Jazz Monthly.com Interview with Oli Silk

“Jazz Monthly Feature Interview” Oli Silk

Smitty: Well, I am just really excited about a newcomer to the jazz scene, especially in the U.S. He’s about to release his debut CD, and you’ve got to hear this great new record. It has some very funky grooves and some very nice rhythms, it’s called So Many Ways. I think we’re gonna hear a lot from this new cat and I look forward to him doing a tour in the U.S., he’s got a great vibe, and great songwriting skills. Please welcome Trippin ‘n’ Rhythm recording artist Mr. Oli Silk. Oli, how ya doin’?

Oli Silk (OS): Very well, Smitty. Thank you very much for that lovely introduction. (Both laughing) Very kind of you.

Smitty: You’re so welcome and it’s well deserved.

OS: I was just beaming from ear to ear as you were talking there. (Both laughing)

Smitty: Well, the record speaks for itself and the work that you’ve done over the past few years speaks for itself. I mean, you’ve done some great production work.

OS: Thank you.

Smitty: Yeah, some great songwriting, you’ve put together a killer band and this music, I think, is going to be enjoyed by a lot of people in the U.S. and beyond.

OS: I would really hope so, yeah, I really hope so.

Smitty: You started playing keyboards, what, at 11 years old?

OS: That’s right, yeah.

Smitty: And then it only took you a couple of years, and 13 at that, to do your first record. How’s that?

OS: (Laughs) when I say it was my first record, that’s kind of a loose term. It was just kind of a cassette recorded in a bedroom and it was just with me jamming away on my keyboard with some things behind it. But it kind of as a teen opened my eyes as to what I could do with a little bit of technology and some knowledge of keyboards. And I sort of started to realize what I could do there and although I would probably keep that album well away from anybody’s ears.

Smitty: (Laughs) I think that’s a beautiful thing to get in that deep at an early age because then you start to formulate what you wanna do later on in life musically speaking.

OS: Yeah, I agree.

Smitty: Yeah. So what made you want to get into the production side of it? Usually at that age a person is just happy to be able to strike a melody and hold it.

OS: Of course, yeah. I couldn’t say for sure what drove me toward that side of things. I think it was a combination of things. When I first started listening to music of my own accord….I’ll explain later what I mean by that….when you’re of that age, maybe 10-11, you start to get interested in your own identity in music and stuff like that, what you wanna listen to. At that time, it was 1990-91, what was going on in England was very much a lot of dance music, very much production based music. So for a few years there I was very much into my dance music, into my technological stuff. I still played the keyboard, I still improvised, and I still played jazz. I was getting taught at the time but I was playing in a more rigid style. I was playing a lot of shows, theater, things like that. I was very intrigued by it all. I had a very basic computer; I think it was a Commodore. I just used to bash out little dance tunes on there and stuff like that. I had a knowledge of music and basic theory and I could put that into the tune. I used to be very happy then, whiling away the hours. I didn’t get out much, to be very honest. (Both laughing) I wasn’t the sort to go out and play and get on my bike and do stuff that the other kids were doing.

Smitty: Do you like to dance?

OS: Yeah, I can bust some moves.

Smitty: You can bust some moves, huh? (Laughs)

OS: I can bust some moves, man. (Both laughing)

Smitty: Can you leave the keyboard and do a little dance when you do a show one of these days?

OS: Oh, well, I don’t know about that. (Both laughing)

Smitty: Hey, you gotta bust a move on stage, man.

OS: Oh, no, I’ve said that now. I’m gonna have to do something now, aren’t I? Well, I wouldn’t wanna embarrass you. (Both laughing)

Smitty: Oh, no, I think it would be cool, man, because I think when a musician can bust a move and do his thing on the instrument at the same time, it’s a very cool thing.

OS: It’s kinda tough with the keyboard, isn’t it, because you’re always wedged to it. You’re always standing there and you can’t really go anywhere. Sax players, they can do the foot movement and the dancing around the stage and stuff, and that always used to make me quite jealous as I sat there at the back standing at my keyboard while the bass player and the guitarist and the sax player are all doing their head bobbing in unison and stuff. But I might get one of those guitar keyboards, you know, the type that Jeff Lorber uses and George Duke used to use. You don’t see them in this country, but I know over there they’re still quite popular.

