Carl From The Office
Carl From The Office released his home produced track ‘What’s Going On’ in the early days of lockdown, we had a chat with him about what it was like learning to record and produce during a pandemic and how full fat Coke could be the silver lining we all need.
How’s the creative drive been coping during this global pandemic we have found ourselves in?
All good mate!! It was actually really good for me because what was holding me back from making music was going out and drinking all the time. When I’m hungover it just saps me of all creative output. I mean, it is like it's one of those old, fucking clichés but it’s really not true. It's a complete fallacy that all you have to be doing drugs and drinking all the time. It just ruins you mate, you just go obsolete. You're not gonna make anything like that. You’re just gonna sit there shaking and drinking Lucozade.I mean like you maybe could write music, but record music? Setting up mics and all that sorta gear is just not happening when I’m hungover.
So did you record your latest release all by yourself then?
Yeah ‘What’s Going On’ was the first song I put up that I recorded but I have a few more here waiting to be released but yeah all recorded by myself while I was teaching myself to produce at the same time, while also teaching myself to play the drums. I got this drumkit like 15 years ago off my mates’ big brother and it’s just some sort of starter kit from Dawsons so were talking like £100 back then. They sound pretty dire.
Fair play mate, I find drumming’s a tough thing to learn...
Aye it’s all muscle memory like, if you start overthinking it you’ll just slip out of it straight away, definitely have to be a different breed for it.
Listening to the lyrics in ‘What’s Going On’ it seems like your sense of humour is fully on show, has your homemade sitcom and radio personality informed your song writing or is that just natural?
Ah you know, I’ve always been that way from school, the funny person, it’s been my defence mechanism. I like making people laugh and in terms of music, I like artists who don’t take themselves too seriously and can have a bit of a laugh with it. I don’t see the point in taking life too seriously all the time. But yeah, everything I do I like making comedy and stupid shit that people might think is weird and a wee bit out there. I just think it adds something extra to the entertainment before we all die.
So where did the name Carl from the Office come from?
Well I mainly listen to hip hop and I wanted something to reflect me, but I can’t really write anything about the themes they do because I don’t live that life. So I just kept it real because my life is just doing a boring office job.
I feel you could make the jump into gangster rap, you could do it well.
I’m going to have to disagree with you on that one, I couldn’t do it any justice.
Fair enough, so what’s on the horizon for non-rapper Carl From The Office?
I’ve got a few things I’m sitting on, a few things that will get released sooner than others.I was saying about learning to produce while I was doing it so some things have came out and it’s been ok but not really something I want to post because it’s not really my vibe, or I feel I haven’t done it justice with the end result. I have got a few things that me and my mate Doyler have been producing in the backburner to be released on the C.F.T.O page. I think he’s literally about to release another song next week.
I look forward to it. Hard question time: What’s the best thing in the world right now?
The best thing in the world?
The best thing in the world right now.
The best thing in the world right now is probably full fat Coke. The only reason I get up in the morning is for that full fat fizz. Is there anything better? I’m not talking that diet nonsense either. If I was in a desert island right now and someone came up and gave me an ice-cold glass of Diet Coke, you know what I would do? I’d throw it as far as could and tell them to fuck off. I’d rather die then drink my own piss afterwards somehow.
Check out Carl from the Office’s facebook :
https://www.facebook.com/Carl-from-the-Office-113980530312074
Listen to Carl From The Office’s new single ‘What’s Going on’
here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrobc6PxfNo