VENTS Magazine recently had the pleasure of interviewing world-renowned harmonic player Lee Oskar about his latest music video for “Funky Rhetoric”, from the upcoming album She Said Mahalo. The interview can be read below.

What was it like working with Dmitri Antos? 

Dmitri Antos is a multitalented artist who has been working with me as my right-hand and creative collaborator since 2005. He has been involved in many different aspects of the company’s marketing and visual/digital communications over the years through all kinds of creative endeavors. He took the lead on developing the “Funky Rhetoric” video and did an amazing job in bringing the concept to life, incorporating my vision and input from others on my team, especially from my son, Nate Oskar, who is now president of the company. Dmitri is great to work with and we work together very well.

How would you like your fans to feel after listening to “Funky Rhetoric”?

I would like them to feel that the Music sounds so good that they will play it again and again.

What is the main message of “Funky Rhetoric”?

The main message is that rhetoric can be dangerous if you don’t think the words all the way through. People can say almost anything and it could make sense in the moment, but if you don’t dig in to find out the whole story, the full truth and the depths of the matter at hand, then you can get sucked in, and thrown off! You can get stuck between what you want something to be, what you want to hear or what someone wants to have you believe, and what it actually is all about. “Funky Rhetoric” takes a lighter look at this heavy topic. It’s meant to inspire people to go deeper when they hear that rhetoric.

How was the composing process for “Funky Rhetoric”? 

When something inspires me, I am in the zone, in the moment. Anytime I compose, I am already in that zone. I’ve always played the kind of groove that’s in “Funky Rhetoric,” and creating the catchy hookline with that groove were most important for me, and then the full composition took on a life of its own.

Whose idea was it to have the dance students at Pacific West Performing Arts in the “Funky Rhetoric” music video?

Incorporating young student dancers from a local dance school was my idea from the get-go. I really wanted to capture the exuberant, innocent energy that young dancers would bring to the video in contrast to the major world issues that the video addresses. Then, Rick Bowen, who is on my team handling A&R for my record label, Dreams We Share, took the initiative in finding a school in the area. The rest is history! The Pacific West Performing Arts team was enthusiastic from the start and great to work with.

What was it like behind the scenes of the “Funky Rhetoric” music video?

It was amazing to watch all these young dancers getting into the music, creating moves, preparing, and communicating with each other to work out different steps for the video session. Between the dancing school facility, kids, the video crew, and our team, it all came together, with all of us communicating different ideas to reach a final product that we’re really happy with. It was so nice to walk away from the shoot having this key element to incorporate into the storyboard.

What was the inspiration for “Funky Rhetoric”?

The inspiration for “Funky Rhetoric” was that musically, I love the groove as a statement with the melody hookline leading the way…so this was my lighthearted way of saying, let’s get serious, and really be careful of falling for just rhetoric. Let’s lean in and go deeper, and get attuned to doing what’s right for our children, our environment and our world.

Any new music your fans can look forward to?

Yes-my whole new album, She Said Mahalo, on which “Funky Rhetoric” is a track, will be released on September 15. I am excited to share this album with the world! I have so much other material which will all be released in due time. For me, there is never a lack of inspiration, never a lack of music! I appreciate being able to live and breathe as an artist and share my creative expressions with people.

Follow Lee Oskar:

https://leeoskarmusic.com/
https://www.youtube.com/leeoskarharmonicas
https://www.facebook.com/LeeOskarHarmonicas
https://twitter.com/@leeoskar
https://instagram.com/leeoskarharmonicas
https://tiktok.com/leeoskarharmonicas