Ask anyone the first thing to come to mind when you mention the name Oxia, and odds are they’ll say Domino. The track is a global classic, currently with over 34 million plays on YouTube, it still gets played on dancefloors today.
We got a chance to chat with the man behind the success of Oxia, real name Oliver Raymond. Oliver has brought the sounds of Oxia to labels like Kompakt, Saved, Knee Deep In Sound and Hot Creations, and more recently his own Diversions Music which he runs with Nicolas Masseyeff.
We asked the Frenchman about the EP, how he approaches a set and what’s to come for the rest of 2018. Read on for Let’s Talk with Oxia.
Thanks for sitting down with us, how are things in the life of Oxia?
Thank you as well. Everything’s good for me; I’m doing what I love, I travel and perform around the world so it’s cool.
You recently announced the release of ’Reset To Zero’ on your label Diversions Music. How excited are you to put it out there?
It’s always very exciting to release a new EP, even after all those years. And that’s even more so when it’s released on my own label, which I co-founded with my old friend Nicolas Masseyeff. It’s going to be exactly one and a half years since I last released an EP, if we don’t count the Domino Remixes EP which was out on Sapiens last year. Since then, I’ve only made remixes, for Moby (Suara), Stefano Noferini (MOAN) and Artslaves (Diversions). So I’m very happy to release a new EP; and there are more to come throughout the year.
How would you describe the release in one sentence?
I’ve always struggled to describe my own tracks. There’s one melodic track, ‘Sydmel’, a bit in the line of my last remix for Miguel Lobo on Diversions.
There are two versions of it, the first with a main melodic frame and the other, a Dub mix without the melody but with an arpeggio that stands out. The other track, ‘Reset’, is a bit more rhythmic and groovy, with a hypnotic sound that goes slowly crescendo.
You’re now on release number 7 for Diversions Music. How does it typically differ from when you’ve owned a label before in the current times?
Indeed, my new EP will be the label’s seventh release. We haven’t released much so far but it’s not the purpose. In this sense, the difference in comparison to before is that nowadays it takes time to listen to the demos, to discuss with Nicolas what we want to release or not.
This said, it’s very cool to be able to manage everything from A to Z, to release what we want when we want to, particularly when it comes to our own tracks. I think that’s the main difference with the way things were before.
I mean, this is not the first label I conjointly head; there were two before: Ozone Records then a bit later Goodlife, but both have been defunct for many years.
What do you have planned that you are excited about for the rest of 2018?
There are many things I’m excited about for the rest of the year. I’m working on other new tracks and remixes but it’s still a bit too soon to disclose on which labels they’ll be released. Also, I’d like to continue working on a new album; I still have some tracks to finish but it’s an important project for me.
Finally, I’ve got a bunch of nice gigs in perspective, notably my forthcoming three performances at Amnesia for Music On for the fifth year in a row, and many dates a bit everywhere in Europe, Mexico, Singapore and China.
You’re playing at the ULTRA Resistance Music Festival in Mexico in a few weeks. How excited are you to play there?
I’m really happy to play there. I’m sure it’s going to be nice, based on my previous experiences with Resistance, and in Mexico, where I’ve always had a great time during my gigs. People there are always enthusiastic. Also, I’m due to perform at Ultra Resistance Singapore and China in June, so I’m thrilled!
What tune are you going to open with?
I never know beforehand what track I’ll use to open, and even less so many weeks in advance. I know it when I get onstage to start playing. I choose it according to the vibe, to what I’m feeling at the moment.
Before we go, what is something someone said that has stuck with you throughout your career?
Honestly I haven’t got a precise quote but it goes along these lines: “always do what you like and enjoy yourself”. This is the mantra I like to often tell young DJs.
Oxia’s Reset To Zero EP is out June 1st on Diversions Music.