INTERVIEW: From The Shed To The Stage, Oliver Cronin's Come A Long Way

  • INTERVIEW: From The Shed To The Stage, Oliver Cronin's Come A Long Way
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    Oliver Cronin
    Oliver Cronin. Photo by Joe Brennan.

    When we speak to Australian pop artist Oliver Cronin, he's in Bali, taking a moment to pause and refresh. It's been a busy year already, and he's using the time to reflect while also planning what's next. It's not hard to feel slightly jealous given the chilly weather that Australians everywhere have been experiencing in recent weeks.

    Oliver's music demonstrates a pop nous beyond his years, and he's able to write and perform hooks that stick in the mind long after the song's done. His melodic vocals are often uplifting (and emotionally resonant), and he's not afraid to drift into different lanes, either. So far in 2022, Oliver has released a trio of well-received singles: On Me10,000 Hours (which features Mason Dane) and Boys Don't Cry. The tropical production on 10,000 Hours is ready for the dancefloor, while the dark pop aesthetic of Boys Don't Cry is one that elevates the song's impactful message. Boys Don't Cry is Oliver's way of using his platform to speak about an issue that he feels doesn't get covered enough - men's mental health.

    Speaking to Oliver about Boys Don't Cry illustrates just how important the song is to him, and it's a reminder of how artists can use their music to speak about issues that are close to their hearts. He explains, "I've been seeing a lot of stuff about mental health, and I don't think there's any guy that doesn't really go through that. Being an artist, having a voice, I think it's a great way to be able to share my opinions on it." The song conveys a message of positive masculinity, and it's a mature and insightful release, one that Oliver says in a press release he hopes "can bring awareness to the mental effects of masculinity, and the pressure for boys & men to prove theirs.”

    It feels almost inevitable that Oliver's gone on to be a musician after hearing him reflect on his childhood, Growing up in Byron Bay, a picturesque coastal town on the far-north coast of NSW, Oliver was surrounded by music, and it's clearly in his blood. His mum is a musician, and "there was always music around the house". Oliver was classically trained in guitar when he was 10, while also playing drums. He mentions a moment from when he was a five-year-old, spending time in the backyard and imagining what it'd look like to play a stadium show. It's an origin story that any musician would be proud of, and until the age of 12 or 13, he says, "my life revolved around music, listening to music, playing to music". 

    When Oliver reached high school, his focus turned from music to sport. Throwing himself into cricket, he played for his state, and as he puts it, he "replaced music with cricket". Much like music was when he was younger, cricket became an all-encompassing focus. Foreshadowing his analytical and fanatical approach to music in the future, he reveals that he was a "big collector of the Wisden cricket almanacs" when he was younger, poring over the pages and memorising statistics. For those wondering, he was a fast-bowling all-rounder. He batted at seven or eight, playing the finisher role for a range of representative sides. Music was on the backburner during this period, as his mind was instead focused on sending the bails of opposition teams flying.

    Long bus rides to school proved to be the catalyst for his love of music firing up once again, and it's at this point that he decided that he was committed to making music. At first, recording music was something that Oliver did in private. He recalls, "I used to wake up at 2am and go into my shed. I lived in the bush, so there were snakes and animals. It was super sketchy, but I really wanted to give music a shot. I remember the first time I had this YouTube beat, my iPhone headphones and GarageBand. It was so horrible, but I loved it. I loved the process of making a song." 

    It's clear that when Oliver sets his mind to something, he goes all in, which explains his next move. He began studying his favourite artists, like Kendrick Lamar, Travis Scott, Lil Durk and Tory Lanez, and working out what they did to make music. He decided that he was going to treat making music "like a job", and after he made his first song, he didn't make music for a few months. Instead, this analytical approach to music helped him understand "why they blew up, how they blew up" and gave him a sense of what it would take to become a musician. Clearly, it's an approach that's worked, as he now counts artists like Pink Sweat$ amongst his fans.

    Hiding his musical ambitions wasn't going to last forever, especially when he had to get creative in order to take his musical ambitions to the next level. Oliver speaks fondly of the joy his mum showed when he revealed that he was making music with a close friend, who was looking to get into production. Together, they created a studio in his backyard (living regionally meant they had to get creative), and he was soon going over there every day. He reminisces, "Mum was so happy because she's a musician. She loves music. I think she always wanted me to be a musician, so when I told her, she was so happy." 

    The 20-year-old artist has been through a lot of change in recent times, including shedding his former moniker of Asher (which is his middle name), and becoming Oliver Cronin. Recognising the need for a change, he explains that he needed a hiatus to work out where the future lay for him both musically and personally. He reveals, "I wasn't super happy with the music I was making and putting out. I took a year off to find who I was as a person, because I was quite lost." The name change came with a pivot from creating hip-hop-inspired music to sitting more comfortably in the pop space. In recent years, he's been listening to pop music more and more, and he points to friends Mason Dane and Baby Prince as artists that have inspired him along the way. Listening to his recent releases, it's a move that suits Oliver to a T. 

    Oliver has been a big user of TikTok in recent times, and much like his approach to music, he used his analytical nature to gain traction on the app. He explains, "It's really important to find a niche, but it's also really hard, because there are millions and millions of videos a day... I spent a lot of time on TikTok, not necessarily scrolling, but studying different artists and people, seeing the tactics they used." He adds that "once you get the hang of it and get in the rhythm, it becomes second nature". Teasing Boys Don't Cry on TikTok proved to be fruitful, as the song racked up almost 10,000 pre-saves before release. It's now received the video treatment, with The Last Addition directing a video that takes inspiration from Euphoria.

    READ MORE: Oliver Cronin Promotes Positive Masculinity On The Powerful 'Boys Don't Cry'

    Oliver tells us that he has "a lot of music" that he wants to share throughout the rest of 2022. He explains, "I push a lot of snippets on TikTok, and I want people to be able to hear a lot of my unreleased stuff". He's also thinking about releasing a project, something that's been on his mind "for a long time". 

    We end by talking about legacy, and the impact that Oliver wants to leave. As he candidly puts it, "my vision two years ago was completely different to what it is now". However, he points to the success of songs like Kate Bush's Running Up That Hill, which has highlighted how great music is truly timeless. He admits, "that's something I really want for my music". Oliver wants to inspire people, like the artists that have come before him who continue to leave an impact. It's a lofty goal, but he's clearly on the right trajectory. 

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