If you asked us who is one artist everyone needs to be checking out, our answer would definitely be OSTON! We have been long-time fans of OSTON and have done interviews together in the past (here & here). We have gotten to watch the artistic growth that has taken place and have just been in awe. Saint Rich, OSTON’S newest EP, is a prime example of that artistic growth. We were lucky enough to get to chat with OSTON again about new music and tour, and so much more!
Stream Saint Rich. here!
Get tickets to see OSTON on tour!
Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us today! To start us off, how would you describe your sound/what you want to convey with your music to someone who is tuning in for the first time? Introspective pop writing style over alt-leaning production! I feel like that’s the most basic answer BUT listen to the music and tell me I’m not spot on!!
You are about to embark on your first headline tour! What has the build-up to these shows been like for you? What emotions have been presenting themselves?
I don’t think I’ve ever been this excited and nervous and anxious and stoked and terrified all at the same time for anything in my career so far. SO much love and energy and planning has gone into making this tour what it is – and I literally can’t wait to see how it turns out and get to play these songs live for the first time. It feels like such a huge moment in my career and I just feel really grateful and privileged to get to do this.
And on the topic of touring, when you were crafting the Saint Rich. EP was there a song that you could automatically picture what the live performance would look like?
To be honest, the live portrayal of these songs wasn’t something that went through my mind AT ALL when I was writing them. Writing this project was such a reflective and cathartic process for me that I just focused on telling the story in a way that felt authentic to my experience. After the project came out and I started rehearsing them is when I realized…holy shit these songs have a TON of words. And like absolutely no room to breathe.
It’s been quite interesting figuring out how to translate them into a live setting, and I think when I’m up on stage jumping around it’s going to be even more challenging. So when I do start writing the next project, I should definitely keep those things in mind HAHA.
Saint Rich. has been one of our favorite projects of the year so far, with ‘Burton St.’ being a favorite track of ours, when crafting that track with such specific lines that obviously reference a personal experience, do you write that as soon as you’ve gone through the experience, during the experience, or do you have to give it space?
First of all, THANK YOU. It’s so cool knowing these tracks connected with you and I just so appreciate you for taking the time to listen. These songs are all based around a relationship that I experienced a few years back. Although I have touched on it in some past songs of mine, I’ve never gone this deep or re-visited my experience so intentionally. Every time I tried to write about it, it didn’t feel like I was ready. But after being out of it for a few years and having space and time to heal, it was easier to go back into those experiences without feeling completely overtaken by emotions. I definitely needed the years away from it before I could revisit and even consider writing a project like this.
Being vulnerable in your music can offer healing not just for you, but also for your listeners, how does it feel to release music and then see fans relate to your real life situations that you’ve put to music?
Seeing how people are able to heal from my writing is literally one of the only things that matters to me. This is the whole reason why music exists – to help other people through experiences in their own lives in the only way that we as artists know how to express it. If I wasn’t able to turn pain into music I’d be a miserable person. It’s a very complicated feeling reading people’s stories over DMs or hearing about their experiences at shows and not completely knowing how to respond in the moment. But the fact they have found solace in the music is all I can really ask for!
With your latest EP, Saint Rich. from the time this music was first thought up to the moment it was available for us to listen to, how long was that process?
I think ‘Molly.’ was the first song I wrote for this project back in the summer of 2022. At that point, I wasn’t even sure about the concept or storyline of the EP yet. I wasn’t sure if I was going to make a full project or if it would just be a single. But once I wrote ‘Burton St.’ in May of 2023, it was pretty clear and easy to fill in the blanks with the other songs needed to make the project feel complete. It came out in May of 2024, so in total it took us about a year and a half to write, record, and release.
We loved getting to see the video of you asking Katie to join you on tour! What is it like to be able to offer a real friend of yours a platform to be able to showcase their music alongside you?
Ahhhhh bringing Katie on this tour feels so surreal. She was my roommate for nearly 5 years and is my go-to collaborator and all-around best friend. We had talked a lot about how hard it is to get on tours these days and we were both really bummed to just be sitting around on all this new music that we’ve both been releasing. So we put our heads together and built out this tour from the ground up. We already have so many fans in common, so it just made so much sense to add her to these shows. I know people are going to absolutely love her and it feels so amazing knowing that I’ll be a part of that.
When crafting an EP, and knowing the standard length is under 4-6 songs, how many songs are made that don’t end up on the record?
Welllllll when I’m in writing mode I’m usually doing around 5 sessions a week every week for a few months at a time. Some of those days are for other artists, Kpop, pitch, etc. – but almost each day we walk away with at least a song start or idea. I should get better at keeping track of how many total songs I write a year but – that feels like a lot that get scrapped. I had a playlist of like 20-ish that I was considering, but once the EP’s concept was solidified, it was pretty clear to me that these 6 songs were the winners, and we took them to the finish line.
Once again, thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us! Before we wrap up, we always love to look forward, so what’s on the horizon as we head into the last half of 2024?
HEADLINE TOUR STARTING THIS WEEK! A fun new and summery single is coming (I honestly don’t know when – but it’s finished and I’m just waiting for the right time). And I have a feeling that lots more show dates will be coming! I post all the updates to my socials and my website ostonmusic.com 🙂
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