Indie band OYLS speaks about their music career

On Saturday, OYLS, a Californian, up-and-coming electronic indie band, played at Tommy’s Place as part of an event hosted by Program Board. The duo, consisting of David Kirschenbaum and Michael Lipp, showcased their set of infectious, upbeat songs following R&B artist REL. With James Blake, Disclosure and Ray Charles undertones, the musicians connected with the crowd in the intimate setting.

Kirschenbaum and Lipp met while Kirschenbaum was still a senior in high school and Lipp was attending college nearby at University of California, Davis. After being introduced by a mutual friend, Kirschenbaum and Lipp connected through their mutual love for music.

“For the first couple of years, [Lipp] decided that he was going to be all business, and I would always get really frustrated because he’s really talented,” Kirschenbaum said. “I would always pressure him into making more music. Then, when he got out of a long-term relationship, he was sad, I took advantage and decided that all these emotions could make really great music.”

Kirschenbaum matriculated to UC Berkeley, an hour-long shuttle bus ride away from Lipp, and the two met up for jam sessions. At first, the duo didn’t aspire to make music, but many people encouraged them to pursue the field after they sent their material out. Thus, OYLS officially started, supported by Kirschenbaum and Lipp’s ability to work well together. Lipp takes on the lyrics, while Kirschenbaum is in charge of production. Songwriting, on the other hand, is split down the middle. Like any team, their collaboration isn’t always a smooth process.

“We fight sometimes, and other times we get along really well,” Lipp said.

All in all, the musical group features much cohesion. Lipp and Kirschenbaum both set out to do the same for their audiences.

“We put in 100 percent in all of it,” Kirschenbaum said. “We will keep at our ideas and see them through. More than anything, we love each other.”

With a couple years of creating music under their belt,  the band has made headway with their tracks “Maps” and “Dots and Dashes,” which they performed for their engaged audience at Tommy’s Place. The songs spotlight Lipp’s moving lyrics and Kirschenbaum guitar acumen. Moving at this rate, Lipp and Kirschenbaum detailed their visions for the future.

“We want to be huge,” Lipp said. “We want to create genuine music that comes out organically and comes from ourselves.”

According to Lipp, OYLS will release a single by the end of the year and an EP by early 2016. At the end of the day, however, Lipp and Kirschenbaum do not lose sight of what is important to the band.

“I think music is super cool because I don’t feel greedy for making it,” Kirschenbaum said. “I feel like people are drawn to music because they like it, and it’s definitely a unifying agent because we all grow up on it. It’s so weird to think that someone makes it, so it’s that that will always make us feel inspired by music.”