Brian Omen about his process and inspirations

Hey Brian! To start off, we’re glad we can call you the newest Member of the Intercept Family. How are you doing?

I’m good, thank you for asking. Hope you’re doing great!

This isn’t the first release you’ve done, you’ve also released an amazing track together with Atilla (Atilla The Hvn) under the alias Oppa Bala, how does this release differ from what you and Atilla are doing together?

Well, I’ve been making music for some time now. Part of this process adds to creating your own stylistic choices. The one thing I’ve learned about myself is that these stylistic choices never stop changing, and that to develop as a person, is to keep doing new things. Atilla is a very good friend of mine, he inspires me, and we’ve grown together in some aspects. All of this led to us combining our thoughts and making a track that combines different sounds.

To get back to the question at hand, the sound differs in the sense that when working together, you have to accept the input of the person you’re working with and try to just go with whatever is handed to you. That’s what makes the process so different compared to working alone. I think that, when working together, it’s not about creating your sound, it’s about creating a new sound that amplifies the sound of those involved.

What has inspired you to make this EP, diving deep into a certain sound and making this cinematic, introspective musical experience?

You know, I’m very lucky to have some amazing close friends with whom I can have challenging conversations that help develop my concept – in this case ‘Shores of Awareness’. The goal is to deconstruct humanity in a sense. 

So before I go into the specific feeling, and concept, I would like to highlight those people that inspire me so much, because, in some way, ‘Shores of Awareness’ became a project that is a collaboration with these individuals. The names of some songs are based on conversations we’ve had.

Fela Zollner (@zollnerobjects)

Akin James (@james.will.prosper / @atnw_official) 

Bob Gimbrere (@gimbo9000)

Atilla The Hvn (@atillathehvn)

Nigel Roosberg (@mesh.homeland)

Rechard Motieram (@Jizenvisuals)

How would you describe the overall aesthetic of your EP, and what feelings are you trying to express?

(Excerpt)

To envoke a feeling that is so transcendent and so introspective that it questions humanity.  

A multisensory experience that explores the feeling of letting go of reality. (Derealisation, passing away, fabricating of everyday life)

Total Stranger

An environment that seems abstract/overwhelming, that can induce feelings of anxiety but is grounded by introducing a new element of sense. 

Notes:

• Chloramine
• Geosmin
• Petrichor
• Exuded oil 
• Ozone

Palette:

• Muted
• Brown/beige
• Grey
• Black
• Off-white
• White
• Blue

You also had a rather unusual approach to making this EP; you’ve done it all in Garageband iOS on your iPhone. Why did you go for Garageband and how has this influenced the outcome of your EP?

In the years I’ve been making music, I’ve adapted to multiple DAWS, the first one of which was Garageband for iOS. Back then I just had a feeling that I’d be able to make music even if I didn’t have a laptop. Right now I’m able to produce in FL studio and Ableton too, but Garageband will always have a special place in my heart because it’s where I started. 

At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what program you decide to make music in. It just has to sound good for you. No matter what anyone says. To define yourself is to limit yourself.

If I never told anyone it was made in Garageband, I don’t even think anybody would’ve noticed haha.

Garageband did create a sense of freedom though, I never had to carry a laptop with me, just my phone. I could just make tracks in bed, or wherever.

Are there things you’ve run up against, barriers you had to cross while working in Garageband? 

Most notably, the storage on my phone. At one point I had over 250 tracks in Garageband, you can imagine that takes up some space. 

Next to storage space, the mixing in Garageband is pretty limited even though the presets and the exports are pretty killer themself in terms of mixing. Luckily I had Raynor (Coloray) to put some of those final touches to the tracks which just made them that much more beautiful.

What Inspires you, in and outside of music?

As mentioned in one of the previous questions, my close friends are huge inspirations to me. Not only because we have nice conversations, but we also share the same interests. Everybody has their own thing, and they’re amazing at it too. 

The interests I’m talking about include contemporary art, architecture, fashion, furniture, basically anything conceptually pleasing. I’m a big fan of pushing boundaries, so if I see something breaking outside of its ‘box’, I’m almost immediately drawn to it.

Around your EP, you’ve also made some cool visuals and you’re doing a visual live performance, but I know fashion is a big passion of yours too. How important is this interdisciplinary approach for you, and where does this love for the arts come from? 

I just think approaching things with a mindset that doesn’t define the thing you want to do, is a very important step to developing a craft. 

One thing I’ve noticed over the last years is how meaningless certain things have become because we are so desperate to define them. The more subdivisible a topic/object etc. becomes, the less meaning it will have. The greater the group of individuals around it, the less easy it is to define it. There is too much influence.

This is why I’ve decided to approach things, not with a mindset of “I’m going to make ambient music”, but with something I want to translate into something else, whether that be music or not.

Of course, me being me, this means that I’ll most likely incorporate my own unconscious influences in these concepts.

With this in mind, what are your plans for the future?

I’m already working on a new project that will be very nice, unique, and different in relation to ‘Shores of Awareness’ My plan for the future is to keep developing myself, and hopefully, keep surprising people with new stuff! 

Thank you for asking me these questions. much love from me to the rest of the Intercept Family. Let’s see what the future holds.