Quinn Oulton - Just Calm Down (Single)
Picture Credit: Travys Owen
Over the past year, prolific multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Quinn Oulton has been developing his sound and production style. Collaborating with artists including Linden Jay, Reuben James and Col3trane, and relocating from his London base to LA and Berlin, he’s been on a creative drive, pushing his sound into the realm of forward-thinking RnB. A culmination of his efforts, Quinn is excited to share ‘Just Calm Down’ on Friday 20th September – the second single from his forthcoming ‘Lead You To Water’ EP.
Following the success of BBC Radio 1 and Wonderland-backed lead single ‘When You’re Near’, ‘Just Calm Down’ continues the journey into Quinn’s take on alt-RnB, seeing him blend his signature, off-beat production with catchy melodies, warm acoustic guitar, and soulful vocals. The track captures the complexities of managing anger and frustration, exploring the ways in which different people process these emotions.
Quinn shares: “It’s so interesting how different people process their anger and frustration. It can come out in so many ways, and one person’s normal could be perceived as totally out of control to someone else. I never thought of myself as being an angry person, but recently I started to realise that I can easily let unnecessary frustration get the better of me - even though I focus it on myself, that negative energy really affects the people around you, and never actually results in any positive change. At the end of the day, it’s not worth getting held back by your own self-imposed negativity, and there’s always going to be a way to work on it. It could be as simple as taking a second to actually listen to the advice you’ve been ignoring all along.
‘Just Calm Down’ will release on September 20th via DeepMatter Records Quinn’s ‘Lead You To Water’ EP marks a new chapter, built around the foundations of 90s and 2000s RnB, whilst carving room for his unconventional production techniques and distinctive songwriting voice. A key word in his approach to the project is ‘simplicity’ – rather than relying overtly on production elements to embellish the sound of the songs, Quinn instead sought to create spacious pieces that stand on their own, stripping the core of his creativity down to voice and acoustic guitar. He shares: “For years, I’ve been obsessed with pushing my production skills as far as I can, by exploring unique ways to manipulate conventional sounds in ways that I haven’t heard before. Following on from my album and a series of singles from last year in which I began to truly form my own voice, I aimed to consolidate everything I’d discovered into one project. My goal was to create a truly cohesive, refined EP that features one consistent sound at its core - acoustic guitar and a voice. The songs stand strong on their own in this context, which allowed me to build and around their foundations in any way I wanted, whilst always making sure that each song has space to breathe and shine in their own right.”
The South London born and bred multi-instrumentalist, vocalist & producer has always been a musical explorer. With a foundation deeply rooted in jazz, he possesses a profound understanding of complex musical concepts which he translates seamlessly into the more mainstream genres of contemporary RnB and alt-pop.
With Quinn’s music, you can expect to hear beautifully constructed, classic sounding tracks with hidden layers for appreciators of depth and detail, situated somewhere between Sampha, Nick Hakim and Mk.gee.
His acclaimed work - including his debut album ‘Alexithymia’, and standout singles such as ‘100 Degrees’ (with Reuben James and Linden Jay) - has earned over ten million streams and significant support across radio and press. Key supporters include Gilles Peterson, Huey Morgan and Jamz Supernova (BBCR6), Sian Eleri and Jack Saunders (BBCR1), and Jamie Cullum (BBCR2). He has toured the UK and EU with his project, supporting artists such as KNOWER, Elijah Fox and Jamie Cullum, whilst also producing and performing as a session musician for other artists such as Priya Ragu, Eyelar, and Amie Blu and Mercury Award nominee Moses Boyd.