INTERVIEW : O Mer
I don’t know what I like the most about O Mer’s songs. Is it its carefully woven productions that unfold like a post-modern labyrinth? Or his thought-provoking lyrics supported by flawless harmonies? Shape-shifting singles like Now I’m Alive and Everything Is Everyone’s Fault reveal new nuances every time I listen to them. We had the chance to ask him a few questions. The unclassifiable artist spoke to us about inspiration, taxidermy, as well as his recent mind-expanding move to Tel Aviv.
What was the first track you heard that made you feel like making the music you're producing now?
A big shift for me was No Church In The Wild, it kind of crushed the borders I thought existed between genres and production styles. It gave me the courage to produce the way I do today. It’s a truly beautiful song and production.
You have described your move from Brooklyn to Tel Aviv as an inflection point. Can you tell us a little bit about that?
Well.. the culture you live in has an effect on you. Brooklyn is a lot more driven, trendy and cynical (though I’m sure Tel-Avivians would find this statement upsetting). I can’t say I don’t miss it, but moving away did change me and my art in ways I really enjoy. The stuff I’m working on now is more focused on love and empathy and a lot less cynical, though none of that music is released yet.
From an outsider's perspective, the lyrics of your LP Everything is Everyone’s Fault felt mysterious, while your latest EP Repack the Junk is more expressionistic, and speaks in louder images. I’m curious to know more about your creative process and your inspiration for those releases.
I think the two projects are very separate entities really. Everything Is Everyone’s Fault is more unified in concept and all the songs were written with the same theme in mind (musically and lyrically). Repack The Junk (as implied by its title) is a B-Side type of EP. It’s four songs I couldn’t fit anywhere else and I felt where interesting when put together.
Musically, your songs often have a minimalist quality to them. What’s your process when you produce a track?
Like your question suggests, my approach to producing is minimalist one but I think it’s reverse minimalism. I record a guide track and work around it, I track every idea that comes to mind and I do my best to stay connected and inspired while tracking. I usually wrap up a mix by basically muting and taking out anything that doesn’t need to stay.
To me, a song is finished when I feel like it’s leaving me, when my ideas aren’t as inspired and I start adding a DB to the vocals and then immediately take it away ten times over for no good reason, that’s the song saying 'you need to move on'.
For your live performances, you can really change the arrangements of your songs as they appear on your records. Is a recording the ultimate stage of a song, or is it a jumping-off point?
A recording is the best-distilled version of a song, i.e. a recording should be the jar to preserve the song in, a song’s taxidermy so to speak. When playing live I take the productions apart and rebuild them. Like with the production process, I take away anything that's inessential and try to focus on what would make the songs unique and different every time I play them.
Neither is better, but playing live is the purer and scarier of the two.
Is there a piece of gear that has inspired you lately (or has brought you joy)?
Yes! I got my hands on a big box Deluxe Memory Man delay and I run everything through it now (not really everything but a bunch of stuff).
Is there an artist that has especially inspired you lately?
Sault. It’s an awesome project that the amazing producer Inflo worked on, I couldn’t find more info about it (which is awesome). They have a super original sound. Both their albums are beautifully made and are a ton of fun to listen to.
What’s coming up for O Mer?
I’m three quarters through recording my next album, I’m really excited about it. I don’t have enough of a bird’s eye view of it yet but I do feel this is my best work so far and it’s definitely the best time I ever had making an album.
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