Meet OHYEAH: A producer and DJ from Germany. From birth he was raised on a diet of Funk and Soul grooves that shaped the music he makes today, which is largely reminiscent of sounds from the past. You’ll find him sniffing around old vinyl’s at your garage sale, to get new inspiration for his productions. Source: About OHYEAH, Spotify.
My kind of Music, with OHYEAH.
Feel Like SOMETHING’S MISSING? No More!
So much countries that haven’t been represented here yet and I am happy to say, today’s Germany’s premiere, with OHYEAH in the lead. I hate to sound like a broken record, but if it weren’t for Akara (TJMC), it would have probably taken me longer to discover OHYEAH’s music. Click the pics 😉
While still working on last weeks articles, Akara asked me to listen to OHYEAH’s EP, ‘Something’s Missing’, released 9/25/2020, which he just reposted on SoundCloud. He wanted to know which track would be my favorite. Of course my ever present curiosity had me listen to the songs immediately and oh boy… I was In Love.
And not only I, but my hubby along with me. I am not exaggerating if I say, we had the song on repeat for about 3 days, non-stop. The both of us. I had never before heard of OHYEAH and yes… I did check my playlists lol. Since I’ve been known to not pay much attention to names… But no, I had no music from this artist in any of my lists. Time to find out what I’ve been missing.
I quickly found OHYEAH on Instagram and Facebook and his music on several platforms. I also decided to not wait too long and just went ahead and asked if he would be interested in an interview. Lucky for us, he did. In the meanwhile at home, we had some disagreement over the order in which we liked the three tracks, but they all rock. So we basically settled to play the original when we were listening together and just enjoy…
It will not come as a shock I was pleasantly surprised when listening to the rest of OHYEAH’s music. Though it was pretty hard to tear myself away from ‘Something’s Missing’, that was only the start of my OHYEAH journey. Doing a little digging myself I found his first music uploads on SoundCloud and YouTube date from about 9 years ago. One of those early tracks reached over 190K streams on Spotify.
OHYEAH has an interesting collection of music, which confirms the fact he must have found some old gems to reinvent. One of those everybody with any funk in their system should recognize is this one:
Apparently OHYEAH’s talents reaches further than music, straight into graphic design. As in, graffiti. But even way before that, he created the artwork for one of his remixes himself. Speaking from my own experience with watercolors, I know how tricky this can be. Can’t deny the result is pretty cool.
Back to ‘Something’s Missing’ and the first remix on the EP, done by Get To Know. This one is club worthy, with lots of funky guitar – and vocal chops, distinctive keys and doused with a disco / house dressing. Made for the dancefloor alright. Choosing was becoming difficult indeed.
Just last week, someone asked around what our favorite disco song is… Well uhm… There’s a reason for playlists right… And of course it’s all about the feel of the day, but there are songs, that will never be removed and I’ll always be in the mood for. So, short of sending one of my playlists, I was the only one answering with 2 songs, sorry-not-sorry.
On social media OHYEAH mentions this side project “Orbital Drum System“, he was working on and I love ‘extra’s’. Hoping for a little background info I asked him about it. OHYEAH explains: ‘It’s a project that I started with two very close friends. One is working as our manager and DJ, the other one is doing visuals, like videos and artworks and I am producing the songs. Our goal is to not stick to a certain genre. We mainly do different kinds of house and techno music but music with hip hop influences would also be possible. In august we released our first EP which is mainly influenced by 90s house and rave music. Our upcoming tracks will be more melodic, housy and lo-Fi’.
OHYEAH adds: ‘We had two very talented remixers on this EP. One is Larse, a well known producer and DJ from Germany and the other one is KMRT from the US, who perfectly fits to our sound’. It most definitely has a different sound and there’s no need for me to add anything to OHYEAH’s description really. Always a good thing when inspiration leads to new roads. Interested to hear the rest? Check it out!
The third and last track on ‘Something’s Missing’, is the remix, done by Paper Street Soul. The original mix has an all-round full and balanced sound, with an amazing guitar solo and a beat that keeps you moving. The ‘Paper Street Soul Remix’, caught my attention because of the really funky bassline, the oldskool 12 inch feel and the slightly more chill vibe. Gotta Love It.
