For Sydney-based producer Oliver Tank, mastering the art of heartfelt and vivid soundscapes with an electronic bend wasn’t difficult. His debut album, OT, marks the timeless talent that Tank possesses in his creations that continue to be equally relevant and revolutionary.
The self-taught, bedroom producer established a following though acclaimed EPs Dreams (2011) and Slow Motion Music (2013). The 2013 EP even earned Tank the FBi’s SMAC Award for next big thing. However, the success of his previous EPs only raised the pressure and expectations Tank had for his debut album.
He became overwhelmed with stress during the recording and producing of OT. It almost destroyed Oliver Tank’s love for music. OT needed to be something special.
After over two years of re-recording, second-guessing, and procrastinating, Oliver Tank finally released OT on April 20, 2017.
The snail’s pace of electronic beats makes the entire album explore feeling lost and lonely at the rate you can only feel those things. And the lyrics, they’re so basic they can feel condescending (“I call my friends, ’Wassup? I’m bored, let’s go out”) but the warmth and sincereness in Tank’s voice add to the emotion laced through the entirety of the album. The soothing ambiance of the backing electronic beats and the auto-tune of every single word on the album, it creates an almost out of body experience.
After spending over two years on OT, Tank is certain of the desire to forget albums. In 2016, he released a 15-minute experimental track “Past Present Feature” as a stand-alone.
“I’m not sure if I’ll make another album after this because it was such an ordeal for me and it was a really stressful time,” Tank told The Herald AU. “I think I’ll either keep making EPs or drop singles because there’s so much information now and people’s attention spans are short. Everything is quicker now and I think it’s important to keep putting out music consistently instead of years between releases.”
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