Smitty: Well, you can bust a move with one of those.

OS: Well, you can, can’t you? I can get out in front. I remember when Jeff Lorber came over to the Jazz Café here last time I saw him and he busted one of those out and you could see the audience, the English audience, like, wow, I haven’t seen one of these since Paul Hardcastle or something like that.

Smitty: Yeah, he’s a great musician. You weren’t always into jazz or Smooth Jazz or Contemporary Jazz, and I know Danny Sugar had a lot to do with that. Talk to me about that experience and working with Danny and how that helped your style and your musicianship.

OS: When I first met Danny we were at college. It was my first experience of actually coming into contact with guys that were my age and also were good accomplished musicians, because previous to that, when I was in high school, there wasn’t really anyone I could relate to. They were playing classical stuff, and then there was me, who was doing full composition work, doing a house music track, a nice smooth groove track or something like that. To my music teachers it wasn’t something quite like they’d ever heard before, a 16-year-old kid doing this stuff. So I sort of couldn’t relate to anyone else in my class. I was starting to think….I’d really love to get in a band and do something like that. In college, meeting Danny, specifically at college, and there was another guy called Bernie who used to play the drums and that gave me the outlet. I mean, here’s this guy who can play the bass, he’s only 17 and he’s just got this natural ability to play the bass. So it was me and Danny trying to fuse our Smooth Jazz or jazz ideas with these other guys and what came out was sort of this bizarre trying-to-be-Weather-Report sound.

Smitty: That’s cool. (Laughs)

OS: So from there on in, it just kind of happened. The first album came out over in the U.K. here and it became quite a nice little cult album and we were doing some great gigs, and we just sort of grew into it. It wasn’t a preconceived idea and all of a sudden we found ourselves gigging at Jazz Café. And that’s kind of my memory of Danny, as just being this wonderful natural talent. Whereas people like me had to sort of work to hear things, to have that little edge, musical edge. He was very naturally gifted with that. He could just pick up a melody, hear it once and play it off and by the same token, I had this sort of production technique and experience and it blended really well, the two styles.

Smitty: So what do you like most about making music?

OS: What do I like most about making music? Well, I’d like to say the girls, but…

Smitty: (Laughs)

OS: .…if I’m home alone all day, probably not locked away in a dark recording studio.

Smitty: You gotta get out there, man, because I hear chicks dig the keyboard.

OS: Well, yeah. (Both laughing) I’ve heard that too but 16 years down the line is, yeah, I’m still hoping. No, I’m kidding with you. I’m hitched, I’m all good, I’m all good.

Smitty: Oh, good. I understand your brother (Simon Russell) is very instrumental in helping you with your career. Talk about his influence and what he has done to help you with your career at this point.

OS: He is a huge soul fan, and he’s a bit older than me. Growing up in our house was just an absolute soul fest all the time because he was big into it. He actually worked from the age of 13 or 14 in a specialist soul, funk and jazz record shop in London, and you can imagine at 14 years old, it’s not the sort of career path that you would imagine a typical teenager to have. He still has thousands of LP’s from back then. But what I then discovered is that when I turned maybe 17 or 18, all of a sudden I had access to these old records that had been played to me from the age of one. When I listened to them again, something just stirred inside me. I can’t really explain it, but something just stirred inside me when I listened to things like Quincy Jones, like the Dude album, for instance, stuff like that, things like Jeff Lorber’s track called “Really Scary” from the In the Heat of the Night album. And these are records that suddenly I had access to and I was just in heaven and I thought, my God, why this is the music for me. I hadn’t realized it up to then. And it took Simon’s love and passion to sort of stir that in me.

Smitty: Well, you gotta love that.

OS: Yeah, and mainly because he’s like you and me. He just absolutely couldn’t live without music.

Smitty: Yeah, yeah, I can totally appreciate that. You’ve been to the U.S. and you’ve had an opportunity to perform in the U.S. a few times. Talk about your first visit to the U.S. and what that was like. Were you nervous? Was it just totally exciting? And what was the fans’ reaction?

