A Chat with Robert O’Connor (05.11.24)
Crystalline vocals, moving melodies and brimming with sincerity, warmth and comfort, Robert O’Connor’s music is a hug from a close friend while laughing about extraordinary adventures. We came across Irish O’Connor a few years back with his EP Transcendence, and he turned our heads immediately. Today, we chat with him about his new single ‘Something Strange’, upcoming plans and more.
OSR: For about 20 years now you have been composing and releasing music. I know sounds often evolve as years pass with new experiences. My question is do you feel your music now truly represents you as an artist, and how have your experiences shaped your style?
O’Connor: It’s not far off 20 years, my first single was released at the end of 2006 and my debut album in 2008, but it was four years before my next release, and then five before I returned in 2018 – I have been at my most consistent since then. Sounds definitely evolve, as does my taste. Back on my first album, I was inspired by singer-songwriters like John Mayer and Dido, and indie bands like Death Cab for Cutie and Nada Surf, it was all very American teen drama, but that was my age and where I was at in my life, so it made sense. Even though I was always a big pop fan, at that time I didn’t really have another solo male artist to look to that was making outright pop music. When I returned in 2018 it was with music that was inspired by the modern country music that was coming out of Nashville at the time, and I imagined I would continue in that lane, but when Covid happened. I stopped playing live and found myself listening to a lot more electronic music, and my collaboration with EDM producer Skynem GT was the beginning of my journey in making electronic music.
I think my music has always represented me at the time of making it, but the music I’m making right now feels simultaneously like the music I was always supposed to make, and yet the music I never thought I would make myself. It’s such a fusion of my influences spanning from my childhood through my teens and 20s until today. It makes no compromises and a big part of that comes from the fact that I’m working with a producer (Gareth Shortland) who is passionate about the kind of music we’re making together – we’re on the same page and the outcome is completely unapologetic.
OSR: You recently released your single ‘Something Strange’ alongside a remix and acoustic version of the song. What can you tell us about the song from writing to production?
O’Connor: ‘Something Strange’ was the final song to be written for the album and it almost didn’t happen. We had the track list finalised, but I had a gut feeling that something was missing and I had the exact same feeling when I recorded my last EP Severance, which promoted me to write ‘One Way Ticket’, so I’ve learned to listen to my gut because that was the most successful track from that record. I didn’t want to try to replicate that song but I wanted something that felt equally impactful. Based on the reaction so far, and even the reaction from my inner camp, I think I’ve achieved that.
The song was written while I was on holiday in Barcelona last summer. I had written the line “something changed for the better” on my phone, in reference to the contentment I was feeling after a period of feeling like I was swimming against the tide in numerous areas of my life. The verses of the song discuss the struggles of the past, but the chorus is like a big sigh of relief. Production-wise, it’s very much influenced by electronic artists like Chicane, and I was particularly inspired by Alison Goldfrapp’s solo album The Love Invention, which was produced by Richard X, who really hits the spot for me every time.
I’ve always been a big fan of extended mixes and I’ve released a couple in the past, but I’ve noticed they’ve become popular again with mainstream artists like Kylie and Dua Lipa, and I think the audience is receptive to them right now as a result. It was something I felt we should do and it’s one of my favourite mixes I’ve ever done, it feels so sprawling and euphoric. The acoustic version is quite the opposite, it feels like a bit of a cinematic moment – it’s emotional and has reflected more than the other versions. It was important to me that it wouldn’t just be an acoustic guitar and vocals. I wanted it to feel rich and dramatic. I think there’s a tendency to be lazy with both extended mixes and acoustic versions and so the bare minimum, and I wanted to do better than that!
OSR: With many releases to your name, I’m eager to know if each writing, recording and production process is similar or is there a slight difference, perhaps uniqueness in each single or album. If so, what or how?
O’Connor: I’ve definitely had a unique experience every time. Even the sessions within one project can be vastly different depending on the people in the room, the studio, and even how I’m feeling about the song we’re about to record. My first album was kind of an experience of two halves. The Dublin sessions produced five tracks, which were assembled in a fairly organic way building the songs from the ground up – guitars, bass, keys, and drums being laid down with a guide vocal being laid down initially and then a final vocal once we had everything else recorded.
The second half of the album was recorded in Amsterdam with a different producer and it was the total opposite approach – I was given a bunch of backing tracks to write top-line melodies on, and I really enjoyed that approach. There were times when I had pre-written lyrics that just magically seemed to fit the backing tracks! This time around, we took much the same approach we took with my last EP Severance. I start by writing lyrics and vocal melodies, send my producer a voice note of me singing it, along with references of how I imagine it should sound, and he puts together a basic track that we then send back and forth until it’s at a point where we both feel it’s ready for me to go into a studio and record vocals. We will often do further work on the track afterwards but usually, it’s at least 85% of the way there by the time I get to the studio. I worked in two different studios this time, initially with my friend Julyo, who is a man of many talents – he has recorded my vocals, shot my videos, and played in my live shows – and towards the end of the process I recorded the final three tracks with Richey McCourt, who I absolutely love working with. He just has the calmest, kindest approach, and the one that seems to get the best out of me in terms of performance.
