Osean

Name, where are you from?
My Chinese name, Wu Hsien, sounds similar to the Chinese word, "limitless". My stage name, Osean, is derived from my English name, Sean. I added an 'O' because it resembles a zero, signifying "a return to nothingness or a return to our foundation". I want to let go and detach… to start from zero – limitless and boundless like ocean, you might say. From Taipei, Taiwan.

What do you do?
I am a music producer. In contrast to most people’s impression of musicians and artists, I’m rarely in the recording studio. I create most of my music in my room. I recently produced an EP that I really enjoyed, called 'Sundial II'.

What’s the best gig you’ve ever been to?
As for in-person gigs, it was an album release event held in Yuchen Cinema Studio, hosted by Xueiyuan. It was an up-close and intimate performance. They led the audience through a meditation of sorts during the show – it was a cleansing experience for my soul. I felt truly blessed! I was also very touched by the family-like rapport between the band members.

Which subcultures have influenced you?
Hip-hop for sure. Although I don’t produce hip-hop, my music has definitely been influenced by some of hip-hop’s nuances. I also have hip-hop to thank for my own prolific use of Auto-Tune. I am really happy to see Auto-Tune growing beyond hip-hop and being widely used in so many different music genres. Hip-hop has even influenced my own workflow - I tend to start my creative process from the drum set. It’s also part of the reason why I often utilize samples – 'Sundial' and 'Sundial II' are good examples of this. When I was working on these pieces, I wanted to maintain a conceptual consistency, so I intentionally incorporated the same sample throughout the entire record. (If you can guess which song it is, send me a DM!) Hip-hop’s "street attitude" has also indirectly made an impact on me – I believe that you can achieve anything with imagination, even if you don’t have much resources… absolutely free and limitless, just like my name.

Of all the venues you’ve played, which is your favourite?
Ryoji Ikeda’s show at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum – not a typical venue for a performance. Definitely a clash of styles in my eyes. One of my goals is to do a performance there sometime in the near future.

If you could be on the line up with any bands in history?
Hans Zimmer. After I watched the movie Dune, I was very inspired by the music. It would be a blast to perform together with his entire orchestra. It’s hard to imagine the tension that would be created from our clash of styles – music created in my bedroom combined with the epic musical force of his orchestra.

If you could spend an hour with anyone from history?
I’d love to have a long conversation with Stephen Hawkin. I think we could perhaps create music that aliens could understand and enjoy.

Your greatest unsung hero or heroine in music?
Andy Hildebrand, the inventor of Auto-Tune. Auto-Tune is just so much fun – I’m really grateful for his invention. It has subtly influenced so much of my creative process and work.