TMN: Can you tell us more about your origins as a producer? When did you first start producing and did you have any musical experience before that?
OP: I started messing around on FL Studio for fun around 2011. Before that it was guitar and choir in my high school. Nothing creative until I picked up a DAW and looking back at some of the “songs” I made back then, it always gives me a good laugh on how poor they were. It’s nice to look back at where you’ve come from, but it’s motivated a couple of friends to know that with practice and time you can always be better.
TMN: Tell us a bit more about your hometown, Swansea. How did your environment influence your sound?
OP: Much like the UK, par London, there was no dubstep scene. It was all drum and bass, deep house and grime that would bring in the crowds. Shout out to events like Funktion Tek that inspired me to write jump up for a bit, but that’s not where my real passion lied and I always had a soft spot for heavy dubstep. After moving to Cardiff, I could really focus on developing my sound as my course would go over the basics for the first year. It was that year I found the sound I wanted to continue making from all the free time I had to experiment!
TMN: What was the inspiration behind the ‘Process’ EP? How would you describe the difference in sound from your previous ‘Notorious? EP, which was released on Never Say Die Black Label?
The main idea of the ‘Process’ EP was to make music that stood out and had the perfect mix of sound design, heaviness and dancey flow. Sometimes, with the over-saturation of EDM, it’s easy to come across loads of similar songs that lack character and individuality. Not “being a part of the process” was always a main objective when creating new music. ‘Notorious’ EP had the same notion behind the production of those tunes, but this one I went full out and wasn’t scared to try something more crazy. The positive comments on ‘Process’ have given me courage to take it up a level next release.
TMN: How did the collaboration with Ecraze on “Spread Like” come about?
OP: The collaboration with Ecraze was already settled after “Ammo.” Being a quiet fan of Thom’s music for a year before he noticed me, having him reach out and ask to collaborate was the major step I needed to get my music out there. He was amazing to work with and so it was a no brainier to work on something again. Still in debt to him for welcoming my name into Never Say Die and we’ve been great friends ever since. Our next goal is B2B somewhere in Europe, probably Paris. Spread Like is not the last song we’ll make together for sure. Graphyt is also sure to make an appearance with a tune with us some time.
TMN: Do you have plans to tour anytime soon?
OP: Touring has been the dream for a while now. It’s quite simple to understand why producers want to tour. It’s not work for any of us. To earn money doing what you love is not working and it’s quite scary to understand that a tour is already in the works for oddprophet. Things are happening faster than I thought they would! Traveling is another reason why I’m glad this will be happening sooner rather than later.
TMN: While it’s hard to name just 1 dream collaboration, who is the first person that comes to mind when you think about potential collaborators?
I haven’t told him yet, but SVDDEN DEATH and I would probably make something quite nasty. He uses that same balance of heaviness and flow I mentioned. Songs like “Take Ya Head Off” are almost too good to be real because the balance is so point in my opinion. Honourable mentions include MUST DIE! & Spag Heddy right now. Both have given me major support for my tunes this year and to be a part of any of these artists’ discography would be a true pleasure.
