British singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Oli Fox has returned with a cleverly-crafted straight-to-the-hook pop number, “Player 2“.
In Oli’s own words the song “has been a title with an empty page beneath it in my notebook for quite a while.” Opening up about his own emotions he adds; “I went through the classic back and forth of the early stages of a relationship when you’re not quite sure how much to tell them you’re into them. Eventually, I broke and told this person everything, which was so much better than playing games. I hope it reminds people of how much more fun it can be to tell someone how you really feel, which to me has even more relevance now that most people are dating from afar.”
“Player 2” is the result of a collaborative effort between Oli and two of his friends, signaling a creative turning point for the talented artist. Written by Oli and Alex Stacey, who happens to be a renowned hitmaker whose writing credits include OneRepublic’s ‘Start Again’ featuring Logic, the initial bare guitar demo was then developed by Oli in his own home studio before taking it to Danny Casio who is part of The Six, six-piece production collective responsible for producing critically acclaimed singles by artists such as Tom Grennan, AU/RA, and Clean Bandit.
“I’ve always written my own songs but never touched the production side before”, Oli explains. “I started experimenting with samples of old games such as Mario, Space Invaders and PacMan and tried adding into the song before Danny helped me gluing everything together.” “Player 2” also sees Oli handling the majority of the instrumentation himself, proving his extraordinary musicianship.
Drawing from personal life experiences, Oli’s lyrics work like short diaries, turning crushingly relatable experiences into future pop hits. Not afraid of showing his own vulnerability through his songs, Oli strongly advocates that “male ‘inexpression’ needs to be broken down in order to improve men’s wellbeing and mental health.”
With “Player 2” Oli Fox is set to become one of pop’s brightest rising stars and one to watch closely in 2020.