ONUR
ONUR is a singer/songwriter/producer from London.
After the releases of his previous singles “Beamin” and “Stunnah”, ONUR has introduced a brand new single “I Don’t Know Why I Fall In Love” on November 26th. The self-produced record reflects on his thoughts after a break up.
“Carrying on from the theme of my break-up and me not getting over it, “I Don’t Know Why I Fall In Love” reflects on my thoughts of her a while after the relationship ended, and how I’m still stuck in heartbreak, yet don’t want to be, therefore blaming myself for being in love. I wanted this song to be way more intimate so it came across more like an open letter to her.”
“I Don’t Know Why I Fall In Love” is now available worldwide.
Introduce yourself - what's your story?
Hey, I’m Onur. I like to make fat funky beats and sing over them.
My story... well, I was born in England, lived in Turkey for a bit, then I came back to England... I dunno to be honest haha. I feel like I’m still at the beginning of my story.
Tell us a little bit about your childhood. When did you start feeling connected to music?
I’d say the connection was always there... I just never acted on it till I was 18. My childhood was turbulent haha. It had its good and bad moments. But a highlight was always my journey to and from school, where most of the music listening would be done. (Before iPhones...what a time that was!)
My mum would play classical music and accompany it with a story or narrative of sorts so that I wouldn’t lose interest, and my dad played Michael Jackson, the BeeGees. Like 70s disco pop style stuff. Because they’re separated I had two very different introductions to music.
When did you start making music?
I started making music when I was 18! I had this shitty Yamaha guitar I used to busk with on the weekends in the London Underground, and I eventually saved up enough money (and with a bit of help from my mum) to buy myself a Martin guitar. After that, I just started writing songs and never really looked back. Producing became something I picked up last year, but I kind of got obsessed with it haha.
How would you define ONUR, the artist?
Broken beats, soulful chords, guitar fuzz, combined with yesterday’s dusty drums with tomorrow’s sounds and samples.
You recently released your new single "I Don't Know Why I Fall In Love". What's the story behind this song?
Well it’s not the easiest thing for me to talk about. But it’s to do with a relationship I had. Even though it’s been a while since the end of the relationship, I still feel a certain way about her and this song is my kind of way of saying that. But at the same time, I'm slightly annoyed at myself for still feeling this way.
What made you want to release this particular song as a single?
I mean the main reason behind it was the fact that l liked it as a song. The melody, the meaning. Everything kind of came together as well as showing a different side to my production and me as an artist. It was a needed change of pace this early on as it doesn’t give anyone any room to pigeon-hole me.
Could you describe us the songwriting/production process for this song? When did you start working on it?
So funnily enough, the actual chords and vibe of the song came from two songs I really like. One of them was ‘Like A Star’ by Corinne Bailey Rae, and the other was ‘Nature Boy’ by Nat King Cole. The Latin thing just came from the fact that it was something I always wanted to do, and this song seemed like the perfect chance to do that. I hope I pulled it off haha. This song definitely started as a SONG. As in the melody and chords and lyrics were all established on a guitar. The beat came later. But funnily enough, I had written and produced this song over the last summer. And it just sat there for ages until I was looking through my old material to see if there was anything good haha. I didn’t like the production on the first version of the song so I re-produced it as a more organic song and it worked a lot better. The drop came right at the end out of nowhere. It was kind of a happy accident.
You are a producer. What equipments and softwares do you usually use?
My setup is as simple as it comes.
Yamaha H7 speakers
Apollo twin UAD.
MacBook.
My guitars.
Software wise, I use Logic and a mixture of plug-in synthesisers from native instruments, logic stock synths and Arturia, but all my drums are samples that I just found off of the internet lol.
What do you like the most about making music?
It’s kind of like having a super power haha. You know that superhero Green Lantern? And how he has that ring that becomes anything he imagines it to become? That’s kind of how I see music, and what I enjoy most about it. I can literally create anything I can think of, and that to me, is a very humbling power to behold.
In your opinion, what makes a good production?
It’s not about the production! It’s about the song! The song always comes first!
But the importance of a production comes with finding the balance of arrangement and connecting the dots in terms of the sounds and samples that are selected.
Any favorite producer(s)?
Haha I have too many! But my top ones are: Quincy Jones, Timbaland, Jai Paul and MXXWLL.
What appeals you the most about living in London?
The diversity, the architecture, accessibility of everything and that fact that people have actually integrated amongst each other, which in turn, created an entirely distinct culture.
What does creativity mean to you?
Where failure and success are one in the same, and nothing is wrong or right. But whatever your instinctual choices are, it’s deemed acceptable to yourself first and foremost.
What can you tell us about your upcoming EP?
It’s probably the best and most mature body of work I’ve created so far.
2018 is coming to an end. What are the things you are the most proud of?
Well to be honest, I've lived near a couple of record labels in London, since I was about 16/17… I always used to walk past them from my walk home from school and dream of having a peak in! Since my new singles are doing well, I caught the attention of a major and I got called in for a meeting. Honestly, the biggest thing was just going inside one of these label buildings and getting to see what it was all about, and being re-assured that I could be worthy of being signed and a successful musician. A couple of months ago, nobody knew who I was and I was sure that no one was going to listen, let alone like my music. So I’m proud of pretty much everything that has happened so far.
In your opinion, what would make the world a better place?
If religion wasn’t a thing...
What's your purpose?
I think it’s always quite an egocentric thing to say ‘This is my purpose’. As if it was assigned to me by some higher power haha. All I know is that I love music, and I'm genuinely depressed when I'm not making it.
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