Interview with Oliver Francis
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- Опубликовано: 3 окт 2024
- We had the pleasure of interviewing Oliver Francis over Zoom video!
The Columbia, MO rapper, singer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Oliver Francis creatively nods to Blade Runner and The Fifth Element as much as he nods to The Weeknd and Travis Scott. Now, he presents a bold blockbuster vision without boundaries.
After amassing 100 million-plus streams, selling out shows, and receiving acclaim from Elevator and more, he widens the scope of the genre, fusing sci-fi ambition to gritty trap.
“I had a bit of a breakthrough,” he admits. “I wanted to mix these great sci-fi movies with melodic hip-hop, trap, and pop. Once I struck this balance, I was on a roll. This phase took a conceptual turn, and it tells a very loose story. Thinking conceptually allows me to say things a rapper wouldn’t normally say. At the time, I was sick of saying all of the same shit about Balenciaga bags over and over again. I was tired of using the same drums too. I wanted to break out of the box and try new things sonically and lyrically.”
A lifetime dedicated to music enabled him to do just that. Hailing from the small town of Ashland, MO, he grew up listening to Green Day, skateboarding, and obsessing over alternative culture to the “very conservative Midwestern landscape.” Raised by musicians, dad played guitar and performed worship music in church-where Oliver also picked up the drums. Listening to punk and emo, he played in numerous bands with the dream “to become a famous rock star.” He worked as a janitor for five years as he quietly wrote and recorded music. Taking the reins as a producer and artist, he introduced himself in 2017. Off his Essentials EP, “Aahhyeahh” posted up 39.5 million Spotify streams followed by “Anti-Grav,” “Gemini,” “3 Deep,” and “Chernobyl”-all of which also cracked the 10 million mark on Spotify. In between, he packed shows on tour and dropped three albums, culminating on 2019’s The Adventures of Oliver Francis. Praising the latter, Elevator predicted “[he] is destined to become a superstar.”
Working out of his bedroom studio, he expanded the sonic palette for this next chapter.
“I’m a guitar player and a drummer, but I find a lot of samples for my music,” he explains. “I stumbled on an eighties synth sound, and I knew immediately I had found where I wanted to go. Over the summer and fall of 2020, I was running about ten miles per day-and I even ran a marathon. Running allowed me to think creatively. It was during this time I knew where I was going sonically, and everything fell into place.”
He kicks the door open with “Toxic Paradise.” As if musically finding the nexus between Travis Scott’s Rodeo and Linkin Park’s Hybrid Theory, a glitchy beat cuts through booming bass as he sets the scene with intensely anxious rhymes, “Girl, you know that heaven’s overrated, and you know that the angels honestly hate it.” Co-written with Aaron Gillespie of Underoath, it culminates on an irresistible and infectious refrain.
“It was the discovery of the sound for sure,” he explains. “As far as the overarching narrative goes, it’s the moment where I arrive. I’m landing in Los Angeles, looking for drugs, obtaining them, and taking them, ultimately. ‘Toxic Paradise’ is giving away a piece of yourself to get high.”
The entire project traces this story as the protagonist from “Toxic Paradise” goes undercover as part of a resistance against a mega-pharmaceutical company called Violence Labs. Twists and turns follow as he falls down a rabbit hole of deceit, lust, addiction, and ultimately catharsis.
Ultimately, Oliver Francis gives the world something it has never heard before in 2021.
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Thanks for giving us a good interview with him. I wish he would get asked more about his early rap music from 2011 and stuff that he likes to act like never existed because it was deleted but other than that good interview
We will be sure to ask him more about that next time we have Oliver on the show! Love the feedback Cee and thanks for listening!
@@BringinitBackwards bring oli
We need GOLD
I was actually confused when I opened the comments and only saw 2 lol. Crazy how Oliver has so many listeners but it's so focused on his specific channels. Really interesting to see.
Mans fell off
@@solecollector2296 Lmfaooooooooooooooo
The channel is small
@@solecollector2296 HA
@@nicholashunt6261 funny?
Yeah, as one of his Dad's bros, I can remember him playing drums, way before he was 8. Love that boy. Miss him bunches. So busy, we never get to see him. I almost died last winter. I wonder, if he'd be too busy for my funeral, sometimes, 😂. Maybe so...no matter. Carry on nephew, If I don't beat the cancer, I will get caught up on the other side. Just know that I love you very much, and I always will. Proud Unc.
Break a leg.
Thank you so much, Travis (Uncle Travis). I hope you are doing well and getting better. F*CK CANCER!! 🙏🙏🙏
He's my first cousin. I'm roughly 12 yrs older than him. His level of talent is unmatched. He writes and composes all his music. I was lucky enough to put some percussion to a few songs with him at a family gathering over a decade ago. He has True talent. Luv u cuzzzz. You Killin it.
One of the coolest cats. Met him at a show and got to talk to him, such a nice dude. Go see him live if you get a chance, he puts on a crazy show.
This is such an amazing interview. It's so rare for an interviewer to just let the artist talk.. for minutes on end. This is what true fans love. Thanks for the video! You made my night.
Glad you enjoyed it! Thank you so much for watching! ❤️
love oliver and his music, crazy to hear how everything started as a dream, so inspiring
So much respect for him after watching this interview. Very smart, calculated, talented artist. Looking forward to the day I get to see him live.
Thank you so much for checking out the interview Alex! SO stoked you enjoyed it!!
He's so level headed it's insane to think smart people are still our there, much love oli, keep it up and follow your blueprint.
And humble
I met him in his Columbia Missouri show and dude was the nicest person. Before the show he went and just met with his fans and have a whole ass conversation. pretty dope person
Best interview he's done
thank you for the kinds words! We appreciate you checking out the interview!!
