oscar lang & wallice dive deep into hollywood cliche's with 'I've never been to la'

rising indie star oscar lang made his anticipated return to the scene last month, dropping his first single of the year ‘i’ve never been to la’ featuring the self-acclaimed 'jazz school dropout' wallice, a fellow act sitting alongside lang on the forever growing talented roster of british independent label dirty hit.

CREDITS: Carianne Older

like many of oscar’s releases, the song is introduced with sampled conversational pieces that continue throughout, the cutting peak of a stereotypical conversation expected in tinseltown, a theme that is heavily driven in this song alongside a groovy drum pattern, synth lead harmonies and witty lyricism pushing the naive, free-living narrative provided in regards to the dreamland of hollywood, “all your friends out there, they talk ‘bout the scene, where they put you on a diet and start eating clean.” a critical factor in oscar’s career i admire is the continuous experimentation with various genres & sounds included in every project yet maintaining the key trademarked principals of his own unique sound which follows suit in this single, the trickled down, radio-like, lo-fi vocals we have heard from lang many times cut finely into the mix, matched with the meaningful tone portrayed in his vocals.

by the time the chorus hits, it’s highly likely this song has already made a lasting impression in your head, a sampled speeding car introduces an impressive higher range in oscar’s vocals heavily complimented by an ensemble harmony between himself and wallice whilst a building mix formed of dance-worthy vocal chops, and distorted keys are displayed before the statement heading back to the song title is first mentioned: “you can get a new life or that’s what they say, but I wouldn’t know, i’ve never been to la.”

the general vibe of the song can be described perfectly as a feel-good, strongly written indie pop song and wallice really adds an extra touch to the project in the second verse with similar qualities to verse one, an impressive vocal introduction almost immediately after the chorus with more resembling lines heading back to the cult traditional qualities of what it’s like to be in la and the glamorous lifestyle surrounding the town “well I wanna be a superstar too, and I want a big house with a rooftop pool.” it was no surprise to me upon discovery that this song was produced & co-written by rich turvey, also responsible for producing for the likes of blossoms, and oscar’s latest album ‘chew the scenery', it seems oscar has found an extremely fond creative relationship with turvey and it shows throughout this latest release.

since the release, oscar has ironically been to la, meeting up with his collaborative partner wallice to record a music video, quite like the song itself, the visuals are equally as eye-catching and I would love to see the duo release another song together in the near future, i truly believe this may be some of both oscar’s and wallice’s best work to date giving listeners an exciting prospect towards the next releases in the near future.

to conclude, I think the song should be an essential factor in the listener’s playlists and if you’re needing new music recommendations look no further.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZ4CM-JmCTI