Oli Fox – Player 2: 'a nostalgic breath of fresh air'

By Run That Again

The singer-songwriter Oli Fox has already garnered attention in the industry. After being picked by Sigrid for her tour, amassing thousands of followers on social media and millions of streams on his tracks, he has recently shown a real flair for ingenuity in releasing the coolest video for his latest track Player 2 during this lockdown period.

Player 2 shows a new side to the artist which moves away from the ballad-inspired sound of his earlier tracks like ‘Cruel’ and ‘The Worrying’.

The video was self-shot completely by Fox during lockdown and has a real nostalgic feel to it, evoking old video games like PacMan, Mario and Space Invaders. The video has proved an ingenious and tongue-in-cheek way to engage with the artist’s fans. It’s a nostalgic breath of fresh air. We also love Oli’s voice and music, which combines a deep vocal grit with the commercial feel of Tom Grennan, yet offers something new and dynamic to the scene – we can’t wait to see what he does next as he’s set to release new music later this year.

We sat down (virtually) to chat all things music with Oli Fox (and we especially love how his song of choice as a 6 year old kid was Elton John) - take a look below!

What gave you the inspiration for the music video and how did the process come about in lockdown - tell us more about it!

“I guess real life inspired the video! during lockdown; apart from music there was to do, other than contact your friends on a zoom call or scroll mindlessly through the internet. So I then committed to this idea of performing the song through the various platforms people had used during lockdown and I’m super happy how it turned out.”

What's next on the horizon for this year?

“I’m releasing a second single this year, which I think is one of my best songs yet which I also hope to shoot a fun video for now the lockdown restrictions have lifted a little and we’re not on house arrest!”

Who is your dream collab?

“oooooh that’s a tough one, I think my dream collab at the moment would be george ezra? There aren’t enough male duets and since ‘Im so tired’ - lauv and troye sivan came out, I’ve been desperate to make one!” 

Biggest inspiration musically?

 “I think I’ve got two that I can’t split! For the songwriting side it’s got to be Elton John, although he didn’t write lyrics, his chords and melody make you feel a certain emotion on their own which is so so powerful! the other influence is probably Jack Antonoff for his productions not only for him but for other artists! He has changed the game for me, and inspires me to put as much of my personality into my production as I want.”

Earliest memory of music as a kid?

 “I was just talking to my friend about this haha, I remember as a kid, the first time I sung to my classmates in primary school I chose to sing ‘Are you ready for love’ - Elton John which safe to say at that age probably wasn’t the coolest song choice for a 6 year old to make which is maybe why the singing was met with laughter as I stormed out the room haha.”

Is there any piece of advice people give you about the industry (good or bad) and how do you respond to it/ how has it driven you?

“My dad said on one of my first days in the studio “be nice to everyone who you meet on the way up, because you might meet them on the way down!” Which is something I’ve kept in mind whenever I’m working with new people or meeting new faces.”

What's one thing about you people rarely know or might surprise people?

“I think my height? a lot of people have said I look fairly short in pictures but when they meet me at my gigs the reaction is always “OH WOOOOW YOU’RE WELL TALL!” I guess 6ft3” is fairly tall, So I guess that’s something that seems to constantly surprise people haha.”

What's your ideation process like when coming up with a new track, how long can the process take?

“Oh that’s a good question, I’d say it varies for me. There aren’t too many songs that I can look at and say I used the exact same process for! I think recently, I’ve started with titles because I feel like if I start with production or melody, I kinda lose the concept of the song quite quickly which can become vary hard to get a hold of at the best of times. So yeah start with a title that maybe was a turn of phrase someone said to me once or Just something that catches my eyes!”

Favourite snack? (we're all about snacks at Run That Again)

 “I think it’s got to be the red Lindt Balls! They only get bought for celebrations but they are the pinnacle of.”