Ollie Hunt is making waves in the music scene, following the success of his first releases, he’s just put out his debut EP Prelude.
It’s five tracks of musical goodness that draws upon lyrics he wrote back when he was a high school student. His music draws upon the influences of pop, hip-hop, R&B and house music to create his own unique sound.
Ollie caught up with OUTinPerth to chat about his journey in making music, mental health, and reaching for your ambitions.
In his publicity photos Ollie Hunt portrays himself as cheeky, and maybe a bit of a bad boy, a scallywag. But when we catch up for a video call to chat about his new music the 19-year-old is as sweet as apple pie and enthused about the music he’s just put out into the world.
“I’ve been singing my entire life. It’s kind of always been my escape and always something I’ve wanted to do. So it’s really cool to be able to finally get to do my own music and push it out.
“I’m just an up and coming up pop star, hopefully I’ll be able to get my dreams to come true.” Ollie shared.
Asked to describe his sound, Hunt says it’s challenging to lock down a tight description.
“It actually changes all the time.” he said. “I feel as you grow, obviously your taste changes. Even the music that has just come out is stuff I was recording and writing a year or so ago, so already the sound of the music I’m working on now is still similar, but it’s different already, it continuously changes.
“I feel it’s just how I’m feeling in the moment and how I feel at the time, what I’m enjoying right now, and what feels like the most authentic to me.”
Making music has been one of Ollie Hunt’s strategies for dealing with anxiety, something he shares has been a challenge for his whole life.
“I’ve always had really, really bad anxiety and it’s been something that I’ve struggled to express myself and I’m always trying to work out the ways to handle it. That has been a real struggle in my life, always.” Hunt detailed.
It was in primary school that he discovered that writing down his thoughts and feelings was an effective way to deal with the mental load.
“I started making like little songs with my friends, we’d make little songs and we’d put them out on streaming.” he explains, noting that fans shouldn’t go looking for his much earlier teenage work, it’s all been taken down now.
When I started as a songwriter I noticed that throughout my life, just like using having the ability to write everything down has been so therapeutic for me and has really helped me. Now I’ve just turned those feelings into songs that I can actually sing, and it’s been really comforting in a way.”
Beginning to professionally make music has helped Ollie Hunt to increase his confidence, something that shines through in his recent photoshoots.
“The photo shoot was so much fun. It’s a photo shoot we did at the start of the year and I got to work with Liz Sunshine, who’s this incredible photographer, and my friend was with me, and we just put on music and tried different looks.
“We just shot it in different spaces. We actually were given the a private room at Tiffany & Co to use. We did a whole photo shoot up there. We had speakers, music, food. It was just honestly a fun day. When I’m supported, and in a good realm of people, I’m, like, confident.”
While Prelude is quickly getting a lot of listens, the musician is eager to share the next round of music he’s created in the studio.
Take a listen to Ollie Hunt’s latest sounds and look out for what’s coming next.