All in all this EP is listed for long drives to holiday destinations, which in my book is the best rating. The vocals are amazing, the lyrics strong and sung in an unexpected and captivating way. If you’re in for some more nostalgia, OHYEAH also made an awesome remix of another golden oldie. I love it when these songs are given ‘new life’, to not be forgotten.
Of course there’s a lot more where all the above’s coming from and I encourage everyone to go discover for themselves. According to his social media posts, OHYEAH is working on a lot of new stuff, so we have more to look forward to. For now, since most of us are (again) obligated to stay indoors as much as possible, I suggest you start listening.
It’s time to hear OHYEAH speak, but before we go there, I want to give a Big Thank You to OHYEAH! Discovering your music has been a very welcome addition to my music library! I wish you all the blessings and inspiration to explore any new roads you might find on your way. I will add you to my Spotlight page, keep on following you and add any new releases there.
Let’s start with the obvious: can you please introduce yourself, tell us who is OHYEAH, when and how did you get started and which instruments do you play? (and do you sing?)
‘I am a producer and music addict from Germany, living in Cologne. I started playing Keyboard as a child and switched to drums when I was a teenager. Usually I only sing in my car, shower and while I’m cooking. 😉 But I’ve just finished a track for my side project „Orbital Drum System“ where I sang just for demo purposes. My two friends with whom I do this side project with, liked it so much, that it ended up on the final track. So… yes. Maybe more singing in the future’.
Can you tell us about your first (official) project (remix or original) and how you got to that point? Has making music always been a sure thing for you?
‘Hmm… actually I don’t remember what my first official remix or original was. But I can say that music has always played a very important role in my life. Listening to other peoples music and also making music. I can’t imagine a single day without music’.
You mention in your bio that you grew up with Funk and Soul. Was there ever a time while growing up, that other genres started to be more appealing to you? Have you been influenced by other genres throughout the years?
‘Of course there were other genres that crossed my way. Hip Hop, Techno, Rock… I always had phases in which I preferred to listen to one musical genre. And right now all these genres are coming together. I still love listening to all this stuff. But Funk and Soul are the genres that influenced my sound the most’.
Talking about influences, who were your biggest examples? Where do you get your inspiration from?
‘Hmm… that a tough question. I get my inspiration from everything I like. Old music, new music, no matter which genre’.
Do you find making music has become easier through the years, or is it just the opposite? Do you think the competition has gotten worse, or does it only make you want to work harder?
‘For me it got easier. I just got faster in creating things during the years. I don’t see any competition in music. It’s not like a sport where competition plays a very important role. I have never been a competitive guy. Maybe that is why I found my passion in music and not in sports. For me music is something where people can create things together without any competition. My motivation to work harder comes from the fact that I want to improve my skills as a musician and producer. That’s what creates my drive’.
I totally fell in love with ‘Something’s missing’, when going through your posts, I noticed it took some time to get this released. Can you give us some background info? Was this project different from previous ones? And how did it finally work out?
‘You’re right. It took some time to release this song. I’ve been searching for a vocalist for a long time. And suddenly a friend introduced me to Mathilda. Although we never met in person Mathilda and me had a good vibe going on. I have also been looking for someone to play guitars on „Something’s Missing“ and another musician introduced me to Nicolas aka Funks. As he is from Colombia we also never met in person. I am very happy to have both of them on this track’.
What would you advise new / upcoming music producers, do you have like a ‘golden’ tip in retrospect?
‘Do what you feel the most. I think that is the only thing that matters’. 😉
What vision does OHYEAH have for the (near) future? Is there anything else you would like to add?
‘I like to be surprised by the future and not having too many expectations and plans. We’ll see what happens’. 😉
Again, Thank You OHYEAH! I hope all you readers have been properly encouraged to find and follow OHYEAH on Spotify – YouTube – SoundCloud – Facebook – Instagram
Want some Disco for the Weekend, have a listen to OHYEAH’s playlist, Yummy!!
Have a Funky Weekend!! ❤
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