OS: Well, the first time I came to the U.S. I was over with James Vargas as part of his debut album shows, two shows at Catalina, October 2004. Actually, all of my family….my mum and dad and my brother came with us on the trip, and as it was the sort of first trip, I think that everyone really wanted to be a part of it. And I must say that it was just the craziest 12 days, up to then that I’d ever been involved in. From the moment we landed on the tarmac. I’d never been to that part of America before. I’d never had a flight that was more than seven and a half hours. Then no sooner we landed, we were at the hotel, we were sleeping, and then we were up, we were rehearsing, which was just mind blowing. The guys that played the guitar, bass and drums (Allen Hinds, Keith Jones, Donnell Spencer Jr.) were just incredible….I’d not really been around musicians of that level before and it took some getting used to and I knew that I had to be on top of my game to blend in and to sort of keep up.

Smitty: (Laughs)

OS: I wanted them to go away from the experience, the rest of the band, and say, you know, “That was really good. Those gigs were really good.” And I knew that I had to be in top form for that, so that took some getting used to. These guys had played with as you can imagine, they’d played with everybody. Allen Hinds just got off tour with Randy Crawford, Donnell had been playing with Lionel Richie and, it doesn’t sink in what sort of level of musicians you’re playing with.…so the gig itself at Catalina I’d say it was probably slow motion, but it just went perfectly. I was fairly nervous but not as nervous as I thought I would be, because it was sort of surreal in nature. So the show was wonderful and the fans’ reaction was the height of the surreal experience. Just coming down after the show, about five or ten minutes after we’d finished the show and walking around the side of the ballroom towards the shop and just the queue of people for autographs was all the way around the building, and everyone’s clapping and cheering us, and I wasn’t expecting that at all because I’d never experienced that. So that was the first experience of America.

Smitty: Very cool. Did you get to meet Art Good?

OS: Of course, yeah, I did get to meet Art, only very briefly because, I mean, I came over with James (Vargas). But I’ve been speaking to Art. I actually did an interview with Art a few days back, which was cool.

Smitty: He’s a great guy, isn’t he?

OS: We’ve been chatting so, yeah, he’s cool. I like Art. He’s a very laid back chap.

Smitty: Yeah, and he always puts on a great show wherever he’s doing any kind of event. He always does it top notch. He’s a great cat.

OS: I totally agree. I think he’s absolutely at the forefront of that sort of promotion and that type of festival.

Smitty: Yeah, he’s one of the best. So, now, let’s talk about the record.

OS: Okay.

Smitty: Because I think this record is just unbelievably cool and your first single to radio was “Easy Does It.”

OS: That’s right, yeah.

Smitty: And that’s a great choice, wonderful track and…

OS: Thank you.

Smitty: You’re welcome, and you’ve got a great bass player, Julian Crampton, on there and…

OS: That’s right.

Smitty: .…and Matt (Park) on guitar. Why did you select this song for the record because to me it stands out from all the other tracks. Did you build around that song or was that just one you added to the mix?

OS: Hmm, I wouldn’t say that we built around that song necessarily. It was interesting because the record was done sort of in sections. The way I work, which it may be good, may be not, is that I will tend to start ideas, get them to a point, and then I’ll just leave them alone for a while and I’ll carry on and I’ll go and do something else or maybe start another idea. So what ends up happening is that I’ve got a whole bunch of ideas that aren’t finished and occasionally that can lead to a lot of unfinished ideas never reaching the light of day. Then I listen back to them and I think, okay, well, I’ll start something new now because I did that six months ago and I don’t wanna finish it now. But that’s kind of what happened with “Easy Does It” is that I started it and I hadn’t written the melody, I’d just written some of the back track.

