Artist, producer and certified hitmaker, Oscar Scheller is actively shaping internet culture and musical landscapes. Running from studio to studio and simultaneously juggling collaborations with chart topping sensations, indie favourites and legends, his rich world building, versatile taste and finger on the pulse for upcoming talent has consolidated him as one of the most solicited musical geniuses of the moment. You gon' jump if Scheller made it.
With the year he’s having, he’s undoubtedly behind some of your favourite new releases and upcoming projects. Think your favourite female icons from PinkPantheress’ Stateside remix with Zara Larsson to Lily Allen’s sensational West End Girl and Kelela’s immersive indie rock burner idea 1. His list of collaborators also includes more left field artists and underground acts such as La Goony Chonga, Shygirl, Ashnikko and Mayvi, worthy of its own festival line up. Oscar has long been a propulsor of new artists and culture, being among the first to collaborate with PinkPantheress in the early SoundCloud demo days and is continuing to do so with artists like roro, having credits on his latest electronic anthem CA$h IT OUT. Among his writing and production credits also sits his expansive discography made up by his solo work comprised of two albums with more (possibly) on the way.
After a few electronic hiccups we start our hour-long conversation across a video call, Oscar joining from New York where he recently moved and myself in East London, somewhere he is more than familiar with and something we instantly bond over. We talk new music, Kelela’s upcoming project, Natanya, Oscar’s project as a solo artist and more.
Finally, we’re connected! Hi Oscar, how are you today?
I know right? (Laughs). I’m good, very nice to meet you.
Where are you joining from?
New York. Where are you?
I’m in London.
My hometown, that’s where it began.
Exactly, big up Hackney.
Oh, come on! That’s where I usually stay when I come to London. Not to dox myself.
What’s been exciting or interesting to you lately?
Good question. All the pop divas, all the girls. The girls are running the show and the future is female. I’m very inspired by that and by New York, by nightlife here. I got a new synth called the V Synth, it came out in 2003 so it’s very much that sort of rave-y trip hoppy vibe. It’s got all the fun clubby sounds on it, so I’ve been digging into that.
Is that the direction you want to go with your sound now or are you just playing around?
Just playing around with things and finding different ingredients.
You’ve worked with a lot of these pop divas yourself, and the Stateside + Zara Larsson remix between PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson went number one worldwide recently, how was seeing a song that you worked on take off like that?
She went crazy. It was surreal because when things happen on the internet, it’s not the real world. But then, when you see it or you hear it in Ubers or on TV and then you have cousins and aunties saying, “the Stateside Remix”, when you reach those people, you're like oh shit that really made an impact so, yes, it's cool it's nice. I like the fact that it's a sonically interesting song to reach that scale. I’m proud of Pink and obviously Zara and everyone else involved.
On that note of a mainstream audience, were your parents and family supportive when you wanted to choose an artistic career?
Well yes, because both my parents were artists and were in a band and went to art school and deeply creative people. The other day I was joking that I never got the nepo money and I just got the nepo swag. I didn’t get any connects or anything, but my parents are really cool let that be known that I made my way into the industry myself, their connections were from the 80s so they’re people that either overdosed or not in music anymore being so real.
What did you grow up listening to at home?
My dad did a lot of dance music and electronic music when I was growing up as a kid, so it was jungle, acid house, dub, a lot of Kraftwerk and then my mum was really into pop music, but she loved punk. A lot of girl groups like The Shangri-Las, Blondie and The Prodigy. It was very eclectic.
I can understand your diverse production range and artists you work with now, based on that background. Do you adapt yourself in the studio based on who you’re with?
It’s a superpower where you just really tap into someone’s energy and their whole world. I’m very respectful of people’s worlds and where they’re coming from, I think it’s very much an intuition thing. I adapt to conversation and connection and the more holistic side of it before you get into technicality or start making any sounds or noise. It’s a very human thing.
I’ve read that you've been very busy running around studios and working on a lot of projects simultaneously so, how do you keep yourself grounded but at the same time excited to be working on everything?
That’s such a great question. Going from project to project you need some time to decompress. Burnout is real, and it's so normalized as well. We’re the worker bees. Honestly, it’s just flow state, I’m like, okay I’m doing this and I’m doing this, very tunnel vision with it. Having a day or two off to just go and walk around and be in nature and not be at the desk.
