Image: Kay Ibrahim
British musician Oliver Malcom has today dropped his latest single, Outside. The release is accompanied by an official music video for the song, directed by Kay Ibrahim.
Switching gears from his usual experimental punk sounds, the acoustic driven, pensive track takes its inspirations from documentaries and autobiographies of his music idols. The track navigates the juxtaposing emotions that accompany fame; the isolated loneliness, paired with love and adoration from fans. The singer drew parallels from the stories he heard and researched, wanting to document the highs and lows of living as a rockstar.
Of the inspiration for the song, Malcom shared: “At the time of writing ‘Outside’ I was watching a lot of old documentaries on music and legends of the past. Artists of all different genres but predominantly rock n roll. The common theme which threaded through the different stories was that of a twisted, dark side of fame which the artists happened to find themselves in. They either hadn’t anticipated it or they hadn’t known it was there because on the outside it always seems as if the positive attributes of fame outweigh the burdens of it. This was really interesting to me because I’d never thought about this or explored this idea at depth and although I’m not famous I thought it would be interesting to write a song from the perspective of one of these rock stars. And there are parallels in what they talked about, in terms of isolation and loneliness, with how I feel and how I think everyone feels at times. So I thought not only would it be an interesting song to hear from a different perspective but also interesting to relate to for people in stages of their lives when it’s relevant. The roller coaster lifestyle of these rock stars - ups and downs, triumphs and losses, which everyone experiences in life. This constant battle between good and evil no matter how small or large it may be. Of course this is just one aspect of life but nevertheless I feel that it touches on many different themes and presents interesting questions that we must ask ourselves from time to time.”
Outside is the latest track in a string of acclaimed singles, including Switched Up, which will appear on EA Games' FIFA '21 soundtrack, Helen, Kevin and The Machine. In his early teens, the musician downloaded Logic with the intent to teach himself how to produce. After working with artists such as IDK, Aluna George, Joey Bada$$, Jay Rock, Masego Tinashe and more, the twenty year old ventured out into his own musical project. His genre-bending releases see the singer take complete autonomous control, undertaking every task from production, vocals and songwriting to engineering, mixing and mastering. Malcom is working on his debut eight-track EP, set to be released later this year.
Outside is out now! Watch the music video below.
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