Oisima’s Latest Mix Is Inspired By Open Fires, Wine, and Cuddles and It's All Genuine

Oisima could be the chillest dude you’ve met. Chilled but busy. Over a beer, he lists highlights of his year so far that includes touring with St. Germain, and performing at WOMADelaide and the Melbourne Jazz Festival.

Following his debut LP Nicaragua Nights, the Adelaide producer is readying a new album but this time he's approaching recording a little differently by waking at 4:30am each day to allow his ‘morning mind’ to take control.

As a DJ and producer, Oisima says that he is constantly collecting new sounds. This has culminated in seven volumes of his own mixtape, Jewels Of Thought. He shares with us Volume 8, a mix that he says (with no sense of irony) was influenced by open fireplaces, delicious red wines and cuddles.

Featuring tracks from James Blake, Jose Gonzalez and Radiohead the mix is about as chilled as Oisima.

We caught up with him to discuss his early punk band, Taylor Swift, and what we can expect from this new mixtape.

Oisima on his punk band…….

At age 15, I started making music in a punk band called Blunt. I’m not sure what we were yelling about—probably a girl who wouldn’t give us a kiss. We pretended to have real-people issues.

On his conversion to electronic music….

My group of friends always listened to everything, we were always pretty open, but not any electronic stuff at all. It wasn’t until bands like Radiohead and Moon Safari tickled my brain! Once I realised the crossover between electronic music and acoustic sound was possible, it took me off on this tangent.

On his new album….

I wrote the whole basis of my new record when I was on tour with St. Germain this year, and a huge African influence permeates through. After each show in each state, I’d go home and start writing because I was pretty inspired. So the whole skeleton of this record was written at 2 am in hotels.

On frustration…

Battling yourself is probably the most frustrating part of making music. You have aspirations to create a certain thing and you might fall short a few times—you have to teach yourself with every little step. Personally, I want to make stuff that’s never been made before. So it’s a massive training process—trying to create something unique, something that hasn’t been done yet. There can be some pretty extreme emotions.

In the studio….

Turning inspiration into an audible, tangible thing can be a roller coaster but it’s exhilarating once you get there. There’s going to be something that you’ve seen, that you’ve heard, that’ll inspire you to make that song. Then you’ll ask: What was that? Why did it make me feel like that? And how can I transform it into something that somebody else is going to enjoy?

On his favourite album for 2015-2016..

A stand out for me was, and this was late 2015, Kendrick Lamar. The production on that record is like nothing else that has been made before. The little jazzy nuances or little horn lines that just pop out, it’s really something special. And for an artist to be in such an established position yet be so experimental is really admirable.

On Taylor Swift…

That Taylor Swift album is pretty cool, hey. I appreciate good pop music and that’s a good record. I sat there one afternoon and gave it a listen.

On his dream project….

There’s now a big movement of neo-classical dudes that I’ve been listening to a lot lately doing just really beautiful, orchestral type of stuff. I really want to make a record with me just on guitar and vocals, and a small orchestra: maybe cellos and violins. I’ve started writing it but I’m in no hurry to finish.

On Jewels of Thought, Volume 8

It’s super down-tempo and just really pretty. It’s snap cold in Australia at the moment. I wanted to create an hour long playlist for anyone looking to escape the cold. That’s the premise behind this one.

Jewels of Thought, Volume 8 Track List:

1. James Blake - I Need A Forest Fire (feat. Bon Iver)
2. Dralms - Pillars & Pyre
3. Jose Gonzalez - What Will
4. Submotion Orchestra - More Than This (feat. Billy Boothroyd)
5. James Vincent McMorrow - Cavalier
6. Kyson - You
7. Yaw - Where Will You Be
8. Radiohead - Desert Island Disk
9. Katrine Stochholm - En Dejlig Aften, Stille Sølvklart Vandet
10. Antony & The Johnsons - My Lady Story
11. Andrew Ashong - Next To You

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