I really liked it, but at the time it sort of got put aside and I didn’t concentrate on it. Then I was doing other tracks on the album, and I went back to it and Matt, the guitarist was around, and we just started writing this melody over of the top of it and it just clicked…. then he started doing a little pick, a guitar part on it, and it started to get not only really smooth but a little bit funky and it was starting to move a bit, and this was before the bass went on. This was just with a really static keyboard bass on it, but it started to move a little bit and I was thinking, okay, I’m starting to feel this a bit more, this could make the album. So we finalized the melody and then I went back after and added a key change at the end, and then I got Julian in to do several tracks, and funnily enough I wasn’t gonna add bass to the single, to “Easy Does It,” but we had some time left at the end of the session and he said “Is there anything else you wanna do?” I was listening to “Easy Does It” and he listened to it and he said “What about that one? That could use some bass.” I said “You think so?” He said “Yeah, let’s have a go at it,” so that basically is the story, really, and he put some bass down on it, and straight away the whole thing just came to life.

Smitty: Well, it’s a great track that really stands out. And I love “London to L.A. Express.”

OS: Okay, yeah.

Smitty: You guys had the little background vocal thing working there too.

OS: Yeah, yeah, I sang that myself with….I think I sang that with Bruce Parker. He’s the guy that’s on the main vocal track.

Smitty: It’s really interesting and really cool; the whole composition is really nice.

OS: It is. It’s kind of different. Again, that sort of stands out, I think, for me. You’d probably agree. It just slightly has a bit more of a West Coast laid back spin to it.

Smitty: Yeah, yeah, I love it.

OS: Kind of a little bit old school in there and then it reminds me a little bit of Norman Brown. I actually had Norman Brown in mind when we were doing it because of the style of the guitar and everything.

Smitty: Yeah, and my first thought was George Benson and then it sort of gravitated to Norman Brown.

OS: Yes.

Smitty: So it’s got that really nice guitar feel to it, you’re right. And I actually think that it could be a radio single.

OS: Yeah, it’s funny you should say that because that was Trippin Records’ second choice. (Both laughing) You’re good.

Smitty: How ‘bout that? Oh, but all of these are great tracks. You’ve got some great writing skills, man.

OS: Thank you, thank you very much.

Smitty: Yeah, and the title track is really cool, “So Many Ways,” and Yvonne (John-Lewis)…

OS: That’s right, Yvonne, yeah.

Smitty: You tell Yvonne she can sing to me any day. (Both laughing)

OS: Oh yeah, I will. She’ll love that.

Smitty: Oh wow, she’s got a great voice.

OS: She’s really great. You’d really like her. She’s the absolute quintessential professional singer. She’s one of the most talented gifted singers in this country I’ve ever met.

Smitty: She just sings with so much feeling and emotion. It’s really great.

OS: Definitely.

Smitty: You’ve got one of my old pals on here on “Deuces Wild,” you’ve got Jaared.

OS: Hey, yeah, Jaared.

Smitty: Jaared’s an old friend. Been knowing Jaared for many years and it’s great to see him out there.

OS: You know what? I’d written “Deuces Wild” and it kind of came to my attention that it was gonna be a full-on sax track. In the beginning I thought, I’ll try and merge some keyboard and some sax, and kind of ala Gregg Karukas maybe just a nice touch of sax in there. But then as I was writing I just thought, wow, this is hot, this is just gonna be great with some big double sax and a chorus with the sax just taking it. A couple of people said “It doesn’t really fit on the album. Why isn’t there a keyboard on there? It’s not really you.” And I just said….”I’ve written a song, it’s my production, so it’s a nice change. I think people like to hear a little bit of variety in there.” And at the time Jaared was over with Peter White doing some gigs over here and I had met Jaared once before, not really on musical terms, just seeing a gig and say hello. So we were off to see them that night and it just occurred to me and Simon, we just said “How ‘bout we ask Jaared to get on that track?” And at first I thought, nah, he’s really not gonna do that, and then we asked him and he was like “I would love to!” And he was just wonderful, absolutely played like I’d never heard someone play in a recording studio. Boy, it was just….it was ridiculous.

Smitty: Yeah, he’s a great player.

OS: He is.

Smitty: You know, Trippin’s got some great keyboard players too. You guys have a taste for keyboard players. I must tell Les that. He’s got a taste for keyboard players.

OS: He has, doesn’t he?

Smitty: Yeah, there’s yourself, Gregg Karukas, Paul Hardcastle…

OS: Yep.

Smitty: There could easily be this great, monster blowout, a keyboard blowout thing working.

