An Interview With the Producer/DJ Duo, OLIVER!

Producer/DJ duo Oliver released their new track “Heart Attack” earlier this year. The track features legendary hip- hop legends De La Soul.  Their previous single, “Electrify,” has racked up over 1.6 million Spotify streams and was included on the soundtrack to the EA Sports’ FIFA 17.The duo is set to release their debut album “Full Circle,” on August 25^th via Interscope Records and are currently touring the country.

Oliver, which is Vaughn Oliver and Oliver “Oligee” Goldstein, have also announced new upcoming tour dates in September,

Drawn together in 2010 by a shared love of production, vinyl, vintage music gear, and modern art and design, Oliver established their sonic prowess on EPs Dirty Talk (2012) Mechanical (2013), and Light Years Away (2014). Their music — sleek, smart, and relentlessly propulsive — was embraced by Busy P, Justice, Destructo, French house legend Lifelike, and A-Trak, who dropped Mechanical and Light Years Away plus a collaborative 2013 track, “Zamboni” on his venerable Fool’s Gold label.

While Oliver’s reputation rose with the surging force of the international EDM scene, the duo played mega-festivals with such titans as Zedd, Dillon Francis, and Chromeo, while their tracks  became dancefloor weapons in the underground venues of their home base of Los Angeles and beyond.

Oliver’s upcoming tour dates:

Sept 15 – Chicago, IL                     The Mid

Sept 16 – San Francisco, CA       Audio Nightclub

Sept 28 – Brooklyn, NY                 Good Room

Sept 29 – Washington, DC           U Street Music Hall

Sept 30 – Los Angeles, CA           Sound Nightclub

Learn more about Oliver in the following All Access interview:

Thanks for your time! Where does this interview find the band today? Is there music playing in the
background? What music do you all like to listen to when you are relaxing or answering interview
questions?

Vaughn: Not listening to music at the moment, I just got a new synthesizer so I’ve been playing
around with that all day and making strange sounds.

How does 2017 so far compare to last year? Did you all approach this year differently then you did
2016?

Vaughn: The last couple years we’ve mostly been focused on writing our album. Finishing it
has been the focus and I’m happy to say it’s finally done.

Growing up, did you both always want to be musicians? Can you recall the moment you realized that
you could really make music together and be a band? Why do you think your name truly represents
this group and the music that you create?

Vaughn: I wanted to be an artist when I was very young, I was really into drawing and
illustration. I didn’t real have an interest in music till I was fifteen or so. Making music together
happened fairly naturally, when we met we had a lot in common musically, we loved a lot of the
same records. The name was kind of a no-brainer, Oliver Goldstein and Vaughn Oliver, the yin
and yang.

I always like to ask artists how their hometown has been an influence on the kind of music they make
and really what kind of a band they are today. So how do you think your hometown has affected you?

Vaughn: I grew up in a small town with not a lot to entertain myself, I think it forced me to be
more creative just to have fun and keep my mind stimulated.

Earlier this year you released the single, “Heart Attack.” What was the inspiration for that track? What
was it like working with hip hop legends De La Soul on it?

Vaughn: We were going for a early punk-funk, school-yard hip-hop type of sound, like Malcolm
McLaren or the Tom Tom Club. It was an honor to have De La on the song, their music is part of
what made us fall in love with hip-hop back when we were young. They are such an important
group to so many people, they just flipped the whole thing on it’s head, they were so original
and different, never scared to be themselves.

Next month you will be releasing your debut album, “Full Circle” via Interscope Records. What was it like putting this collection together? Did anything surprise you about the process?

Vaughn: It was easily the hardest thing we’ve ever done musically. We’ve never put out a body
of work like this, it takes more work then I think people realize. Maybe one song out of 10-15
actually makes the cut so it can really knock the wind out of your sails when you spend two
weeks on something just to have it not make the record. I think the amount of stress was
surprising, it can be mentally taxing.

How do you think that your music and you two have ultimately grown on this latest collection? How do
you think your sound has changed since your 2012 EP “Dirty Talk” was put out?

Vaughn: I like to think we’re just more refined in our tastes and the influences we pull from.
We’ve matured quite a lot since or first releases, I think our newer stuff is less “hit you over the
head” production wise.

You guys have toured a bunch and played at many festivals so I’d love to know what one of your
shows is like? Can you describe what a typical show for you is like?

Vaughn: We just try to go out and have fun and play music we love, sometimes as a DJ that can
be a bit difficult but when it works and people are on board with you, it’s the best feeling. When
you audience gives you energy back it creates something special, especially when you’re
playing music they haven’t heard before.

What are your plans for the rest of this summer? Can you talk about some of your upcoming tour dates
lined up?

It’s been a long time since we’ve been on the road so we’re looking forward to getting out there again.

Where do you guys think you are happiest- on stage performing, in the studio recording new music or
elsewhere?

Vaughn: For me I love being in the studio the most and being creative. That being said we’ve
been doing that for two years so we’re excited to get back on stage.

Who are some of your favorite artists? Who would you all to work with in the future? What would be a
dream collaboration for this band?

Vaughn: My top three would probably be Prince, Quincy Jones and Daft Punk. There’s many artists that we love and admire but that doesn’t always make for the best collaborations, usually it’s the ones the don’t make sense on paper that end up being the best.

What do you hope is the message of your music? What do you hope people continue to take away
from your songs?

Vaughn: I think the message in our music is to be yourself and do what you feel. That is kind of
the driving force behind our music, we just do what we want and have fun, hopefully people can feel that in the music. We tend to let it be what it is, rather than trying to make it something it’s not just because it might not be cool or sound like whats hot at the moment. Hopefully the listener can tell that it comes from a real place.

What advice would you give to a band just getting started? Or even to someone young that is thinking
of becoming a musician one day?

Vaughn: If you wouldn’t do it for free, don’t do it.

Is there anything else that you would like to share with our readers about yourselves or your music?

Vaughn: We would like to thank everybody that’s supported us and stayed with us over the
years, it means everything to us.