"Somewhere Else", track by track by Bri Oglu
Photo credit: Emmanuelle Yang
For my EP, I knew I wanted to do a mix of original music and curated covers. I realized that all of the originals were written from a place of anxiety and not being present. The covers I chose all have a dream-like, other-worldly quality to them. I felt like the title Somewhere Else captured a universal element in each of the songs - I chose the concept of space to visually represent this. The EP cover is a collage of images set in space. Each image represents one of the 6 tracks.
SLOWLY
I started writing “Slowly” in 2019 and then shelved it because I couldn’t quite figure out its voice. I had just professed my feelings to a close friend and was in the period of (torturous) suspense before his response. I remember feeling like I was free-falling, but finding a strange comfort in it because I was still living in the possibility of him feeling the same way. I wasn’t ready for a response quite yet. I ended up getting exactly what I asked for in my lyrics: he responded slowly. A year later in fact. We got together, the song found its voice and he ended up producing the track written about him (and killing it). It was a wild full-circle experience.
I chose the image of a woman falling to represent this track because I wrote it about the in-between. The space after you jump, but before you land (or are received).
DREAM ON
One of my and my dad’s all-time favorite songs. I knew I wanted to bring my sound to a few intentional covers, this one almost immediately came to mind. The producer, Will Snyder, and I recorded it in the historic Sunset Sound in Hollywood with my family present. It was a dream come true.
I chose the image of mountains to represent this track because this song is so much about achieving your dreams and realizing your potential, a feat I believe to be a mountain with no top.
ENOUGH
I wrote this song through both my eyes and the eyes of my closest friend who had been in a relationship with an addict. Initially the chorus was about seeking clarity, but when I began collaborating with my producer, Will Snyder we ended up re-writing the chorus to be about moving on and growth. The change felt right and like growth in and of itself.
I chose the image of flowers to represent this track because I really loved the aesthetic of them and I felt that the song more than anything conveys growth, “blooming.”
GENIE IN A BOTTLE
Genie was one of the first pop songs I ever heard or learned. When I first came to LA, I sang covers in hotel lounges, often slowing songs down and making them vibey. I fell in love with how an accompanist, and I did Genie because I felt like the sultry, slower pace really worked. My producer instantly understood what I was going for and killed it.
I chose the image of a lamp to represent this track because I simply liked how it looked and wanted to play up the genie aspect of the song. I realized later that I think some of my subliminal Disney influence came out on this one, laughs.
BLACK HOLE SUN
Black Hole Sun is such a classic, epic song. Every time I listen to it, I feel a little haunted by the lyrics and I knew I wanted to take that further in my own version one day.
I went on the nose with this one and chose a literal black hole sun to represent this track. I knew it would really add to the final collage for the EP cover art.
#1
I wrote #1 about the honest, ugliest sentiments that come up when an ex moves on. For me, it’s rarely about the person, but rather ego, possession and jealousy. I want to be someone’s favorite, even if they were never mine.
I chose a rubin vase to represent this track because the chorus can be interpreted two ways: I wrote them about someone I never wanted to marry but still wanted control over; however, I later realized when sharing my song with friends, many thought the lyrics were about loss vs. possession. Perspective and experience is everything and I felt the vase captured that.