.

Hi opiuo! I've seen your shows a couple times and I'd like to just say that every single time has been incredible. One that really sticks to mind is when you played with pretty lights in Sydney. My friends and I still to this day talk about how great that set was!!! I don't have a very pressing question but I am curious, do you get sick of having to play old time faves like Life?

Keep up the amazing work x

Thanks for dropping by! I guess when Im completely sick of playing something I'll stop playing it. I never tire of seeing peoples reactions to music they know and love, so it keeps me going and wanting to play it, as awell as enjoying it myself. So, nah, I dont get sick of it.

Hey mate! Massive fan here. 'Good Thymes' is one of my absolute favourite songs (incredible live) and the new album is awesome dude, great work! ('Jelly' is a tune and a half!)

Q1: I've Seen you a few times and just wanted to ask - any chance of a return to Rainbow next year? Seen you a couple of times there and you absolutely killed it each time. Saw you at 170 Russell too but man, Rainbow was something special.

Q2: Any music you recommend atm?

Keep up the awesome work man!

R1: I cannot confirm nor deny this right now... R2: Have you checked out Todd Terje? Vulfpeck? Lettuce?

Breh...your tunes are fantastic. This spring I traveled with my boyfriend from Lancaster, Ohio to Chicago to see you because we were going through funky music withdrawals. Any change you and the band have plans to come back to Ohio any time soon?

Oh thanks for making the journey! Yeah we plan to come back in 2017 for sure, not exactly sure where just yet, but hope its close to you!

Also...that's a lovely accent...New Jersey?

Austria.

Hey Oscar, what's up? You recently toured North America and I was wondering which states stood out to you the most? Also, don't forget you owe me a beer whenever you pass through Arizona. I'll introduce you to In-N-Out, too. Cheers dude!

Haha, I've had me some In-N-Out before! And yes, lets have that beer! This last tour was super fun and like no other I'd done before. I'd never spent much time in the south, and I was lucky to go spend some time & record music down in New Orleans ( a dream of mine ), so that stuck out as a highlight.

How did you go about learning sound design? Was it through tinkering or are there resources you'd recommend looking at?

Yeah just spending days and days and days and days and days and days and days and days and days and days and days and days and days and days and days and days and days and days and days and days and days and days and days and days and days and days and days and days and days and days and days and days and days and days and days and days fucking around... ;)

Can you tell me you love me Oscar? Please and thank you.

I love you.

Will I ever see you in SLC?

I hope so!

Opiuo, I've seen you twice in Adelaide, amazing gigs. The way you played to the crowd at Fat Controller was unlike any gig I have been to, you were so in tune with the vibe it was unreal.

Which song has been the most fun to produce? I know you have so many funky, groovy tracks, but which one made you the happiest/made you laugh while producing? Cheers mate, keep spreading the love and vibes.

I'd have to say Quack Fat was one of the most fun. The original actually had a sample of a duck quacking and farting through the whole thing haha

Hey man! Love your tunes and am constantly blown away with your new releases. A few questions: I'm a Logic user, and I'm curious: How do you get all your synths/drums sounding so crisp and clean? Also, any tips for bringing drum samples to life? I know about velocity/randomizing some of that but you bring some serious swing to your drums! Last one: Do you have any method or routine to keep yourself from progressing with production and not procrastinating/hitting a wall?

Super pumped for your Van show October 1st and holy shit, Please come back to Shambhala next year! Thanks man :)

Biggups the Logic users! :) I often use simple hard limiting, then bounce the drums down when maxed out, and resample, and then repeat. Sometimes using digital clipping. Its hard to explain without showing you, so maybe I should do a tutorial one day, but its quite simple. As far as swing goes I do it manually, and just bump samples or drums around, close my eyes, hit play, and see how it feels. Being a drummer I find this part a lot easier than others, but its definitely a slightly random process to get it feeling right. Staying pumped about making music is tricky. Usually if Im not feeling it I wont even go into my studio all day, knowing that maybe tomorrow I'll be way more into it and I'll make more progress in one day than I would have in 2 or 3 half assed days...

Legend! Thanks man - definitely do the tutorial ;)

Keep reminding me. I'l try do it

Hey, your show in Petaluma with Russ Liquid was one of the first EDM shows I ever went to. I was SUPER stoked you did the show up in the North Bay rather than down in San Francisco!

Are you planning on any more collaboration work with Russ Liquid? You two seemed to be having a great time jamming on stage!

I love Russ Liquid, he's such a legend. And I can safely say we are definitely doing more stuff together :)

Hey Opiuo! I absolutely love your work. You lay down the funk like noone else...

Your productions have always stuck out to me due to your seamless integration of musicality and sound design. And I was wondering if synesthesia (the perception of "seeing" sound) has any impact on your creative process? And if so, how do you manage that?

