Oseas Interview on Nagamag

Oseas
Interview

Nagamag:
Which are the genres that describe your music style better?

Oseas:
psybient, psychill, ambient, chill, relax, trip, psychedelic

Nagamag:
Few words about your musical background and career?

Oseas:
My first approach to music was through school where I received authoritative but basic instruction in music theory. I always liked the guitar and I started with an electric guitar that my father gave me for my 13th birthday.
Rock came first and I started practicing some songs on my guitar. When I was 16, a friend gave me a wooden guitar. And it wasn’t until I was 20 that I went on a trip with a backpack, a guitar, and a small djembe. I didn’t have much money and I met musician friends on the street, with whom we began to practice some cumbia, reggae, and ranchera style songs. These songs were very popular (even people sang along to them) and we played them in the street, I played guitar and sang, and sometimes I also accompanied only with percussion. For being travelers, we made money to have a good time.
Later, when I returned to my University life (I was studying Electrical Civil Engineering at that time) I always tried to be present in the musical instances of the University, I had learned many songs on the guitar and began to instruct myself in Andean music, songs that we often played at the University with a group of friends. When I finished my university degree at 24 years old, I decided to go on a trip before starting the job search as an electrical engineer (I already imagined what could come). So, I went on a trip again with my backpack, and my guitar but now with a quena and not within Chile, I went to the north of Peru towards Ecuador. A lot of things happened on that trip, I grew up. When I was in Ecuador I had a mystical experience. I participated in a Shamanic ceremony with Ayahuasca drinking and on the trip, I listened to my heart thanks to the plant Very simple was what my heart said through the plant. “Your thing is music” while listening to deep melodies and subtle harmonies.
After that experience my life changed. I returned to Chile to reorganize myself, now the plan was to go study musical composition. So I looked for a private teacher and started my theory classes again. Soon I found a job as an engineer and I was able to buy all the musical tools that I have now but unfortunately, the life of an engineer did not fulfill me, I did not have quality of life. So I made a plan to get out of the world of electrical engineering to pursue
completely into the world of music. It was tough financially at first but then I got used to it. With the savings made, I built my music studio and invested in taking music theory and music production classes for over 2 years. After this, I started building my psybient & downtempo project, Oseas in 2017. The name Oseas, comes from Jose Ascui, my name. If you join the words “Jose” and “Ascui”, then you have the result word Joseascui. And then, from the word “Joseascui” you take the letter “J” from the beginning and the syllable “cui” at the end, you just stay with the word “Oseas” (“J” -“Oseas” -“cui”).
Shortly after I funded Oseas, together with a great friend, Nicolás, we founded in the year 2019 a music label based in Chile, Quantum Cell Records.

Nagamag:
Do you remember your first connection of love to music that was the right impact to be a music artist now?

Oseas:
My first love connection to music was in Ecuador. Before that, I was only comforting sensations but I couldn’t tell if it was love.
As I mentioned earlier, in Ecuador I took Ayahuasca, an experience that brought me closer to music in a different way. Here is my testimony;
When I was traveling alone in Ecuador 7 years ago I passed through a town on the coast called Canoa. There I stayed at a campsite and was invited by the owner, a
German woman in her 60s, to an ayahuasca drinking ceremony at the campsite next to her. Those who organized the instance had brought to a man recognized in the handling of the ceremony. After turning the invitation over, I decided to accept. Night came and it was time to go to the ceremony. The atmosphere was warm, there were about 20 people of multiple nationalities and the Shaman told us about the dynamics of the matter.
About 40 minutes after taking the ayahuasca concoction I began to have deep visions, something quite psychedelic. I closed my eyes and it was similar to being in a dream and then I suddenly began to hear melodies with timbres similar to a piano. I heard strings rubbed everywhere. I was literally listening to an orchestration but I couldn’t tell where the sound was coming from. What I could see were geometric forms similar to mandalas and the music behind them, more and more complex, deep, and firm, nothing could resist that vibration, it seemed to go through all forms, giving them love. And while I was in the front row of spectators at the most beautiful show of my life, I heard a voice attached to the music in my native language, Spanish. The voice clearly said “Your thing is music” (“Lo tuyo es la música”). At first, I felt a little scared because I didn’t know who was speaking, but then I calmed down because I thought it was the ayahuasca plant that was communicating. And after a while I realized that the plant was not the one that communicated, it only facilitated communication between myself and my heart. I saw it, it was explicit. My heart spoke. I felt love and its link with music. The liana showed me the fruit and I went for it.The next day when the ceremony ended, it seemed that the view was more active. The sea shells on the beach seemed more beautiful to me and their shape was very pleasing
to me. The melodies continued to sound slightly in my head and there I saw myself in a great dilemma. I had no idea how to write all the music I had experienced. I didn’t have the tools to do it and with every hour that passed, I remembered the melodies less. I tried to write a song sung to retain something but every time I played the song, the melodies were different and it got to a point where I practically didn’t remember any of the melodies, I only remembered the pleasant and stimulating sensations of having listened to them. And that’s how my musical path matured and I saw the need to develop my musical language in a conscious way.

Nagamag:
Many artists listen to genres that they are not producing music for. Which track is your favorite that is NOT similar to yours?

Oseas:
Kumara Encrypted Stones

Nagamag:
Of Course Nagamag would love to listen also which is the track from a similar artist you admire?

Oseas:
Eguana Deep Sleep

Discover & Listen to Oseas

Oseas on Spotify

Oseas’ Signature Track

Oseas on Social Media

Facebook: @oseas.chillmusic – www.facebook.com/oseas.chillmusic/

Instagram: @oseas.music – www.instagram.com/oseas.music/

Oseas’ Website: oseas.bandcamp.com/