Enfnts Terribles

Do you already start working on concepts while writing the album, or is it a process that starts when the recordings are done?

While working on music, I get into different characters and already start to get ideas of how I want it to look—who I am aesthetically.

The new album The Shimmer feels like a mixture of your first projects and the last album Infinity. Was it a conscious decision to bring both worlds together on this album?

It’s always unconscious. I always start to make something without thinking of what I did before. It’s more an instinct instead of a choice.

After all these years, you’re still working with your producer and musical genius Jeroen De Pessemier. Have you found your musical soulmate in him?

He’s my soulmate. Jeroen makes me feel like I can be everyone and everything. There doesn’t exist any shame and words like “normal” or “weird” don’t exist. He gives me the feeling that there are no borders, which is very important for me. He also translates everything I want so well technically and feels me on an energetic frequency. I don’t even have to say much, and he knows what I want.

“Words like ‘normal’ or ‘weird’ don’t exist”

Were you more comfortable while making the album compared to the writing process of the previous albums?

The writing process went pretty smoothly because I knew what I wanted. We have been working together for so long, so we know how things work out best, which arrangements match. It all runs smoother and more pleasant. It’s less blood, sweat, and tears but more having fun together.

Can you define a character as an example?

In “Nostalgic Bitch”, I feel like a vampire from Only Lovers Left Alive that lives forever and needs blood to survive. I’m totally obsessed with immortality. In “Oliver”, I’m a very mortal character that lingers in a small village in France where I grew up and wear a beret. I like to be things I’ll never be.

Would you say that you’re a different person on stage? Is that somehow a character too?

Yes, and that’s a must. It’s a character that I created, and I see it as something honest. I often ask myself to what extent it is a character when it’s not really played but comes from within yourself and still imposes yourself to it. It’s no one else that told me how to be on stage. It’s a character that’s necessary for me to get the courage to be on stage.

“I don’t want to walk to the Main Stage; I want a Mercedes to drop me off”

I always transform five minutes before I go on stage. It may sound a bit crude, but I have high demands at that moment. For example, I don’t want to walk to the Main Stage; I want a Mercedes to drop me off. Otherwise, I don’t feel like I’m worth performing on that spot at a festival. At that moment, I want to have a driver just like Rihanna just to believe that I own my slot there.

Tours are a very intense and different lifestyle, which often leads to post-tour depression. Do you fall into a big black hole when coming home after performing for weeks?

That’s a mixed feeling because you look forward to going home, but once you’re home, you feel like there’s something missing because there’s a radical change in your routine. Change is always difficult for a human, and I often don’t know what to do when I come home. It gives you the time to let everything sink in, which also makes me enjoy it afterward.

You’re heading on a huge European tour next year. Do you already know how you’ll put together the setlist?

It’s The Shimmer Tour, so we’ll definitely perform the album. I’m still considering which songs of the previous album I want to do live, and I like putting the puzzle together to create a show. It’s also nice that the setlist changes when we go to the Middle East compared to the setlist from Europe. I just know that a different show works way better in the Middle East.

Do you know where your popularity in, for example, Turkey comes from?

I really don’t know. A year after it exploded in Belgium and The Netherlands, we started to boost in Turkey, and a bit later we were getting a lot of listeners from Tel Aviv followed by Georgia, Egypt, and Iran.

Are you happy that you were able to reach these regions?

I think I’m more excited that it does well there because Germany or the UK is so reachable physically. I also really love it there. The food is better, it’s hotter, the people are prettier. It’s just very special, and I’m super thankful I have fans there.

In Belgium, people often say that your music has something oriental. Would you define it like that too or how would you nuance that?

I’m not thinking about specific labels for my music. Sometimes, I feel like I want to sound like Chinese pop with these really high voices and do these high notes as well to create a hook. That’s sometimes a reference. I also noticed that I lean towards making some synths or guitar sounds Arabic, which is something we do consciously.

How do you see Oscar and the Wolf visually in this new album era?

It goes from dark and ice to summer and flowers. It always depends on how I feel at that moment. I want it to feel very seasonal, and it should always be related to a season.

Is that why you release The Shimmer in October, at the start of Autumn?

No, that’s a choice made by the label. (laughs) In the Middle East, there are no leaves falling from trees at the moment. We didn’t choose the release date from the perspective to follow the weather because that would only apply to Europe. It’s always summer somewhere. It shouldn’t matter when you want to release something.

You already achieved a lot. What is still on top of your bucket list? Are there specific venues you want to perform in?

I don’t like to set up too many goals for myself, because I’m afraid it would make me too greedy or egoistic. I just let things come towards me and work as hard as possible to make Oscar and the Wolf as authentic and honest as possible (audio)visually. It’s dangerous to set yourself an ultimate goal because you’ll always want more once you reach that. Maybe you can also get depression because you don’t succeed in your goals or don’t get past your first step. You can only go down from there, or at least there’s more risk that it happens. I prefer to embrace every possibility I get and see if it resonates with me. It’s important to have fun.

“I just let things come towards me and work as hard as possible to make Oscar and the Wolf as authentic and honest as possible (audio)visually”

Is Oscar and the Wolf a childhood dream come true?

Absolutely. I worked so hard for that without even knowing and never expected it could become my job to make music. I still can’t believe it. As a 16-year-old teenager, I made music in my bedroom and even put an applause track underneath tracks to pretend there was an audience. I also don’t want to think too much about my fortune because I don’t want to become lazy. I’m still critical and want to get better with everything I do. Maybe, I don’t think enough of all the things I already achieved, and I have to learn to appreciate my achievements.