We spoke to acclaimed artist The Silent Room who released his dreamy debut single ‘You’ll Never Know’ on September 6th via his imprint Meddle. The Silent Room is the solo moniker and new creative endeavour by UK-based producer and composer Tim Oliver. In the interview Tim reveals how he finds inspiration, what his creative process looks like, and what he’s got in the pipeline.
Stream ‘You’ll Never Know’ while reading the interview below:
1. Tell us about you, how long have you been making music? What inspired you to start?
Music was constantly around me as a kid as my mum was a concert pianist and gave lessons at home. I ended up doing my instrumental grades quite young … but it was always the sound of things that really fascinated me. I loved the different reverberations I’d hear from whistling, clicking or humming in huge buildings, under bridges or amongst trees etc etc
But it was round a friend’s house at school who had an Atari ST computer, a synth, a four track tape machine and a drum machine that something really lit up. The idea that you could create whole music productions at home blew my mind. Sound designing on a synth is still a great joy to me. I slowly accumulated a few bits with help from mum and dad – and I was off. I wanted to be like Pink Floyd, Vangelis, Adamski. I think I still do.
2. The music industry is super competitive these days, was there a moment in your life that you wanted to give up on music? How did you manage to stay focused and achieve what you want?
I’m not sure I’ve always stayed focused, and I definitely haven’t achieved everything I want – but I hope that never changes. It’s all part of the process isn’t it? One time particularly springs to mind as a bit of a turning point though. I’d been a peripatetic piano teacher in schools for quite a few years, I’d done odds and ends of work as a keyboard player, but I was about to get married and felt I needed to do something responsible so I took a full time job as a teacher of A level music technology. I bought a shirt and briefcase and everything, and drove to my first day of work in a gold Vauxhall I’d bought from a distant aunt for £50. I walked into the staff room and looked across the scene. About two minutes later I turned round, walked back out the door, got back into the car and handed in my notice over the phone while driving off. Everything in me had lit up in alarm. A good producer friend once told me that if you’re getting stuck with a track, take something significant out, dig a hole and you have to find a creative way out. Well, I dug a hole that day for sure. I felt bad for the school – and it felt kind of like launching myself into space without a tether but in the end it was definitely the best for everyone. I’ve never looked back.
I’m not sure I work to maintain focus now, it’s more that I can’t not do it – and it’s a matter of clearing away distractions to make space for it.
3. How would you describe your creative processes? Who writes the lyrics to the songs? Are the music and lyrics written in conjunction, or separately?
I write everything – but slowly! I’m primarily keyboard-based and a bit of a synth fanatic, so most of the time the seedling of an idea comes from a sound I make on a bit of gear. There will be a mood I’m in that I’ll try to turn into a musical sound – and depending on what that mood is kind of dictates what I’ll reach for. If it’s dreamy I’ll go for the vintage string machine, if it’s curious I’ll go for the Juno, if it’s edgy or complex I’ll go for the Prophet 6. I’ll enjoy setting up a chain of effects pedals to make whatever I play hopefully feel new and interesting.
Once I’ve got a sound, chord sequence, or a hook that’s resonating with me – I hit the record button as soon as I can before it evaporates. Then I’ll typically start adding layers – probably far too many – and I’ll end up with a chunk of music that I can start chipping away at and refining. At some point in this process – whether listening in the car, or editing the music a vocal idea may occur to me. It comes out as lyrical gobbledegook – meaningless phrases and sounds, sometimes with intelligible words – but I’ve learnt to trust this process … I think I trust my subconscious way more than any of my cognitive efforts.
As with the music, I’ll typically end up with a pile of vocal phrases and sounds that I can start coaxing into some sort of shape. There’s always a lot of listening back, particularly in the car and walking around with headphones to endless different versions until something eventually feels complete and true. But it all starts with a sound, and I guess the rest is an expression that pure initial thing.
4. Where did the inspiration come from?
I find some of my better ideas happen when I’m not looking, and often when I’m meant to be doing something else, but this record is very much an itch I had to scratch. I didn’t set out with a clear vision, I only had the need to get something undefined inside me, out. I’ve always been drawn towards dreamlike spaces from where anything feels possible, a playground for the subconscious.
I think that’s why I’ve always loved Vangelis, Pink Floyd and some of David Lynch’s visions – I can just get lost in these worlds that they conjured up. I need time and space for good stuff to happen, so I find I build up a soundscape as a way of creating an arena where ideas can come in. In this case, it coalesced into a kind of personal retrospective – not only thematically but also sonically. In terms of the more pop inspiration – I’d been particularly enjoying George Daniel’s (from the 1975) work, I find his production and musicianship endlessly interesting, intricate and super atmospheric. There’s a punchy neon aesthetic on their second album which has undeniably seeped in. I’m a sucker for all that.
5. What’s next for you?
The next thing is the release of the full EP which is just round the corner now so obviously I’m looking forward to that – but my head is already into what will hopefully be a full album. I’ve been thinking a lot about the ideas of chaos and purity and how they interact- it’s feeling like the big bang in reverse at the moment but let’s see what happens.
There’s also a collaboration I’ve been working on with the singer Py which I can’t wait to find a home for – I love it, it’s still electronic but feels more edgy and organic. My default position is working on my own, I’ll always love that and I’m very comfy there – but I’ve got to say I’m looking forward to more collaborations. There’s a lot of magic to be found in the alchemy with the right people.
