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Artist Spotlight: Omfeel
After making her debut on Reflections last year with a tender piano piece ‘Dancing Ego’, which also saw a feature on Anjunadeep 13, Omfeel returns with her brand new project ‘Happiness’. We sat down with her for a one-to-one insight into her new chapter.
Hi Omfeel! Could you tell us a bit more about yourself?
Besides the fact that I am a pianist and electronic producer from St. Petersburg, I also teach piano, do sports and love yoga, (maybe someday I will learn to be an instructor!) I lead a healthy lifestyle, and it’s important for me to be in motion as it helps me to feel good in all other areas of life.
What were your musical beginnings?
I received a classical music education as a pianist, but I have always been a devoted listener and fan of pop and electronic music. My artist name, Omfeel, came about in 2018, during spring, my favourite time of year. I find Spring is a really inspirational time, a season for the most daring ideas, new beginnings or big changes in life.
I went on to study audio engineering to explore the technical aspects of music, and chose Ableton as a place to implement my ideas. There I began my musical journey. I also began collaborating with a talented music producer called Nuage, who helped influence my musical journey.
How has this impacted your sound now?
My tracks are often built around a piano melody line, as this instrument is such a prominent part of me, it is almost always present in my music. As well as my ears, my fingers help me compose melodies. When I close my eyes, my hearing becomes more sensitive, my imagination is free and muscle memory sometimes finds interesting harmonies that could never be created consciously. All of this is then intertwined with soft electronic elements and beats.
Have there been any major musical influences to your music?
My father used to bring home a lot of CDs of different genres and musical styles and I think it influenced me in having such a diverse taste in music. I still remember how I could listen to Robert Miles' ‘Dreamland’ album on repeat for hours after school. It's funny to think that my parents were at work at the time and didn't even know about my obsessions.
Your brand new EP ‘Happiness’ just landed on Reflections, can you tell us a bit more about the title and theme of the project?
The meaning of ‘happiness’ is a rather philosophical question and for each person there will probably be a different answer, just like the question of ‘what is love?’; but I love philosophical questions. My idea of happiness is to live every day in such a way that brings a drop of warmth, peace and joy into your own and others’ existence. Happiness unites people.
Is there a particular message you want to convey with this EP?
With so much going on in the world right now, I wanted to remind people of the most important thing; the joy that you are still alive and that you can help someone by bringing peace and protection.
What was your favourite part about making the EP?
Working with stylistic variety, each song intertwines different elements that fit its own style. Which is also a valuable experience that will help in my future projects.
There’s a few collaborators on the EP. How did you meet them and what was the creative process like?
I met Dessin Bizarre online, he’s a talented artist, writer and guitarist from Moscow. Once in St. Petersburg, he helped me set up a home studio and that same day we recorded some musical ideas which ended up being ‘Summer Dreams’.
It was a similar story with Mario Hammer, where we met on instagram and were fans of each others’ music. He sent me a synthesizer sequence, which I then wrote the piano chords over and produced the beat, which resulted in our collaboration ‘Lonely Star’.
If you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be?
Recently I was asked by Ludvig Cimbrelius aka. Purl, to remix his track which felt like a great honour as his music is truly healing for me. I also plan to finish two tracks with Dessin Bizarre, who features on my EP. Of course, the list is longer but for now I am quite focused on my own material.
Do you have any tips / advice for anyone starting their music production journey?
There is really no final ‘end’ to making music, we are all in some way, finding ourselves at the beginning. Just continue to act sincerely in musical expression, and be careful with your ears. We work with sound for hours at a time, so be sure to take breaks and monitor the volumes at which you work. Our health is incredibly important.
What’s coming up for you this year in 2024?
Some exciting new projects, building up my studio, some more piano concerts for charity and just seeing where this all leads me!
