Ollie Gabriel is spearheading a new soul movement. Having cracked the code for an authentic catchy sound, paired with meaningful and relatable lyricism, Ollie has been compared to the likes of James Brown and Otis Redding. He creates music that is both fun and of substance, a rarity in music today.
Hailing from a small town in Louisiana, Ollie Gabriel grew up in a family of artists. As a child he listened to soul stars like Bobby Womack and Tyrone Davis. He would hear his parents playing those records in the living room, which entranced him and made him want to try everything. Drums, church organ, guitar, trombone, and singing – he learned to play it all in his school band and at church.
Now his infectious, upbeat new soul single, Running Man has been a massive success being released via Jive Records and becoming an instant radio hit as well as charting on iTunes and garnering 10 million Spotify streams in Europe. You can check out the single below!
We managed to catch up with Ollie has talks about the latest single and more!
So millions of hits with Running Man on Spotify in Europe, you must be pretty proud?
I mean i’m very humbled by how people relate to the message and the song, It tells me that we all deal with the same feelings of doubt at times. I goal is to continue to reach millions more with it.
How have the guys at Jive Records help you achieve this?
Well, i released the record in europe via Jive Records and it was distributed by Sony Music. So of course having a major back helps in regards to exposure and stuff. Everyone at Jive and Sony was very helpful in pulling together a great video and giving me the opportunity to share my music in the European market. I have so much more to do though, just getting started!
So you’ve appeared on a number of high profile TV channels such as MTV already, what’s the next step for you?
Yea, I’ve had my music featured on so many stations like MTV, ABC, Fox, but now the next step is for people to put a face to the music. When i’m performing on Jimmy Fallon, then I’ll be like Ok, i kinda made it.
Will you be releasing new music this year?
Absolutely, I have been working on an amazing project the last year, I have close to 50 songs recorded for the project already, You will definitely get a body of work from me this year. Running Man is just the teaser.
So with you liking bands such as Metalica and the Rolling Stones, do you like to put a rock spin on your music?
Yea, I grew up loving those bands, and grunge music. The stadium energy more than anything is what I try to replicate from rock music. I also like big loud drums and guitars, A lot of my music and my performance style draws on the rock legends.
What’s the live music scene like in Louisiana?
Louisiana’s live music scene isn’t really that big outside of New Orleans, where of course you have the brass bands and jazz and blues music roots, but it’s not a whole “scene” compared to LA or Nashville.
Would you ever tour in Europe or UK one day?
Absolutely, I am already in talks with some agencies there about a tour, Europe really embraces me and I absolutely love to travel there, so without a doubt I will be touring there.
What do you get up to in your spare time while not writing music?
I love the gym, it’s my solace outside of the studio. I also spend alot of my time writing in general, one of my goals is to author a book one day, and be a Ted Talk speaker.
If you could work with any artist or band on a new song, who would it be and why?
Well I would love to do a song with Coldplay, the epic ness of their sound and songwriting would be an awesome collab with what i do. I’ve also been a huge U2 fan forever, those guys are legends that span generations. I could see me and Bono singing a track together and shooting a video in South Africa or something. …time will tell, i guess.