EXRON EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: OOLACILE

September 15, 2020

Oolacile, a producer synonymous with genre-warping melodies and cutting edge sound design, is no stranger to innovation. While 2020 marked a year of stagnation for many, he used the time and founded a new record label: Halcyon.

In less than a month, the 25 year-old artist released a single on the label’s debut compilation, a remix for SLANDER and Moody Good’s “Heartbreak” and a future riddim remix of his very own “Riddim Girl.”

When he’s not experimenting with Ableton Live or releasing music, he’s working behind the scenes preparing for Halcyon’s next release. We caught up with the dubstep veteran to learn more about his take on the personal project, Halcyon’s creation and future riddim.

Below is our exclusive interview with label leader, Oolacile:

Exron Music: As a former Disciple Records artist and current sound collective leader, how has your perception of record labels changed from then to now?

Oolacile: I think it’s too early for me to feel any big shifts in the perception of labels. I’ve been self-releasing music for a while now, which encompassed a lot of the same requirements as running a label, so I’ve already had a bit of an idea on the operations of a label. Halcyon is a dramatically bigger scale of course, so we’ll have to wait and see if it changes my view on things.

Exron Music: After having released tracks on some of dubstep’s most respected labels, starting your own sound house and playing some of the biggest festivals, what do you feel is next for the Oolacile project?

Oolacile: I’d like to play way less shows. I toured constantly for almost 3 years and it was pretty draining to be perfectly honest. I’m trying to re-balance my time so I can focus on Halcyon and developing my skills in other areas like visual graphics. The long-term goal is for me to be able to do the graphics for Halcyon and my own project.

I’d still like to play shows just a lot more infrequently.

Exron Music: For you, what was the most difficult aspect to coordinate leading up to the launch of Halcyon and its first compilation?

Oolacile: The whole process had a ton of difficult aspects. I wanted to have multiple releases ready by the time the label launched. There was a lot to coordinate between setting up the label branding, drafting agreements, hiring artists, setting up marketing, etc.. There’s a lot to coordinate but I was fortunate to have people who were eager to be involved in the project and help offload some of the work.

Exron Music: In what ways has the pandemic benefited and/or hindered Halcyon and your other projects’ progress?

Oolacile: The pandemic definitely helped the creation of Halcyon. Halcyon was something I had wanted to do for years, but it was much too big of a project to put together while playing shows every weekend. Before the quarantine, I was planning on putting a tour together. Since the tour was canceled, I pivoted my attention to creating Halcyon. Getting to decompress from constant touring has allowed me to clear my mind and focus

Exron Music: The Halcyon aesthetic is characterized by bright colors, ethereal designs, and a hint of Y2K inspiration. What are the factors that influenced this creative decision?

Oolacile: A big part of Halcyon is pulling inspiration from the past and modernizing it. A lot of the future riddim sound I think is heavily based on older dubstep tunes. The Halcyon aesthetic is the same way. I grew up on internet forums following Photoshop tutorials making signatures and such. I wanted to bring that vibe to the label. It’s also important to mention that the artist EPs and singles we will release will not have Halcyon branding as we want to let the musicians have complete creative control over their vision.

Exron Music: On the Halcyon.fm site there are three blurred images under the “Releases” tab. Will these songs or EPs follow a release schedule similar to that of Vol.1?

Oolacile: Next up is Aweminus – Pacman Bullshit EP. We have releases lined up nearly every week till the end of the year. Our next compilation isn’t till 2021 so expect a lot of EPs until then.

This Weekend pic.twitter.com/KTKXbIrjR6

— Halcyon (@HalcyonLV) September 14, 2020

Exron Music: In addition to future riddim and the current roster, what are some other subgenres and artists Halcyon would like to feature on later releases?

Oolacile: I just want to support the music that I think is cutting edge. I’m going to have multiple different styles of compilations that focus on different genres. You may see house records on Halcyon in the future. Right now, Future Riddim is a style that’s really exciting to me and I think it’s a much-needed breath of fresh air in the dubstep scene.

Exron Music: What’s the number one piece of advice you can give to both new and seasoned artists, who want to produce future riddim?

Oolacile: The biggest factor for future riddim is the melody and/or harmony. What I look for in these sorts of tunes is a strong motif. What I think really separates future riddim from other styles is the direct incorporation of musical ideas as drops. Doing these musical riffs in a way that still has the energy and flow of a more traditional riddim tune is what separates this style from others. If the tune can have a nice motif and then strong production to back it up, I think it’s a winner.