Today, France based pop/rock trio, OAKMAN is thrilled to release their brand new EP, SCP, via Rude Records.

SCP, an acronym for “sugar-coated pill,” is the band’s third EP which follows up their sophomore EP, Plastic World, released back in 2018.

The EP shines a light on the trio’s growth through the addition of 80’s style synths, punchy drums and a groovy bass, all the while keeping their core pop-punk energetic guitars.

We asked the band to break the EP down track by track for us. Read it below.

Night
Night is the first concrete song that came out. It set the tone. During covid-19, we had written a lot of little things. We were satisfied but we felt that it was not enough. Something was missing. Then something bad happened to me, I went to the hospital, I almost died there, but in the meantime, Geremia was unknowingly writing the hook of our first single. When I listened to it, it was obvious. I knew right away what to do, I was very inspired by the vibe. The melody, the lyrics, the production, everything was simple and flowing. It is the first song we worked on with Bertrand Poncet at Alias studio and actually our very first time working with a producer.This song is very important for us because it allowed us to see more clearly in our writing but also reminds us through the lyrics how much life and all that it brings us is a treasure that we must cherish before I close my eyes.

Murder
We weren’t really looking to do a song like that. I was exploring synths sounds, learning about them when suddenly I came across this bass sound that I thought was pretty cool. I randomly pressed a G# on my midi keyboard. So I thought, what if I just imitate the way an arpeggiator plays just to see how it would sound. And then it went like ta ta ta ta ta ta ta and I was like “Woah so cool, that really inspires me!»Sometimes it really starts from nothing. That’s the magic of it all!Then the melody for the verse came pretty much instinctively and were mixed of real lyrics and chewed up lyrics. Quickly, I had the verses, the chorus with 60% of the lyrics. I was really inspired but definitely not ready to finish it. I didn’t work on it for 8 months. Then one day it finally happened, Murder was done.Sometimes you just have to give it time even if it started pretty well.

Fantasy
I don’t know why but this song often makes me think of the jungle. Don’t ask me why.Fantasy is a bit like a strange dream, a bit crazy and whimsical.Again, it was finding the synth hook that inspired us to write everything else. It was very difficult to be inspired during Covid-19 by anything other than sadness and depression. So I tried to imagine my tiny apartment in a different way, like a child. I imagined that I was in a daydream and that everything was moving and changing around me. That there were crazy characters and that my life was like a strange dream, like in Alice in Wonderland.No I assure you I am not crazy. But it was necessary to boost my imagination a little, especially when spending most of the time locked up.Finding meaning in the lyrics often inspires me to build the song. I like to talk about hope, renewal, self motivation. So this song is a bit of all that.

SCP
SCP which stands for “Sugar Coated Pill” is the last song we wrote. On this track, we wrote the instrumental first and for a while I had no inspiration to write any lyrics. I thought the song was too poppy, too catchy for what I wanted to express in words. Finally after a lot of listens, each time I found that there was a sarcastic side. I didn’t really want to write about something sarcastic but I couldn’t stop thinking about it. At the same time I was watching a show called “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” where the character reminded me of a part I had played when I was doing theater. After talking to the guys, they had the same feeling I had about that track. And that’s how we wrote the lyrics for SCP.In terms of instrumental, the construction was very much done around the little guitar gimmick and the drums. For the record, I was very sceptical at the beginning about this song, I couldn’t get into it. But I’m very happy with what we managed to do with it in the end. Sometimes you have to trust blindly.

Lucky Charm
Lucky Charm is the oldest song. It was just a piano song at the start. I didn’t know at that time what direction to take it but I didn’t want it to be just that. We thought together about how to make it different but every time, it was pretty much a fail.. I was thinking too logically.It wasn’t “what would I do with this piano version” but rather “what wouldn’t I do with this piano version”. So I started stepping out of my comfort zone and worked on it in a way that I wouldn’t have thought at first.It was difficult because I had no idea how to do it since I was going against my inspiration. But at the same time, my inspiration was leading me nowhere for this song. So I didn’t have much to lose. Bertrand added the perfect touch and the right one to conclude this track. In the end, without knowing it, it was the version I had always imagined for this song. Very different from the rest of the EP but very stimulating as an artist. Lyrically, I was thinking of all those stories of people who have loved each other all their lives and I pictured them, probably remembering their past life together, their love for each other.

All The Way Up
All the way up was thought to be an intro song of an album or EP and it is finally the song which closes this EP.For this one, we wanted something that felt like a fresh start. That excitement when something new is waiting for you. That desire to embrace life, new challenges, new paths. It’s a great feeling. Very precious.I started with this little guitar intro and Jessie followed up with some toms. We love how toms could sound. It’s pretty powerful, especially live.This track was also an opportunity to geek out on analog synths. It was the first song we tested out to see if we felt comfortable with using synths. I always wanted to dig into it but never had the opportunity. This track was the right one.For the record, I had a preset on my DAW called All The Way Up and that’s how I found the title. Actually, I didn’t have any lyrics. I knew what I wanted to talk about but I needed like a «sign» , finding the title paved the way…up……