Oscar And The Wolf is the alter ego, cause célèbre and raison d'être of Max Colombie, a 23-year-old from Belgium whose distinctive tremulous drawl lends an air of exquisite ravishment to his lush synth-phonies and downtempo lovebeats.
Listen/share his dream pop:
OATW https://soundcloud.com/gotmyboysinthewater
"Strange Entity" soundcloud HERE and video HERE
"Princess" soundcloud HERE and video HERE
Overseas, he's released two EPs released as Oscar And The Wolf, recorded when they were a four-piece band, and the story really starts with Entity, Max's solo debut album, whose beautiful music he wrote, performed and co-produced and was released there last year to critical and commercial success.
He's quickly risen to playing prestigious stages at the Montreaux Jazz Festival,
Lowlands Festival, Rock Werchter, a German tour for instance, while both singles "Strange Entity" and "Princes" have around 2 million views. His headlining homecoming show in front of 23.000 people will happen on October 31st. Right before that,
Oscar And The Wolf will visit New York for his American live debut on Thursday, October 15th at
Webster Hall. Mark your calendars - there's only 1 chance to see him!
Max studied painting four years ago in Ghent (Belgium), where he started the band. "It's a very musical city," he says. "Five out of every 10 people can play an instrument. There are so many different cultures there, including Arabic music. It all had an influence on my album."
Why Oscar And The Wolf? "Oscar is a name I really like - it's poetic and light," he explains. "And wolf is the dark animal that comes out at night and howls to the full moon, and moon stands for solitude and coldness. It's bright and dark together, because that's how I see my music - as a balance between light and dark."
More than other music, Entity is influenced by artists and film directors, from Francis Bacon to Roman Polanski.
When asked to sum up his style, he replies, enigmatically: "'Married/sophisticated'! That's my term for my style when I'm walking down the street. But my
Oscar And The Wolf personality is more like a gypsy royal with lots of gold and silver. Not royal as in rich but... A prince of the ocean, because the underwater sound is key. I want the music to sound as though it comes from underwater, because that's where I feel most comfortable: in the ocean, crystal clear, with all the corals and rocks, my eyes open and sunlight shining through. That's my biggest natural inspiration."
Photo credit: Marie Wynants