Thanks for your time, Oscar!

Im not sure about synesthesia, but ever since I was a kid I had music (full songs) going around in my head, and if I thought about it hard enough I could make the music build up and drop or break down. I thought everyone had this. Now usually when I go to write something I already have the idea in my head. It never turns out exactly as I expect, but its definitely a great place to start. I will say when a song is almost done I sit at the back of my studio and close my eyes. If I start to see shapes moving around I know its pretty much done. So I guess thats a type of "seeing sound"

What made you decide to come to Reno/Tahoe?

I still talk about how you came to the edge of the stage at Tahoe and got to shake you hand haha your music is awesome, energetic, and just makes you wanna dance

before I ever came to USA a friend of mine had been snowboarding tnear Lake Tahoe, so I already knew about the area. But I would have come due to being booked to play there. Its so damn beautiful in Tahoe, you're lucky!

Hey Oscar, love your most recent album. Who was your favorite collab, what made it so special?

Thanks!! Making Jelly with Texture Like Sun was amazing experience, he's so talented.

Eyy man! Big respect for your work.

Any plans to do a Sun:monx album in the future?

Keep smashing it

Peas

We've been in different parts of the world from each other for a couple years now, but I also hope we find the time soon to make more.

What have been the best and worst things about working with the Opiuo band vs working solo?

I see you're heading to London soon, any other European cities getting a visit?

Best things are touring the world with your friends & jamming on stage making every show completely different to the next. Its also super challenging and rewarding because of the amount of shit that can go wrong, but also the amount of time put into making it work, and when it does its half relief and pride. I think the only negative things are the fact it costs so much to tour the band. I'd do it more if it was more feasible.

Hey Oscar! Sitting here with a couple fans (myself included), we were wondering if you prefer your live sets with the band or solo sets more?

I like both equally. They're so different in many ways. Freedom to play whatever I want whenever I want as a solo act, then the feeling of jamming on stage with your close homies. Its evenly spread.

Hey, big fan, I was wondering how you come up with your song titles? Many are pretty goofy and random, like fizzle tickler or patchouli dump truck for example.

I try to think of what wording makes me think of the song. I want your brain to almost be able to imagine what the song is like before you've even heard it due to the title. I have a app in my phone and just write them in all the time, then adapt as the appropriate song comes along. I like silliness. Makes the world fun.

Hey Opiuo, huge fan and you've been a huge inspiration on the music I make as Seeds? and I was just curious if you use many VST synths like Massive or if all your sounds are from hardware synths?

Probably 70% hardware, and 30% VST. I like the feeling of playing the real thing with a hands on approach. But new synths like Serum are blowing my mind. Plus FM8 is always a winner. Never used Massive much except for using the white noise generator quite a lot.

How do you help to establish a music city? What makes a music city for you?

Ooooo tough question. I guess it comes down to the support of the councils and residents. Too many clubs are being closed for reasons we all know are about making more money for property developers and greedy people. Music and culture are what make for desirable places to live, so we need to keep councils on our side, and apartments away. There should be laws that protect venues from noise complaints from recently established living arrangements. Making a music city is giving musical people a place to feel free to create and perform, without prejudice or risk. Its about being yourself and showing the city what you got!

What music inspires you? Specific artists? Other non-music forms of art?

My music taste is changing all the time. I get inspiration from quality of sound when trying to work out how someone made a crazy noise in some raging drum n bass, all the way to the way harmonics work together in some mellow acoustic folk singer song writer stuff. And yes I Also love paintings hanging around me (Ive started a collection supporting artists I love). Colour and vibrance in a physical form is immensely inspiring when Im trying to create vibrant music.

Opiuo! What's good man. Couple questions.

• any plans to play around the festival circuit next year? Electric Forest would be the perfect place for the live band!

• who are you listening to these days? Either for inspiration or just what you love to get down to.

Caught you on a random Wednesday in DC this spring and it was one of the more fun shows I've seen this year, so much dancing. Would love for you to come back through soon! Keep making awesome tunes, Omniversal is stupidly great.

Thanks for the love yo! Yeah we planning on hitting the festival road next year, and Im fucking excited about it. I've heard AMAZING things about EF, so I hope they book us! :) Mad love to DC, that was one of the funnest shows of that tour. I totally didnt expect that many people to come out on a Wednesday!

what did winning rumble in the jungle inspire you to do? When did you move away from dnb?

I think it allowed me to believe in myself. To give things a go and realise that maybe I can actually be the one doing the things I've always dreamed of. It definitely was a turned point for the way I looked at things.. I still love some dnb, but I think around 2005 was when I stopped playing it.