Olive T is an underground hero in her hometown of New York. Releasing on widely respected imprints such as Nervous Records and Mike Simonetti’s 2MR, her sound is distinctly inspired by her NYC roots but holds an appeal far beyond. “It’s kind of ingrained in me,” she says, as we discuss her early influences, like growing up listening to Chicago and New York house music from the ‘80s and ‘90s.
As well as frequenting underground parties, she found herself listening to UK radio shows and European DJs who were coming over to play at the time, such as The Hacker and Vitalic. Being exposed to a variety of genres in her formative years — everything from jungle and d&b to minimal and beyond — has shaped the artist she is today, though her club mixes usually stay true to those classic, thumping house and techno sounds that resonated with her early on.
Olive T first made a name for herself as a DJ — in recent years holding it down at such institutions as Nowadays, Le Bain and the sadly now defunct Bossa Nova Civic Club — but she delved into music production as early as 16 years old. “I liked a lot of The Neptunes productions, so I wanted to try and sound like that at the time,” she laughs.
She’s come a long way since then. A recent EP that came on San Diego imprint Bouquet Records marked her first 12” release, and is a prime example of where she’s at musically. Opener ‘Opaque’ is full of swinging 909s and luscious uplifting pads, and ‘This Is A Bop’ melds jackin’ beats with deep chords and classic strings.
