Hailing from Fife in Scotland, the alt-rock five-piece Oskar Braves first came to Little Indie's attention early last year with the big sonic wall of sound that was 'Broke'. Their new single 'Discover' was released on March 23.
Who are you?
I'm Grant Allan, the guitarist in Oskar Braves. Rest of the members include David Steven (vocals), Conor Young (guitar), Connor Marnie (bass) and Andrew Davidson (drums)
Tell us something about yourself and how you came to be where you are today?
We hail form the ancient capital of Scotland - Dunfermline!
Conor and Andrew and I have been in bands together since we were 16 and we came across David when his band supported us on one of our previous bands shows. Instantly I knew he had to work with us, his voice suited the style we were trying to create and we felt it could be a match made in heaven.
The final piece of the puzzle was added in the form of Connor Marnie on bass after our previous bassist moved to America. Connor, again, had supported us on previous shows with other bands so I knew he'd slot right in.
Give us an idea of your musical style and influences.
We all have different influences and musical tastes. David is right into Elvis, Roy Orbison and loads of acts from the 50s and 60s I've never heard of. Conor and I are pretty similar with our favourite bands being Joy Division, the Cure and the National. Andrew is into his folk and Connor is into heavier stuff, mosh pit material. Add all that together, and you end up with Oskar Braves. We all have one common influence, however: Dunfermline legends, Big Country.
Explain the production and writing process behind your songs.
One of us will have an idea, whether it be a chord progression or a riff, and we'll then jam it out and David will sing something over the top. Half of the time it isn't even words, just a melody. I'll record it on my phone and take it away picking it apart and adding lyrics to his singing pattern. It's a right team effort.
Tell us a little about your new single.
'Discover' was recorded and produced by Michael Brennan Jnr (Primal Scream, Super Furry Animals) at Substation in Rosyth, Fife. It was then mastered by Pete Maher (U2, Noel Gallagher, The Great Gatsby)
The song derives from people using social media as a platform to project a life which doesn’t reflect their true existence. “Twitter famous” or “Instagram famous” personel highlighting how good their life is to the masses of followers. when in reality it might not be the case.
It also dips into the effects social media has on the everyday user; the lyrics, “sleepless nights, one eye shut and refresh” optimises this idea. We’ve all been there, the constant refreshing of pages to see what pointless posts are being written, not wanting to miss a shred of meaningless information which in turn will have no effect on you whatsoever. The chorus is us letting out our frustration almost, and getting to the point that we don't really care how many followers you have, we'll treat everyone as equals.
Can we catch up with you at any forthcoming live shows?
April
27th Broadcast Glasgow w/ Avalanche Party (This Feeling)
28th April Sneaky Petes Edinburgh w/ Avalanche Party (This Feeling)
May
13th Gig in the Goil
25th Leith for weEH6
31st Paper Dress Vintage - London
How's the rest of the year looking, plans-wise?
We're back in the studio right now recording our next single, '16 Roads', which we are looking to release June/July. We've also got a few festivals booked in. Basically, we're looking to gig relentlessly as much as possible as we pride ourselves on our live shows. It's how we win over most of our fans. I think its the element of surprise that gets them, the tunes sound massive and David absolutely belts it out.
Where can we hear more of your music?
Spotify, Soundcloud, YouTube.
What social media platforms can we find you on?
At last!! A London gig!
ReplyDeleteThanks guys. Can't wait to see you do your thing.