Introducing #115 - scott is okay
Let us introduce you to London based artist scott is okay, who is making waves with his unique lo-fi pop sounds while also creating a sense of mystery around him. Choosing to keep his identity secret, he lets his music do the talking. He took a moment to speak to us about his new single ‘Money’.
Hey there scott is okay, so your track ‘Money’ is out now, can you tell us what the track is about?
Heyo :) Money came about in March last year, it's a song about realising you have to put effort into maintaining friendships. Shits different than when you're at school and uni because you have this thing that keeps you together and once that structure goes, it's all up to you.
You are part of the yada yada family, how did that partnership come about?
I actually met JC in like 2017 when I had a bunch of music ready to release, I'm glad I didn't release it now though because a lot of that music is very much 'oh woe is me', y'know? I'm trying to be a little more self-reflective when writing now. After releasing my song Patience, we reconvened and now we're here, I feel super lucky to get their support.
You are based in London, what are your favourite things about the city? Where do you go for musical adventures?
Nowhere anymore lmao. But before the pandemic, I used to love going to gigs and playing them with other artists too. The last musical adventure I had was seeing Caroline Polachek at Heaven, the day before the pandemic started and before that, I can't even remember now. Haven't stepped out of North West London in a long time.
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard of you before?
Most people haven't lol, so I usually describe it as 'bedroom pop-ish'. I feel like that recording songs in my room rather than a studio has a big impact on my music, including the creative leverage, the time, and the limitations too. I'm never going to have that completely radio-ready finish when making stuff, so I like to lean into that fact.
Who are your key musical influences?
The big three for me are always Janelle Monae, St Vincent and Kimbra, they were the artists that opened me up to the kind of music I love. I think really though, it's, like, specific things rather than just artists or genres; I love the concept-driven narrative of Childish Gambino's Because The Internet, or the way you can hear Superorganism literally having fun when recording their songs, stuff like that is what I take away from listening to my favorite music.
While creating your own music, you also do a bit of producing and mixing for a number of artists, how do you find time to do it all? And will we ever see any collabs?
I do quite a few sessions with artists, sometimes jumping in the producer chair, sometimes as a cowriter which I enjoy (a lot more before they were all on Zoom). But I think for my project, there's a lot of solitude and self-reflection that happens internally and that's why I work by myself more often than not and maybe that's why I've never really been as drawn to collabs for my project.
Now this track is out there, what next for you?
I wrote this track nearly a year ago now and have been writing a lot since then, so hopefully I just get the chance to keep releasing new music. I feel like I've definitely grown already since writing this song but I'm really glad it's finally out there because it's definitely one of my favourites.