Lifetime musician Oligarchy Withers recently released his new album, Until There’s Nothing Left To Imagine. It has been a journey to this point and the future sure looks bright. Take a stroll below and check out what all Oligarchy Withers had to say when he chatted with BareBones Ent.
BBE: What made you decide to start Oligarchy Withers?
OW: Honestly, I’m a total control freak. I got to a point with bands where I kept putting all these unrealistic expectations on everyone else, and I have all these songs I’m constantly writing. So in order to get them released the way I want and to not rely on anyone else for it, I decided I would do everything basically myself. Everything you hear besides drums is written and performed by yours truly. I guess Oligarchy Withers is my project to just do exactly what I want artistically and see what happens.
BBE: Was it a tough decision to stop touring with rock bands and to venture out on your own?
OW: Great question. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life. Firstly, to even get to a point where you are getting legitimate label offers as an independent band doing everything themselves was a real accomplishment. And then to decide to leave it all to pursue something that fulfills you more artistically with zero guarantee of success? Yeah, that was a difficult thing to do. Still ask myself everyday if I’m insane for doing it.
BBE: How has it felt creating music for this new project?
OW: It’s been a love/hate relationship making this album. On one hand I had my creative dreams realized by hearing these songs brought to life for the first time and I can say it’s my best work as an artist so far. But on the other hand, I was often working two jobs, going through breakups, and even getting arrested so you can imagine how hard it was for me to stay motivated. Some days I’d show up to the studio and just not even have the ability to listen without being overly critical of everything, it was like that creative part of me was drowning in a sea of life’s other challenges. I have to thank my engineer Josh Holland for all his support and work in this process, he’s the eternal ray of sunshine when I’m too busy with my head in the gray clouds.
BBE: What is the biggest challenge for you when creating new music?
OW: Easy answer for that one. Myself. I think a lot of artists would say the same. There’s nobody who can tear apart your music like your own brain. Especially if you’re like me and trained in high level theory, so that you don’t listen to music the same way as a lot of people. I can’t even go grocery shopping without analyzing the chord progressions and melodies playing in the store. And so having that level of hyper-vigilant ear just gets compounded when it’s listening to my own work. Because it’s combined with that judgmental part of my mind. There’s this special state of mind I enter when I write where everything else gets tuned out. I can’t control when it happens or how long, I just try to get as much as possible out of it when that lightning hits.
BBE: You are preparing to release your first single, “Now”. What is the story behind the song?
OW: “Now” is one of those songs I wrote in a matter of hours. It just hits you out of the blue one day and all the parts are already there in your soul, you just have to uncover them and get the technique and muscle memory down. It was a dreary January day in 2021 and I was new to downtown Portland. I didn’t have a set theme or anything in mind but when I read the lyrics, I can see I was writing about the state of the world. If you look at the chorus lyrics they allude to the pandemic, the amount of people struggling to make ends meet, and how it feels to be alive right now. I think it’s also got a message that says something like: “if we don’t do something now, we are destined to live in a world we no longer recognize.”
BBE: Is this song similar in theme to the remainder of your album, Until There’s Nothing Left To Imagine? Or does it stand more alone?
OW: I initially wanted to have “Now” on the album and release it as a package. But in order to try and build some anticipation and give my publicist at least something to work with, we elected to do a single a couple months prior to the full album. So yes, it does fit in with the rest of the album and it’s definitely a standout track to me. I must have listened to the first draft mix 40 times when I got home from the studio.
BBE: What are you most excited for music listeners to hear on this new album?
OW: One of my main goals for this work is to bring soul to the modern rock scene. When I say that I don’t mean the soul genre or that rock doesn’t have it anymore. I mean that when someone hears this, I want them to feel something. Sad, happy, everything in between. For me music is about making a tangible form of human emotion and experience, and I hope people hear one hell of a life story when they listen to this.
BBE: What are your plans now that the album is out?
OW: Well, I’d love to get this music to as many people as possible. From there a licensing deal or some sort of way for me to make music my sole focus again. I’d love to hit the road again if the demand is there, and having a full band is something I’m keen on. I miss the camaraderie and bond that forms from being stuck in a van with someone for months. And hopefully if that happens we keep the sleeping on random floors to a minimum.
BBE: What is the best way for fans to keep up to date with your releases?
OW: YouTube/Instagram/Facebook
BBE: Anything else you would like to add?
OW: More than anything I want people to feel how much I’ve put into this album. And I want it to help people. I don’t care if it’s for a minute, or a lifetime but I want it to help you.
