An upcoming EP release from Our Carlson takes elements of classic '90s breakbeat, hip hop, and so much more as it blends into sonic textures that all come together and give this edgy alternative pop tonality.
The ABit2Much EP showcases a massive amount of character, and this is part of why you end up becoming so attached to the record so quickly.
I think one of my favorite aspects about this record is that endless energy that gives it such a hard-hitting atmosphere and a unique swagger approach that only adds to that huge persona and style that just reaches out and grabs you.
The beats across the span of this EP are outstanding and done super well with an intensity that lets the songs grow the longer you listen to them.
I love the classic 808 elements that are in and out throughout the course of the EP and how it definitely hits that late 90s and early 2000s pop undertone with such a tasteful balance.
This record has just as much color as it does edge and just when you thought you'd heard it all, each track on the record comes with its own remix that brings completely different elements to the table. These remixes take those 90s breakbeat elements and change them into more of a techno and electronica soundscape and at times this feels just as intense as the originals do but in a different way.
This is such a great idea and I think that a lot of records of this nature should come with remixes automatically if possible.
The vocals throughout this record are just writing your face and shout out at you so that you can give them full attention and by the time you get through with this record you've soaked in some of this unique energy yourself and it feels good to do exactly that.
The remixes for the record include everything from that electronica and techno vibe all the way through dance house and some unique avant-garde Styles as well but all in all, they go with the flow of the full ep perfectly.
You get such a wild array of sonic presents throughout the course of this record that when it's over you feel like you've stepped into a different world and have to reacclimate yourself back into your own reality again.
I don't know about you, but it's been quite some time since an album or release did that for me.
This was totally refreshing and was produced with experimental touches that let it come through with fewer boundaries while still holding true to that alternative pop classic aesthetic.
This is what makes this record fun, danceable, intense, edgy, and loaded with that persona.
These are all key elements in making a record that stands out and that sticks in your head for hours after it's ended.
Although the EP is set to be released on the 17th of November, we were lucky enough to catch it early and sit down with Our Carlson to find out where this all came from and what might be coming up next for the project.
Here's what went down.
Buzz Slayers: Okay, let's start with "A Bit2Much"! This record has that classic mid-90's vibe and had a touch of rebellion to it! How did this release come about?
After rewriting how dance music is conceived, preformed, and consumed with my debut release 'A Bit Much' I plugged back into the matrix and played all 3 documentaries at once for 'A Bit2Much' to work through the neural pathways
Buzz Slayers: How did this all start for you as an artist?
I got diagnosed with Epilepsy at 33 and it just flipped my whole world and everything I thought I was, the way I viewed society, the cogs and wheels of the medical system, and capitalism, and one day I was pacing around my house and the vocal for the track 'Ain’t Too Great Mate' just spewed out of me and released me of some of the frustration I was feeling about my new life. I’d always played in punk/hardcore bands but this felt like something different and a bunch of pedals and a Casio Tone wasn’t getting the job done, so I got my friend Izzy Stabs to come over to make some beats and on it went.
Buzz Slayers: What kind of things really inspire songs for you?
Modern living and how myself and the people around me are working through it.
Buzz Slayers: This release has some great approaches to it! Can you give us some of your biggest influences musically?
Punk, hardcore, and the 3 Matrix documentaries playing at once. Also, I'm still on that Cafe Del Mar meets Toecutter tip, but this time for 'A Bit2Much' we found Toecutter and got him to do a remix.
Buzz Slayers: What are you doing when you're NOT working on music?
Gardening or making up stupid sketches seems to be the flavour of the month, working as a carpenter but also trying to avoid that as much as possible, and admin. Music admin is something we are not talking about, but its fucking real people.
Buzz Slayers: Who's in your headphones right now?
Been on a bit of a hip hop tip with C.R.A.I.G. whose 'Bauxite Bully' concept album is the best I’ve heard since 'A Grand Don’t Come For Free'. Posseshot is a phenomenon that’s intresting the fuck out off my brains receptors.
Sleep D - Electronic Arts
Porpoise Spit - Don’t Quit
Cash Savage & The Last Drinks - So This Is Love
Lower Plenty - No Poets
I also wrote a donk track with Nikodimos and I can’t stop listening to that. Get Donked.
Buzz Slayers: Are you doing any live performances right now?
Yeah, I just went up to N.S.W and played 4 shows in 3 days all totally different from each other. The first one was Friday night at a pub, then a festival Saturday with Earl Sweatshirt, Bakar and Descendents …. then played a beer garden Sunday afternoon and then Club 77 with Luca Lozano Sunday night and that really went off. November 17th at Northcote Social Club with Quality Used Cars and Hot Tubs Time Machine will be a big one to launch 'A Bit2Much'.
Buzz Slayers: Do you record these at a big studio, or do you have a home studio set-up?
This was written and recorded in a makeshift studio in my old lounge room in Blackwood, Victoria with Izzy Stabs. Some more vocals were done later in Pat Telfer’s bedroom by Pat, and some were done in an analog studio called Sound Recordings by Alex Bennett. I just go where the wind takes me.
Buzz Slayers: What can your fans expect from you in the near future?
DONK. DONK. DONK. DONK.
I've also been writing some comedy so I’m hoping someone can pop up that can help me shape that a bit. Destroying strobe lights.
Buzz Slayers: Before we go, what would you like to say to fans of the music?
Destroy strobe lights. So many people on the spectrum and people with epilepsy really can’t go, or run huge risks by going, to events that use strobes. Flick 'em off. Bands put it on ya tech rider. No strobes. It’s a really easy way to make your show more accessible. Kiss kiss.