Saudi Oil formed in 2025 in New York City, off the back of a clause slipped into an architecture contract that forced a label to listen to their music, and they’ve been moving at that same pace ever since.

Things happen quickly. Instinctively. Without much interest in polishing the edges. Songs are written and released within days, sometimes faster. Shows shift depending on the mood of the room. Even the line between what’s intentional and what isn’t feels blurred, like it doesn’t matter enough to separate the two.
That unpredictability runs through everything they put out. Early tracks like “Cracked Window” and “Noisy on Canal” set the tone for a project that leans into imperfection rather than smoothing it out, where tension, mess, and immediacy are part of the point. The recordings feel close, almost intrusive at times, like you’re catching something before it’s had a chance to settle.

Their live shows follow the same logic, if there is one. They’ve built a reputation for chaos, but not in a staged or performative way. As they tell it, nothing is rehearsed in the sense people expect. What you see is just them, whether that’s in a DIY room, a club, or somewhere orbiting fashion week.

With new music continuing to land, including “HIM,” Saudi Oil are still figuring things out in real time, or at least refusing to pretend they aren’t. There’s no sense of a fixed plan, just momentum.

For this 18 Questions, they talk instinct, mess, refining nothing, and why moving fast might be the only way they know how to do it.

1. What’s the first thing you usually do when you wake up in the morning?

If I start my day without stepping outside I get really groggy, so I’ll try to get outside as quickly as possible no matter what the weathers like and walk around for a bit.

2. What’s been occupying your brain lately outside of music?

I’ve been redesigning a prominent women’s lingerie brand (they NDA’d me heavy) in SoHo so I’ve been thinking a lot about how to make a panty bar look cool.

3. Do you trust your instincts, or do you just move fast enough that you don’t have to question them?

I don’t think my instincts have ever really changed when examined or questioned, they tend to stay fairly consistent.

4. What’s something you’ve realised you don’t care about anymore?

I grayed early due to a blood condition but now I’m getting to an age where its not that crazy to have gray hair which is…nice.

5. Do you feel like you’re building something, or just reacting to whatever’s in front of you?

I think art at its core is reactive so I don’t think building something and reacting to whats in front of me are ideas that stand at odds with each other.

6. What kind of energy do you feed off in a room?

I love weirdos.

7. When does a song feel “finished” to you, if it ever does?

I rarely revisit songs after the day I’ve written them. They feel finished fairly quickly because I can only write when I’m in the exact mood of the song. It’s not something I can force or work at with diligence or discipline and routine.

8. What’s the last thing that genuinely surprised you?

My downstairs neighbor did ecstasy with Brittney Spears in a limo during her toxic music video shoot.

9. You’ve said before you have “no idea” what you’re doing. Is that still true, or is that part of the myth now?

No it’s pretty true. A lot of what we do is shooting from the hip or doing what feels right immediately. When we finish videos and songs they come out within a few days. We don’t sit on finished songs or plan elaborate release cycles.

10. There’s this idea of Saudi Oil being messy, but intentionally so. Where does that intention actually come in?

It’s about having something to grab on to. You know, we could play the same set every show and give some tight amazing performance, or we could play what feels relevant in that moment or is responding to the current mood or times in the city. That might mean we pick a song the morning of a show we’ve barely played or I just wrote. That spontaneity is what leads to some messy moments but ultimately creates a show that feels very human, raw, and visceral.

11. With “Hair In My Shower Drain,” you’re again leaning into that intimate, unpolished sound. At what point does capturing a moment become an excuse not to refine it further?

I just don’t understand or believe in this idea of refining. I wrote that song when I was in that mood. What does refining that further even mean? Picking a better guitar tone? Retracking bass? Fuck all that I’d rather capture a moment in a bottle and share it with the people who resonate with what we’re trying to achieve.

12. A lot of your recordings feel like they sit right on the edge of falling apart. What makes you trust that tension instead of tightening it?

It’s just, for better or worse, easy to make a hi fi pop sounding song now. If I’m writing from an emotion thats messy or chaotic or about to fall apart, why shouldn’t the music reflect that?

13. Your live shows are described as chaotic, but you’ve said what people see is basically just you. Does that mean the chaos isn’t a performance at all?

There’s nothing prepared or rehearsed about how we act or play during our shows. We’ve never as a band come together and said let’s be chaotic or punk or energetic or whatever descriptors people may use. I guess that means it’s just us right?

14. You move between DIY shows, clubs, and fashion spaces without changing approach. Is that confidence, or just a refusal to adapt?

I’m not sure thats entirely true. Our project is designed to be pretty flexible and loose, and that allows us to adapt and explore every room we’re in. A show at a venue is going to look very different for us than a show at some rooftop or wherever else we DIY.

15. The merch and visuals walk a line between satire and shock. How do you know when you’ve pushed it too far, or is that not something you care about?

I’ve never really worried about pushing things too far. I suppose I trust my intention, and most of the subject matter we joke about is tied directly to our lives, so who better to be a litmus test of what’s okay than us?

16. You’ve said none of the visual side is important, but people clearly latch onto it. Do you actually believe that, or is that part of the joke?

Did I say that? Hahaha I guess I’ve changed my mind visuals are incredibly important and most of the band come from visual and artistic fields. I’d say we care very deeply about visuals.

17. There’s a lot of talk around the “story” of the band already. How much of Saudi Oil is narrative versus what’s actually happening in the room when you play?

I don’t see much of a line between the two, the story of how the project developed and progresses is so directly tied to what happens in the room that they’ve become one and the same.

18. “Foot on the gas” suggests constant output, but what’s the risk of moving too fast before anything fully lands?

Guess we’ll find out aye.

“Hair in my Shower Drain” is out now, follow via @protect.saudioil