Formed in early 2019, electro-pop band Olsen Jake have recently debuted with their single titled “24 hours”.
Having grown up together in Switzerland, the duo of Olsen Jake have always had an unspoken chemistry with each other. Forming bands both together and apart while at school, the two-piece finally found each other when pianist Leo Olsen was asked to perform a concert in his hometown and needed a backing band along with him, and the rest is history. Like most of the great outfits, writing together is as easy as breathing for the trio. Coming together feels like a rush of inspiration when they share a room, which has now led to the band moving to the UK to deliver their debut single ’24 Hours’ and create ravishing music and lead their music journey.
Combining their love of progressive alt-rock with a distinctly pop-focused aesthetic, the group channel the euphoric sounds of artists like Bastille and The Chainsmokers in creating this bold and uplifting new release, just in time for the summer months. Moving away from the sounds of their past, the three-piece are adopting a new direction as they surge forward. More well-rounded and progressive throughout, Olsen Jake are looking to take their sound to the next level during the year ahead.
At 1883, we had the opportunity to sit down and chat with the band Olsen Jake about their debut single “24 hours”, collaborations with major artists and exciting plans for 2019. Read the interview below to know more!
So for those who are new to your music, can you please introduce yourself to our readers?
We are a Swiss Pop / Electro duo based in London composed of Leo Olsen and Baptiste Jake. We’ve been doing music together for more than 10 years now and started Olsen Jake early this year (2019).
We are focusing mainly on collaborations with other artists
You’ve recently released your debut single ’24 hours’. With a proper blend of progressive alt-rock and pop, the track sounds catchy and uplifting. Can you tell us about the background story behind the song and its production?
We organised a 2-day songwriting camp with 4 songwriters in London in march 2019. We worked on several ideas and then David (Born Stranger) started playing this song he wrote nearly 2 years ago with Adam (ADAL). We loved it and already had a good idea of the production. We did the production on our side with Adam’s voice on the demo track.
We then tried a few singer on the track and finally decided to collab with ADAL because his voice sounded exactly the way we wanted on this track.
Once we finished the production of the song we did a last-minute studio session to get everything prepared for the final recording. We were also working with Brook Baili on another song and though it would be an excellent idea to work with her for the 2nd verse of the song. Brook then joined us on “24 Hours” and we got the final recording.
How did you embark on music career together? Did you all have formal education or has your passion led to building music as a career?
We’ve been playing together for more than 10 years and we used to have a pop-rock band back in school. Unfortunately, we had to stop the band because we all moved to different places to study and work.
After a 5-year “break” we really wanted to get back together and build a new project.
Where do you get your songwriting inspiration? Are you someone who pulls inspiration from personal experiences or do lyrics come from a more general place?
The writing process is really different for every song. Sometimes an idea can come from personal experiences of a member of the band. Sometimes we think about a specific artist we want to collaborate with and we write a song tailored for that artist while keeping our signature. Sometimes the song comes from a friend or a songwriter.
Our main problem is that we have a lot of song ideas but we never finish them. I guess every musician has this problem.
Hailing from Switzerland, how is the music scenario there? What made you decide to move to the UK for pursuing with the band?
We understand that if we want to grow as a band we need to have the right team and be in the right environment. We believe London is one of the best city in the world for artists and musician and this is why we decided to move to the uk.
So far what I’ve learned is you’re focusing majorly into collaborating with big artists. What is that one thing that excites you the most about collaborations rather producing solo music?
We love the creative process of writing and producing a song with / for a singer. Every artist is a new universe we can mix to our. Doing mainly collaboration also means that there’s no limits to our sound and that we can have so much variety.
How do you go about choosing who to collaborate with? Are there any exciting projects you’re currently working on?
Usually, when we write or produce a song, we have a very precise idea of the type of voice we want on it and that’s how we choose who to collaborate with. There’s need to be a chemistry as well between the artist and the band for it to work.
Yes, we do have exciting collaborations with well known singers in the next few months.
What’s next in 2019 for Olsen Jake, music-wise? Where can we catch you next?
We’re going to release our 2nd single very soon with a british singer. We also have a few live performances later this year. You can follow us on Instagram to be updated.
Lastly, how do you take time away from work and music to unwind yourself?
We like to spend time together as a band, go out, travel and spend time with friends and family.
Interview by Khushboo Malhotra