Animal Feelings is the moniker of well known Australian producer Oli Chang. Chang is known for a variety of work under different aliases, notably ‘High Highs’, which was a collaboration with fellow Sydney local Jack Milas. Throughout his career, he has found himself touring with the likes of Vampire Weekend, Empire of the Sun and Sky Ferreira. Animal Feelings focuses a lot on collaborating with an eclectic range of artists, this has helped him emerge even further as an artist, and now delivering us an exciting new EP ‘Soft Touches’.
My Fave Musicians by Animal Feelings
Steve Reich
I love Steve Reich because his music sounds like you’re traveling through rich timeless dimensions. He pursues a mediative state that elevates my spirit in a non-new age fashion. It’s a utopian sound that uses classical instrumentation that brings an elevated texture to my ears. I want everyone at my funeral to close their eyes and listen to music for 18 musicians.
Jon Hopkins
Few tread the line between banging emotional techno and modern classical music as well as this guy. Beyond this ability to genre bend he seems to have a deep urge to bring euphoria to his listeners. Euphoria is hard to do do well. It can easily become sentimental or cheesy so you need to be skilled but also brave to attempt to do it. Nobody wants to be called cheesy and Jon Hopkins is definitely not.
Seb Wildblood
I only like 1 song of his – “The One With The Emoticon” so while I wouldn’t call him my favorite all time artist this track speaks to me in a pretty profound way. It makes me feel like I’ve escaped the party zone in Tulum and am now chilling with a lover on a cenote in the biosphere. It’s ponderous and peaceful.
Tiger And Woods
I love how these guys have reinvigorated deconstructed nu-disco. Sonically its rich and exciting and it doesn’t rely on song writing to make you want to dance. They don’t deal with notes and melodies in as much as they deal with little objects of sounds. They create mosaics with these little object that create a super sexy vibe. If you’re djing to a really diverse crowd their songs always deliver.
Aphex Twin
Richard D James is who formed me most as a musician. I love how he never perfects anything he just creates while making mistakes and the result of this experimentation is what he releases. This ethos is everything to me. It liberates the creative process and allows you to be prolific. A good life is varied – nobody wants to be stuck in ground hog day. Why should making music be any different? Life changes, music changes and if you don’t release it no-one will ever know it existed. So I think the most important thing for me is to make mistakes while making music. Then it’s other people’s business if they choose to listen to it! 🙂
‘Soft Touches EP’ is out now on Tinted Records.
