We included Jeremy Olander in Our One To Watch rankings back in 2014. Since then he’s gone on to form his new imprint Vivrant and mesmerise dancefloors across the world with his trademark melancholic sound.
So first of all I want to start by congratulating you on your “Last Dance” EP with Cristoph. Two tracks that I believe really capture the essence of both of you. How did it feel releasing on Bedrock and did you expect the reactions this release had?
Jeremy Olander: Thank you! It felt amazing releasing on Bedrock. Been a huge fan of both Digweed and the label since I got into electronic music so this release is definitely a milestone and a dream come true.
How did you approach the production process with Cristoph?
Jeremy Olander: We started sending DMs to each other last fall. I really liked the stuff he was putting out and he used to hit me up after every Vivrant release saying he enjoyed them, and from there everything just happened really organically.
I haven’t really done any collaborations earlier, so this was a new experience for me. I need to be in control in the studio, but with Cristoph everything just had kind of had nice flow to it and developed in a great direction.
This past month you had your first show at Sound as part of your residency there, how did this all come about? Did Sound contact you? And any surprises for the upcoming shows?
Jeremy Olander: I’ve been back and forth to USA for a while now and have kind of made Sound my home in LA the last 2 or so years after playing a few different venues before that. After my show there in November last year, Kobi, the owner, and Mark, got in touch with my manager and said they really liked Vivrant and the sound that the label represents. From there it developed into becoming a residency, which is also something completely new now.
The first show went great and I have a few more spread out across the year and can’t wait to play those.
Khen has been warming up the dance floor for you on this tour. What was it about Khen that you think complements your sets or musical style?
Jeremy Olander: Yeah that’s right. I invited Khen on to play New York, San Francisco and the premiere of the residency with me. I think he’s one of the most interesting upcoming artists on the scene and just as great of a DJ as he is a producer.
He really has this unique sound with that typical Isreali-esque vibe that I really dig.
You’ve been touring the US for a couple years now, have you seen a change in the crowds, the taste and the new talent that has been emerging?
Jeremy Olander: I think that more and more people are getting in to the underground scene. The whole EDM-thing is still around and probably will be for a while but a lot of people have definitely moved on. There’s some new, interesting talent coming up in the US as well and in a few years time we’ll see the results of the foundation laid out by the EDM boom.
It’s been some time since you started your own label “Vivrant”. Has it been a challenge or have you found it to be even more enriching and inspiring?
Jeremy Olander: Both. It has been a challenge, for sure, but at the same time enriching and inspiring in that way that I can explore other producers music with a different approach. It’s a huge difference listening to demos, for example, going “can this work in my set?” and “can this work for Vivrant?” The same thing with my own music. A song might be a real banger but maybe isn’t right for us. With Vivrant, we’re very keen with everything that is being released has a certain vibe to it.
Being in creative control of all aspects of what it means to run a label is also really fun.
Dhillon has been dormant for some time, any word on him and what he might be up to these days?
Jeremy Olander: Yeah I guess that’s the case. Last year after I released back to back Dhillon EPs on Vivrant I got to put out all the stuff that has been suppose to come out for a long time on different labels but never did. I finally got to scratch that itch and after that things have taken off to much music under my own name so it’s been natural that I’ve focused more on that. Rest assured there are plans for Dhillon though.
You have been a very dynamic producer over years. Do you have a sound in mind when you produce or is it something that you slowly start realizing?
Jeremy Olander: I think I developed my own style a bit over the years, both production and sound wise. I haven’t set out a plan with the title “This is how Jeremy should sound”, I just do the music that I feel I would like to hear out.
I think I’ve always had a melancholic and atmospheric sense to my music and I those two things remaining as a corner stone.
What are some of the tracks you find yourself playing out a lot these days?
Jeremy Olander: ‘Last Dance’ off the Bedrock EP, ‘Cornfields’ by Khen and ‘Maks’ by Tim Engelhardt.
2017 hasn’t been short of releases for you but is there anything in the works for later this year or maybe other artist releasing on your label?
Jeremy Olander: There’s a lot of things in the pipeline for both myself and Vivrant. We’re putting out a few new names this year and first out is Khen. He’s dropping an EP with us called ‘Cornfields’. The lead track on that is one of his best work yet in my opinion and I’m really happy that he decided to put it out with us.
This weekend, Saturday the 17th, I’m premiering a new concept back home in Stockholm. I’ve been pretty much on the road non-stop since February and really wanted to do something in my home town when I got back. We started going back and forth trying to figure out what kind of show it would make sense to do and the final product of that is Vivrant Open. It’s a open air event taking place in the middle of Stockholm. This first one has done in collaboration with Heineken and is free of charge and open for anyone to attend. I’ll be playing all day for about 8 hours.”