Your last solo album was released almost three years ago now, but after working with all these artists constantly do you see yourself committing to an album like that in the near future?
With my own artist process it will just start happening, it isn’t really in my control, I’ll just find myself coming to it again, it’s very much an ebb and flow. Sometimes it’s a few years away and sometimes it kind of starts happening, so it will inevitably as long as I live and breathe, I’ll want to put this to paper. I’ve been playing around with some things end of last year, I had a bit of time, but it’s nice because with every project I work on and every diva that I come across I’m learning things; that enriches whatever I’m doing as a musician. It’s very educational and it’s exciting to think how am I going to approach my own artistry.
“The girls are running the show and the future is female.”
You’re low-key collecting all the divas like infinity stones.
My friend Jack and I talk about that, and he coined the term rare Pokémons (laughs).
As a producer, when you make something that’s so sick, what makes you not want to keep it for yourself?
I’m the first to give away songs. I love writing songs, I love singing songs and it’s a big part of me but being the first to hear someone else, particularly a girl, sing something you’ve written is just the best feeling. I hear it in my head and then they bring it to life, then it’s magical honestly so I would never get tired of that feeling. Also, there’re certain songs where it’s like this emotional frequency or resonance or feeling I’m getting is for me; and you know I’m not going to give this one away, but I do often give things away.
Does your creation process happen differently when you know you’re making something for someone else versus when you’re just maybe doing it for yourself or playing around?
Great question. I’m so inspired by people and energy that when I’m in the room with an artist that’s the most potent part of the inspiration. When they’re not there or I’m conceptualising something for them or make these musical love letters for people, okay this is very personal, this feels like it’s you, I kind of understand who you are and the world that you’re in and I made this for you. It’s very loving and then when it’s for myself, it’s just experimentation and what would happen if I did this. There’s a little bit more playing around and it’s less intentional maybe, more discovery.
Is there a song that isn’t yours that you would have loved to make?
The one I can think of is Perfect Day by Lou Reed or God Only Knows by The Beach Boys. Canon songs, the ones that make people break down at karaoke. To reverse the question, there’s this one song I wish that someone else had sung that is mine. I want to give it to Lana del Rey but we gotta figure out how to get rid of Jack Antonoff (laughs). It's a song called Murder and when I wrote that song, it’s on my album Boys Cry, I really heard Lana del Rey singing it. I still think that she would sing it, she just hasn’t heard it. Maybe one day.
What are some of your favourite producers?
I love my friend Jack Laboz, he's incredible. I love Loukeman, I think he's amazing. In terms of older, I love William Orbit and Richard X and all the pop weirdos. Timbaland in his heyday, Darkchild in his heyday. SOPHIE, obviously we can't forget her, that's electronic music 101.
Going to New York from London, how does working in each city influence your music or shape your creation process?
I have history in London and that changes the body and the mind and your nervous system and everything. It's a different space that you're entering. Both London and New York have a similar impulse where things get pushed out of you because both places are very intense energetically and metropolitan, so everything is a melting pot situation. The things that get pushed out in both places, they’re experimental or rougher around the edges, is what I found, just because also the artistry in both places is a lot more committed to experimentation and true expression.
“There’s this one song I wish that someone else had sung that is mine. I want to give it to Lana del Rey but we gotta figure out how to get rid of Jack Antonoff (laughs). It's a song called Murder…”
I recently spoke to Natanya , and she was saying how going to New York for her was necessary to make the project that you also worked on. Do you see yourself moving out of New York?
I like it here. I always wanted to move so for now I’m here, even though I like moving around. That’s the water sign, I’m Pisces, we want the movement which is good; it’s great for the artistic mindset and sensibility, but I’ll be posted up here probably. You know, I’ll always be going back and forth to London, they need me there.
Which career moment has been the biggest turning point for you?
The “Stateside Remix” I guess. PinkPantheress’ ascension has been wild and amazing to see. But honestly working with Kelela…. To me, I’m him. That's like the artist of artists. She’s just so transcendental and just beyond and meaningful and deep. For me the fact that she [PinkPantheress] like spoke about me, I was like oh shit. If I ever had any doubt in myself, it was just a very affirming moment for me to be like this is real.
