Interview: Ollygon

We recently had a chance to talk with up-and-coming dance producer Ollygon. Despite being fresh out the gate with only three tracks published, he’s been gaining momentum since his original Double Jump was featured on edm.com, and we’re excited to see where his ‘Cute House’ sound takes him in the near future.

Black Sheep Music: Tell us a little about yourself. How’d you settle on the name Ollygon?

Ollygon: Well, my name’s Olly. I’m from York in England and I am 18. I used to release under another name (which I’d rather not say haha) since I started producing, but only a few months ago did I choose the name Ollygon. It was formed from my love of low poly art (hence the cover artwork), so my friend suggested the name Ollygon, and it really stuck with me – it feels organic and simple.

Sheep: And despite being such a young artist, you’ve already developed a really polished, unique sound. What led you to start producing?

Olly: I started producing back in 2010 because I had a passion for electronic music (e.g. old school electro like Justice), so I decided to get Ableton Live and just start making music for fun.

Sheep: So, aside from Justice, who are some of the biggest influences behind your music?

Olly: The biggest influences for me are people like Disclosure and Wave Racer, which is probably pretty obvious listening to my music. A lot of future bass artists inspire me a lot, such as Cosmos Midnight, Pusher, and people like Haywyre, Exmag, and Caravan Palace influence me a lot too.

Sheep: What’s the best way to describe your music then? Could you give a few words on the “Cute House” genre?

Olly: Well I love house music and I love future bass, so I thought of combining the two . . . just so happens it fits pretty well together. Haha, Cute House is just the name I gave my music because I thought it didn’t really go under anything else, but really I feel like the name Cute House fits the sound well.

Sheep: It definitely does — do I hear Kirby samples?

Olly: Haha yes, I love using samples from my favourite video games, it makes my stuff a lot more personal to me. Kirby is an all time favourite character for me, it would feel weird for me not to sample him. A lot of video game music influences me, especially Nintendo games.

Sheep: I feel like there’s a lot of dance artists that often pull from that same well — like when Porter released his latest album or when Zedd’s Legend of Zelda remix blew up.

Olly: Yeah, it makes the music sound more personal and relatable to people who played the same games when growing up.

Sheep: The soundtrack stuff you’ve started sharing just recently under Pluvio seems like a great outlet for that kind of work too. I could see your name rolling under post-game credits in the future . . .

Olly: Haha yes Pluvio is my second Alias which I plan to actually do stuff with one day; it’s there for when I need it though.

Sheep: How does your composition process work then?

Olly: Well I don’t really work with a pattern, all of my songs started with different elements being created first, so really it’s a surprise every time I make something.

Sheep: So what have you been working on lately? Can we expect any new material coming soon?

Olly: A new release should be out in a couple of weeks, but no solid date yet. I’ve been working on a few collabs too, including Pusher!

Sheep: That’s bound to be a success. I get the impression you two would sync up really well artistically. He’s definitely one for throwback 90s game samples.

Olly: I can’t wait to hear the finished piece with [him]. Getting in touch with artists you love is a great avenue, because sometimes they can like what you have and give you advice. Also I’m working on live versions of my songs because I’m really looking into playing live shows.

Sheep: How would they differ from the originals?

Olly: They’d just be variations, I suppose. Not intending to make them different for any reason, just for fun!

Sheep: Also, congrats on your most recent release, Double Jump, being featured as an exclusive on edm.com! You’ve been gathering a good following — where do you hope to see Ollygon in the future?

Olly: Thank you! Yeah the response for Double Jump has been beyond incredible. As for the future, I’m not really sure. I’m just going with the flow as of now, but playing live soon will be really cool.