I still hate Adam for that nojumper interview back then lmao
seen oil live 3 times already i can’t wait for that live band action, forever the goat
This is a MUCH Better interview than the No jumper interview he did a few years back. Oliver is the real deal and so down to earth.
Been listening to oli since 2017 at least, finally got to see him live at the end of 2022, was amazing man. Talked to him a bit such a dope guy. Love hearing this side of him.
Thanks so much for sharing your experience with Oli! It's always insightful to hear about artists from the perspective of dedicated fans like yourself. If you haven't already, consider subscribing to our channel to keep up with more quality interviews. Since you've been following Oli for a while, what other artist's journey would you be fascinated to hear about?
my biggest inspiration
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This interview will be looked up to for generations to come. Dope and insightful interview, we love you Oli. Here at 3,472 views.
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best oli interview ! great work brudda
The Minecraft lamp in the background is fucking amazing, Oliver is the GOAT
Thank you for watching the interview and for your kind words about the Minecraft lamp in the background! If you don't already, we'd love to have you subscribe to our RUclips channel for more interviews and music related content. What's your favorite musical style to listen to?
AHH YEAH! ~
Just found this, great interview keep it up man
Thanks for watching! We really appreciate your support. If you don't already, make sure to subscribe to our channel so you don't miss out on any future interviews. What's the best concert you've ever been to?
17:21 this is literally what happened to me I love this man
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love this dude
Musical genius
Thanks for giving us a good interview!
Real oli fans remember Stars or topanga
#808 awesome interview 🤙
awesome interview :D its been fucking awesome seein Oli's growth since 2016 when i started listening and great advice at the end of the interview !!
Great advice at the end thanks bra!
Dudes a legend
agreed! Thanks for checking out the interview, Kyle!
Bringin it Backwoods
the minecraft lamp in the back is dope
Took me 34 min to realize the Glowstone from Minecraft in the back. That’s tight asf
its a redstone lamp but this is sick! he also has a torch if i remember correctly
This interview goes hard
Thanks intrusted! Thanks for checking it out!
Oli the goat fr fr
So happy to hear Alex’s real voice. In the past he wanted to sound a certain way and it showed.
He’s growing up and making his own path, good stuff!
R u telling me oliver's real name isnt oliver
@@donnatelliunderwood2592 Oliver is his middle name
@@donnatelliunderwood2592 His real name’s Alex Kelly
@@donnatelliunderwood2592 i got jebaited aswell
@@3asoni His middle name is Francis and Oliver was inspired by Mike Kinsella’s ‘Owen’ project
bruh have glowstone lamp
thank you for this interview!
thank you so much for the kinds words!! We really appreciate you checking out our channel and please"subscribe" 🧡🧡🧡
Pulled up, smelling like the gas, yeah you know it’s us!
Thanks for tuning in, I appreciate your support! If you haven't already, please consider subscribing to our channel for more exclusive interviews. By the way, based on your comment, you seem to be quite the music enthusiast! Can you tell me which up-and-coming artist has you most excited these days?
Oliver is so underrated! 🖤
Thanks for such a gem of an interview! Lots of great information in this one!
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Awesome interview! Love this guy ❤️ ☁️ cloudboys
Wwaavvyy was monumental.
agreed! thanks for checking out the channel Charlie!
Life goal: collab with Oliver on a song 🙏🏼✊🏼
That's an awesome goal!!
Oh yeah baby
thank you for interviewing Oliver!
Thank YOU for watching it!!!
oliver is a g
🫡 Salutes Oli !!!
One of my favorite artist! You should definitely reach out to Nothing, Nowhere and try to get an interview with him as well. Super cool dude!
We will definitely make that happen! ! We really appreciate you checking out our channel and please"subscribe" 🧡🧡🧡
haven't watched yet but I know it can't be worst than the no jumper interview when Adam was being a clown
Can't wait to hear what you think. Thanks for watching
this one was so much better than the fucked up adam22 one
One of the best to do it
Oli getting it done
I luv Oliver
Hi there, I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed the interview with Oliver! Your support truly means a lot. Don't forget to subscribe if you haven't already to catch all our upcoming interviews. Just out of curiosity, if you had the chance to ask Oliver a question about his music, what would it be?
Shit man. I’m 26 and have alwayssss made songs. I’ve yet to commit to pushing my shit, or staying consistent with releases, but it’s dudes like Oliver that make me feel like I’m still capable. Thanks for this interview man super inspiring!
Thank you so much for watching and for taking the time to comment! We're so glad you found the interview inspiring. If you haven't already, please subscribe to our channel to stay updated on our content. What do you find most inspiring about making music?
This is great
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He finally found his sound, he wanted to move away from cloud trap and everything after club swoosh/tats you can tell he was really confused
Slow n’ steady wins the race. You’re killin it out here, Oliver!
cool
hell yeah
My mans oli said “like” 438 times
Dad💀
Aye big thanks to his off and on gf from back in the day. She lit the flame of a genius. ❤️
Lmao just found this
Dope
oliver such a goat
🐐 🐐 🐐
Legend!
🔥🔥🔥
I like how Oliver is so flatline emotional but his music is hype
hes doing an interview lol what do u expect him to randomly start crying or dancing or some shit lol
@@splashgvng love ur prod dude
Love this interview
Thanks NADA! We appreciate you checking it out!
Talented dude
Totally!! Thanks for checking out the interview 🔥
@@BringinitBackwards no thank you for bringing us quality content 🙏
:)
This guy acting like he's a rapper, when he looks like a blink 182 member lmao
I go into an oli rabbit hole like once a week. So many bangers youve made and so many different styles.
Amazing truly always will be my fav artist and hero oli really saved my life online and in person with his words and special treatment ❤️
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