OS: There could be, yeah. Gregg Karukas, is obviously great. What Gregg is doing is where I would like to ultimately be because he’s just unbelievable. I listen to his records and everything is so perfect.

Smitty: Yep.

OS: I don’t know what he’s like as a person, but maybe he’s really something in person too because you can just hear that he hasn’t let anything go.

Smitty: Yeah.

OS: It just….it flows so beautifully and it sounds great….and he does his own production too. And I’m just in awe of him. I think that’s where I’d like to be.

Smitty: Yep, he’s one of my favorite keyboard players.

OS: Definitely.

Smitty: And a great guy too. So, now, the record comes out when?

OS: The record comes out on the 7th of August.

Smitty: 7th of August. So this is a great time for you. That’s coming up very soon. And there’s gotta be a lot of excitement around this record because you’ve got some great tracks and radio’s already feelin’ it.

OS: They are. To be honest with you, Smitty, it’s far beyond my expectations even now and when I talk to Les and tell him that, he sort of laughs and says, “This is just the beginning,” because he’s been there and he’s done that with Paul (Hardcastle). He’s been doing it with the Jazzmasters for so long. This week I might be one off the chart. The single’s just one off the R&R Top 30. Now, that is just….that’s just crazy.

Smitty: (Laughs) Well, that’s a tribute to your success and your creative vibe.

OS: Well, thank you. That’s very kind of you to say that. Thank you.

Smitty: You’re welcome, and give me your Web site because I want people to know about your Web site and go on your Web site and check out some of the other things that you’ve done and what’s coming up.

OS: Sure thing, yeah. Okay, it’s www.olisilk.com.

Smitty: Very cool. Talk about a tour. Are you putting together a tour now?

OS: Well, as we stand now, I’m gonna be over in October again. I’m gonna be playing a show on the 8th of October, which is a Sunday, but it’s not actually my show. It’s Jaared’s show and I’m gonna be playing in Jaared’s band.

Smitty: Cool.

OS: So that should be really cool. I’m really looking forward to that, and not having played with him live before, I think that would just really be a learning experience for me again, and it will give me a chance to get on the stage before my following gig, which is seven days later on the 15th. And they’re both at Catalina.

Smitty: Excellent, man. So the fans in the U.S. can get to see you at Catalina.

OS: Yeah. I’m really looking forward to it and it’s gonna be my first solo gig, so it’s gonna be quite a momentous occasion.

Smitty: Yeah, absolutely. Well, Oli, I must congratulate you on this great new project.

OS: Thank you.

Smitty: It’s coming out in August on the 7th and it’s called So Many Ways, and this is a very striking vibe and I highly recommend this CD, and once again all the best with this great new project and look forward to seeing you in the U.S. on tour in October.

OS: Thank you.

Smitty: And hopefully we’ll get to hook up and do a little hang, huh?

OS: Oh, definitely. I would absolutely love to. It’s been an absolute pleasure talking with you and it’s just great to share musical viewpoints and talk about Smooth Jazz and things. It’s really great, so thanks a lot.

Smitty: You are so welcome. And please come back and let’s talk again, you’re always welcome at JazzMonthly.com.

OS: Oh, thank you, I’d love to, yeah. I can keep you updated on what’s going on and I really hope that we can meet face to face as soon as I come over.

Smitty: Exactly, same here, and I look for some great things with this new record, and congratulations to everyone at Trippin ‘n’ Rhythm, Les and Jeff Lunt.

OS: Yes, that’s right, yeah.

Smitty: Yeah, and he’s holding down the fort in the U.S. and he does a great job.

OS: He is, yeah, he’s doing a great job as well.

Smitty: All right, we have been talking with the fantastic Mr. Oli Silk. He’s about to release a wonderful new project. It’s called So Many Ways. There are some great grooves here, some slick melodies, and some fantastic musicians of support. I highly recommend this record and look for this one to receive some serious airplay and I think you’re gonna see a lot of this young man in the future. Oli, thanks again and best of everything in 2006 and beyond, my friend.

OS: Thank you very much, Smitty. It’s been an absolute pleasure talking with you.

Baldwin “Smitty” Smith

For More Information Visit www.olisilk.com or www.trippinrecords.com