This album was recorded exclusively on weekends on account of me having a full-time day job, so often it was 7 am on a Saturday, but you have to bring the Saturday night energy to your vocal performance. Gareth always says “Smile when you sing, I can hear when you’re smiling!” I took his advice and now when I listen to the album it makes me smile because it really does have this very positive energy.
OSR: If you could change anything about ‘Something Strange’, what would it be?
O’Connor: I’ve had every opportunity to change everything about the track, I’ve already released the single itself, as well as the acoustic version and extended mix. I’ve been able to reinvent it for both of those versions, particularly the acoustic version is quite different to anything else I’ve released in the past. There is one more version in existence which you’ll hear when the time is right, and that might answer your question better.
OSR: What do you hope people take from your music and ‘Something Strange’?
O’Connor: I hope that they can embrace it and find meaning in it – whether that’s just experiencing the joy of hearing pure, clean-cut pop music or whether it’s finding meaning in the lyrics, relating to them or feeling comforted by them. I think my music is pretty relatable generally, whether you’re man, woman, 20 or 50, I don’t tend to include pronouns or genders in my songs and that’s not a conscious decision, it’s the way I’ve always been; I think the outcome of that is they become universally relatable. I have plenty of listeners who don’t have English as their first language – Brazilians and Germans for instance, and even one of my producers is from Peru – and that doesn’t mean they enjoy the music any less, because pop is almost a language in itself – the melodies, the riffs, the hooks – it’s not all about the words!
OSR: As an established artist what advice do you have for up-and-coming musicians?
O’Connor: I would say not to rush. When you’re starting out, or when you’re making a new record as an independent artist, there is no pressure from anyone except for the pressure coming from within yourself. Once you release an EP or an album, it’s out there for the whole world to hear forever, so make sure it’s the best it can be, make sure it feels like a product of you and your influences, and make sure you don’t get lost in your influences or the influence of others around you who encourage you to jump on certain bandwagons or trends in a bid to find fast popularity. If you compromise on your own vision for the sake of a potential hit and you flop, you’re left with a record you hate. If you make something you love and it isn’t a hit, you still have a piece of art you created that you love and that’s an authentic representation of you at that time.
In the long run, good art wins, perhaps not financially, but in terms of your own fulfilment, and the eventual fulfilment of your passionate, niche following, which you will find. That’s more important if you’re an artist. I also recommend having a skill or a job that will pay the bills so that music can be a passion or project that you don’t rely on, because for most artists streaming revenue will not be enough to put food on the table never mind a roof over your head.
OSR: Viewing several changes and advances in the music industry from technology to styles, what is your opinion of AI being used in the entertainment industry? Is it good or bad?
O’Connor: I don’t think it’s as simple as it being a good thing or a bad thing, it depends on who is using it and how. If it’s helping an artist or producer to make better work, I can understand the appeal of that. As it stands right now I don’t have enough of an interest in it to do any research beyond what I hear from other artists. A friend of mine said to me recently that it could be useful for generating ideas or finishing lyrics, but honestly, I’m just not interested. I don’t want to collaborate with a person on my lyrics, never mind a bot. I spend enough time on my phone creating social media content and posting it to promote my music, I at least want my songwriting sessions to be preserved. Maybe that will change on future projects, but right now, it’s a respectful but firm “no thank you” from me.
OSR: What does music mean to you?
O’Connor: It means everything! It’s omnipresent and vital, it fuels me, motivates me, energises me, restores me to myself when I’m not, relieves me from stress, it transports me to another place whether that’s the 80s or the future, a painful place or a place of joy, it wakes me up at 6 am in the morning as I commute to work, it puts me asleep at night as I drift off, and I imagine it’ll play me out of this world when I take my last breath. I want to leave behind a small but solid catalogue of music that is distinctive to me and hopefully has provided enjoyment to others, whether that’s 20 people, 200 people or 2 million people.
OSR: What can we expect from you in the future?
O’Connor: You can expect that I will keep on keeping on. You can expect that if I tell you I’m taking a break it’s probably a lie, maybe I meant it at the time but sooner or later I’ll write a song that will force me to get back on the ferris wheel because a song doesn’t exist unless it’s in the world for people to hear. On a less abstract note, you can expect a 10-track album from me in the near future, along with something more experimental as a side dish. In the meantime, you can expect my first ballad single in over a decade.
OSR: Do you have a message for our readers?
O’Connor: If you are curious, if you enjoy pop music, electronic music, music with simple, meaningful lyrics, if you like remixes, if you are partial to a good pop campaign, it would be in your best interest to give me 3 minutes and 28 seconds of your time – listen to ‘Something Strange’ on whichever streaming outlet you use, and if you like what you hear, well there’s plenty more where that came from!
Many thanks to Robert O’Connor for speaking with us. Find out more about Robert O’Connor on his official website, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Spotify.
This artist was discovered via Musosoup #sustainablecurator
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