A Day in the Studio with Dylan Ollivierre

Even if you haven’t heard of his name, you’ve probably heard Dylan Ollivierre’s work. 

Making up one half of The Money War, producing/ songwriting for Grentperez, Meg Mac, Tia Gostelow, Holy Holy, Great Gable, The Buoys, and more, as well as having his songs on Netflix specials, HBO shows, and ABC docos, Dylan has over 80 million streams to his name - combining his skilful production with an unwavering talent for songwriting to release his debut solo EP Let it Land - out today. 

Dylan has been so kind as to tell us all about his studio, what his average day looks like, and give some insight into what it’s like collaborating with other artists. 

The Studio Space

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After working from a bunch of different spaces in the last few years I decided to bite the bullet and convert my garage into a studio. I was conscious of making the space feel like somewhere that me and my collaborators would feel comfortable for long hours, so I made sure there was natural light, and that it wasn’t too cluttered with junk and equipment that may only get used once a year. I wanted it to feel like a room that people hang out in - that is ready to go when inspiration strikes. If someone wants a 12-string, there’s one within reach, if we wanna make something on piano, then there’s a beautiful hundred-year-old upright a few feet away. I’ve been collecting vintage equipment for about 13 years now, so there are some classic bits in here. For the gear nerds, some of my prized possessions are my ‘79 Neumann U87I, my AKG D12, and my Coil Audio CA70S. 

The Daily Ritual

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Each day is very different to the last, but I do have some kind of order so I can offset the mania of having three young kids and working from home. Somewhere between 5-6am I’ll be woken up by one of the kids. I’ll make breakfast and be the family man getting the kids ready for their day. I try not to look at my phone until an hour or so after waking up - the kids are enough noise! 8-9am the house is empty by this stage, and I have some time to myself. I’ll ride to the beach, swim, meditate or journal. That hour of time to myself is invaluable to set the tone and intention for the day.  9am-5pm is work time. Work can range from having an artist in to write or produce with, mixing/mastering, writing practice or emails and admin.  I’ve realised over the years that I like doing all of the above, and that my brain likes variety, so I try and schedule in a mix of different jobs.

If someone is coming in, I’ll prepare the studio by cleaning it and making sure there are some snacks and a couple of books out on the table that might spark some inspiration. I also want to make sure that I’ve eaten enough and am not hangry. I want to be in the best space to allow inspiration to strike and provide a comfortable environment. If I feel my routine being thrown out, I find even fifteen minutes of meditation before a session makes my day a lot better!

Collaborating with Artists

Each collaboration is different, with each artist needing and wanting different things. Some people really just need a backboard to throw ideas against, and in other sessions, I may need to do more of the heavy lifting. If it’s the first time meeting with someone, I’ll always want to have a good yarn before we begin, whether that be before or on the day of the session. This helps establish a connection and trust and helps to find some common ground. We may play each other music or just chat about life. You can tell a lot about someone from the way that they talk - about anything!

I’ve also always been fascinated with Psychology long before I began producing, and I really feel this is a huge part of the job. Asking the right questions or creating the right setting can help extract a song. Some songs take forever and need to be grinded away at to reveal and others happen really quickly. A recent session that surprised me was one with Zoe Caterall from Sydney band The Buoys. It was so quick! We had the song with all the parts in about 45 minutes, had some lunch, made a demo of it in another hour or two and went home early. And the song rocks! Pretty much everything was the first idea that came. It was a bit of a reminder to me that the flow of creativity is perhaps more important than refining. The editing can come later.

As I mentioned, sometimes it’s the opposite. There’s a song from Perth band Joan and the Giants which we did maybe fifteen different versions over the course of half a year. Each incarnation we learned something new about the song, but it wasn’t THE version of the song. Finally, we cracked the code and we were elated. The song went on to win some WAM Awards and got them Triple J Unearthed Feature Artist and some crazy touring opportunities. The point being that sometimes it’s really hard work, and sometimes it comes easy - I don’t think either route speaks to the quality of the song.

The Man Behind the Music

I got into the music industry as an artist, and after touring and doing all the things that are involved with being an artist nowadays, I realised the part that I loved was the creating - the other stuff not so much. I’ve just always loved music and wanted to make stuff that made me feel the way I felt when I first heard My Girl by The Temptations, for example. As a producer and co-writer, I love helping other people tell their stories and connect through the common themes that run through all of our experiences as a human. 

My background as a musician gave me a broad range of experiences working with different producers with different styles. I’ve tried to take forward things that I learnt from people like Andy Lawson and ensure I do the opposite to some of the not-so-great experiences I had in the studio. I believe everyone has a unique perspective on life that is worth sharing. I hope that some people will say that I’ve helped them realise their visions as an artist and that the music that I’ve been a part of has helped or inspired people.

While Dylan Ollivierre predominantly writes and produces for other artists, he’s found that certain songs have surfaced that are too personal for anyone but himself to release - putting these songs together on his debut solo EP Let it Land available today.