OAK in English
Oak came to life in the summer of 2002 when, after the break-up of their former bands, Hans Brussee (ex-I$I$, Spasmodique and Immortal) and Olivier Schutte (founder of Grof Geschut, ex-Deire) decided to join each other in a musical quest for serenity, freedom and innovation. They set out to make music in the spur-of-the-moment, characterized by improvisation and atmosphere. In Ollie’s Golden Sound Palace – a former hayloft in an old Dutch farm – they experimented freely, using a variety of instruments including sound generators, a mellotron, a Fender Rhodes, trumpet and mandolin. They recorded everything at the spot, after which they listened to the results and polished the songs. The result is an original and widely appealing sound, although this was never the intention. Olivier: “Our sound is not a concept. Everything came about spontaneously. The only thing we agreed on before we started was that we did not want our music to be too energetic. We wanted to create peaceful music with few guitars.” Largely inspired by Talk Talk’s Spirit of Eden, one of their favorite albums ever because of its serenity and minimalism, Oak’s aim was to make a similar kind of exciting music.
The final result is Building Steam, a superb and subtle pop album with an enchanting, almost innocent aura. Songs like ‘It’s Over’, ‘Break For You’ and ‘Foggy She(ep)’ are fragile and melancholic, whereas ‘The Man Who Wasn’t There’ sounds lazy and jazzy, has a catchy chorus and an almost surreal, dreamlike quality. ‘Six Lights’ is the best of Radiohead and Pink Floyd combined into a beautifully structured composition. In ‘ A TV For Your Love’ Oak sounds slightly psychedelic with soundscapes that belong in a David Lynch movie, whereas the ultra short ‘Dry’ is almost fully instrumental with a lot of sound effects. And these are only a few of the little gems on the album.
Oak’s originality is the sum of two totally different personalities. Lead singer Hans has not listened to contemporary music for years, is a genuine vinyl freak and a passionate collector of obscure records and bizarre instruments. On Building Steam he experiments with space echo’s and delays and he regularly plays the stylophone, a hand organ from the 60’s. He gets lyrical inspiration from music and his own emotions and is not concerned with their linguistic correctness or proper meaning. On the contrary, Olivier’s lyrics always have both head and tail and are either based on an idea or an emotion. He plays most of the regular instruments on the album (bass, guitar and keyboards) and is also responsible for the production and final mixing. Hans and Olivier are Oak’s core, but they are joined on the album by a number of guest musicians on drums, double bass, flute and backing vocals.
In order to fully enjoy all the subtle nuances of Oak’s music, the best way to listen to the album is with the lights off and the volume on ten. Live, the band will thrive best in small, stylish theaters where the audience can sit back and listen. ‘We will be doing a number of try-outs and, depending on the reactions to the album, we will be looking into a small tour in the fall,” says Olivier. In a live setting, Oak will consist of a 6-piece line-up that includes many of the musicians on the album. The highly improvisational nature of the songs will make playing live a huge challenge and the performances, like the album, will be characterized by a lot of improvisation.
Building Steam is a musical painting in which you discover something new each time you look at it. Sometimes a beautiful and lovely scenery, other times a surreal image. Oak’s music is both authentic and innovative, both commercial and alienating, but always original and sophisticated. In short, Building Steam is a classic record that will be enjoyed for years to come.