I have to ask about the new album then. What can you spill?
The thing is, I’m not sure there’s an album. But what I will say is I really enjoyed idea 1, that was a very gorgeous mixing of minds and unexpected, I think for both of us. We both came together, and we were scaling different sides of this mountain, then found each other at the top. We had the same goal of intersection and exploration, we were both experimenting in this way, it was like two minds melding and the product of that is idea 1 so that was so good.
I love that Kelela loves the memes of people saying that she’s the first person to have an idea like it's in every caption now.
I know, Kelela fans they take me out every time because I try and be online a bit so I can see what the conversation is. I don’t want to be chronic but it’s funny. They’re very smart, very funny people so it’s cool that I get to interface with that too.
Do you search up your name online a lot?
We’ve done that before of course, for curiosity and just to see are there any bad pictures of me. One thing about press is they never choose a good picture. I’m like, bitch we took a hundred pictures and you just you chose that one. It’s been a minute though.
Has there been anything surprising that came up?
What’s so funny is I end up on a lot of fan Wikipedia and Reddit threads. It’s funny to see all the little fan theories of what’s really happening.
Do you believe in gatekeeping?
Oh my goodness. I think I’m gonna say fundamentally no. I love to share, I think sharing is caring, I think knowledge is power but, it’s contextual of course. You have to just decide when to gatekeep. I think when I don’t understand gatekeeping is when it comes to food.
I understand that, sorry. I’m happy for the restaurant owners to be well off and earning a lot of money but to then have to start queuing up for two hours only for food influencers or TikTokers to rave about it… no. Anyways, taking it back to the club. I saw that you worked on La Goony Chonga’s latest EP. How was that process?
It was a dream. I got shown La Goony Chonga by a girl that I was dating in LA who was Ecuadorian, and she woke it up for me. I think it was Duro 2005, so then I planted the seed. Years later, I realised that she lived in LA, and I’m very bold in the DM, so I shot my shot musically and asked her to work together because I thought we could bring something special. I’ve felt that about her, because she was so progressive and pushing boundaries and then we linked up. She’s a Pisces too, it was so much fun. Being able to bring grime elements and acid house elements and jungle was so cool.
“I’m very excited for everything that’s gonna come. This year is kind of tea I’m not gonna lie.”
I found it to be a perfect middle point for both of your discographies.
It stands out for sure. I was very honoured, and she invited me to this club called Catwalk because she was performing in LA. I had the best time. I didn't see any of my Opps at the reggaeton club.
Has that pipeline that she opened for you led you to discover new Latin artists?
Yes, there’s an incredible experimental scene going on in Spanish-speaking music and Latin music. They’re creating some special intersections and truly experimental music.
I saw you also worked with roro for example but also Mayvi and Rada too. How do you discover these new and up-and-coming artists?
Roro I think came up on my algorithm and immediately, I was like he’s insane I was like, who is this? There’s so much amazing music coming from Argentina.
I’m thinking Hellolola, Six Sex, Taichu…
Six Sex I’ve been trying to work with for a minute for real, let’s wake that up. I think I just reached out to roro when I heard the music. Me and roro actually have another song together and I’m really excited for it to come out.
Are there any other international artists that you have your eye on?
The whole of Denmark is sickening. I don't know what is in the water in Copenhagen or what they’re smoking but give me some of that.
What’s something surprising that people should know about you?
I used to box when I was like fourteen. I was boxing in these heavy gyms in Kentish Town and back then it was pretty rough. I was boxing and then I had to stop because I played piano, and they were like you’re gonna mess up your fingers too much.
One last question: what other plans do you have for the rest of the year?
There’re more projects coming out that I’ve been involved in and a bit more travel. That’s it really, just working and playing. I’m gonna have my first New York summer living here so that’s exciting. I’m very excited for everything that’s gonna come. This year is kind of tea I’m not gonna lie. There’s a lot of good stuff and we’re not even halfway through it.
It was so nice to speak to you today!
It was lovely to speak to you, thank you so much.