Name: Omar Lye-Fook aka Omar
Nationality: British
Occupation: Singer, songwriter, actor, multi-instrumentalist
Current release: Omar's new album Brighter The Days is out via Impressive Collective / BBE. Listen to single "On my Own" here. The album features a cast of guests, including Paul Weller, India Arie, and rapper Jeru The Damaja.
Recommendation for Brighton, UK: I would recommend going to the Brighton Petanque society, it’s the game of Boule/Petanque in French. It’s very cathartic. You play on the beach, in the sunshine, great music, drinking loads of tea (if you know what I’m saying), it’s very relaxing.

If you enjoyed this Omar interview and would like to stay up to date with his music, visit him on Instagram, and Facebook. 



Where does the impulse to create something come from for you? What role do often-quoted sources of inspiration like dreams, other forms of art, personal relationships, politics etc play?

The impulse to create something is just within me.

I have the rhythm, the bassline, the chords, the chord structure, harmonies - all these things are within me and are playing a part when I put the music together.

For you to get started, do there need to be concrete ideas – or what some have called a 'visualisation' of the finished work? What does the balance between planning and chance look like for you?

For me to get started, it could be the bassline, it could be the beat, it could be the chord. It changes. There’s nothing concrete, because these things can take a couple of weeks up to years.

One of the songs on this latest album ‘Lovey Dovey’ started in 2006-2007 and it wasn’t finished until 2021-22-23 before it was finished.



Is there a preparation phase for your process? Do you require your tools to be laid out in a particular way, for example, do you need to do 'research' or create 'early versions'?

There is no preparation phase for the process. You just get on with it, use whatever you have around you, it can be bass, guitar, keys, drum, strings, horns, they’re all there for the using.

I always do the music first and the lyrics second.

Do you have certain rituals to get you into the right mindset for creating? What role do certain foods or stimulants like coffee, lighting, scents, exercise or reading poetry play?

Weed.

What are the areas/themes/topics that you keep returning to in your lyrics?

The topic I keep returning to tends to be love, and relationships. I try not to go into that too much, but that’s pretty much the recurrent theme.

I would just say I’m in the zone when you’re putting the beats down and the groove. You just get into the trance with the vibe, that would be the spiritual part of it.

Tell me a bit about the way the new material on Brighter The Days developed and gradually took its final form, please.

A piece isn’t finished until it’s finished, it could take years. Like I mentioned before, ‘Lovey Dovey’ started in 2006-2007, it went through different forms, first of all with me.

I asked Eric Benet but it didn’t work out. Then Eric Roberson jumped on - and that ended to be the final piece.

Music and the accompanying artwork are often closely related. Can you talk about this a little bit for your current project and the relationship that images and sounds have for you in general?

I chose Benji Reid because I love his artworks, and we picked a spot which is near where I live, near Brighton.

The name of the album is ‘Brighter The Day’ and when you see the picture, it speaks volume, it just made sense.

After finishing a piece or album and releasing something into the world, there can be a sense of emptiness. Can you relate to this, and how do you return to the state of creativity after experiencing it?

Yes, absolutely, when everything is finished, you're kind of spent. But at the same time, I’m always creating and performing, it never stops.

For me, there’s a sense of relief because finally, it’s out there in the public domain, you get to hear what I’ve been working on for the past 8 years, in that instance.

I would love to know a little about the feedback you've received from listeners or critics about what they thought some of your songs are about or the impact it had on them – have there been “misunderstandings” or did you perhaps even gain new “insights?”

I’m always touched by the feedback I get from people, and what my music means to them and what it’s done for them in certain times of their lives. They said they needed it, and it got them through certain things; it’s always magical for me.

For my music to touch people in that way means a lot; I’m very appreciative of that.