Who is Oren Yoel and why have I never heard of him? A possible first thought when looking at the production credits for Asleep In The Bread Aisle. A name that has been on peoples minds for months, Oren is the man behind the bulk of Asher Roth's debut album. Is it safe to say this guy is a man of mystery? Not quite, but the Google results seem to give off that kind of impression. He's worked with other names that are familiar to illRoots, including Tunji of Inverse and the ever talented TiRon. Here however I chop it up with the man himself on influences, future projects, working with Asher, his band New Kingdom and more.illRoots: Thanks for catching up with us man. How old were you when you started producing and who would you cite as influences?
Oren Yoel: I started producing at around 15 or 16. I would go over to my boy Dave Appleton's house and would get down with this Roland XP- 80 he had. My early influences were and still are all over the place. Charlie Parker, Dilla, The Doors, Miles Davis, ?uestlove, a bunch of isht. I was just a fan of all types of music.
iR: That's what's up, keeping an open mind. How did you first meet Asher and what were your first impressions?
OY: I met Asher after his manager, Scooter, had heard some of my tracks. Basically, some dude got hold of my tracks and was trying to pretend like he made the joints! But Scooter eventually found my number, told me this new MC rapped on one of my tracks, and the relationship grew from there. The first time I met Asher was walking up to Scooter's condo in Atlanta. I see this tall, skinny dude with yellow basketball shorts, and my first impression was damn this dude is pale! [Laughs] But naw, we just started chopping it up and it felt like we might as well have been homies for ten years. I thought Asher was fucking hilarious, talking to me about fresh fruit and shit.
Oren and Ash hittin' up some B&J like it's whateva. iR: [Laughs] What was the process like in recording songs for the album?
OY: Honestly, all the tracks on Asleep In The Bread Aisle were specifically made for Asher. When we first started working, I told Ash that I wanted us to do songs together organically [and that] I didn't want to just ship Asher beats via email. When he came to L.A. to start working on the project, we would usually just chill at my apartment and I would maybe start cookin' up something or Asher would tell me a song idea he had. Most of the time we would just start jamming. Usually I would get on the keys or on the drum machine and Ash would start playing with some words or a melody.
iR: That seems to be something that a lot of producers have drawn away from; working with the artist from scratch on material. What's your music background like?
OY: Before I started making tracks or anything, I was just a musician. My mom made my brother and I take clarinet in our elementary school when I was 6 [Laughs]. It was kinda whatever to me, but I loved playing music. When I got to middle school, I switched instruments [and started] playing the baritone sax in the school band and piano for fun. I wasn't on some prodigy shit though, I was alright.
iR: Tell us a bit about New Kingdom.
OY: New Kingdom is my band out of Los Angeles! We have been playing together for about a year and half, and I think people are going to really feel our shit. We are working on our debut LP now, and you can expect a song and video to come out soon. Check out our blog.
New Kingdom Live!
iR: Ahh, can't wait to hear some official material from you guys. Was loving what you did on 'Lions Roar' with Bussa Bus! How about college, what was that like for you?
OY: College was the shit with the exception of waking up for some of my music classes 'cause they were always extra early! Roosters would still be sleeping type shit. But other then that, college was fucking dope.
iR: Do you have any memorable moments you'd like to share?
OY: Crazy stories, but probably none I would want to repeat on the net [Laughs].
iR: [Laughs] fair enough. On to the album, which songs would you say are your favorites?
OY: My favorite johnnies are probably 'Be By Myself', 'Lions Roar' and 'Lark'. I also really like 'La Di Da' and 'Blunt Cruise'.
iR: Can't wait to see the 'Be By Myself' video. What are your weapons of choice when it comes to making these tracks?
OY: Can't be givin' away my recipes! But in terms of equipment, I use an MPC 2000XL for drum programming most of the time, a couple different keyboards, ProTools, a few secret weapons. Nothing crazy expensive at all though.
iR: Dope. Alright so if you could do an album or project with any one artist, who would it be and what would you try to create?
OY: Tough question. I don't know. Off the top of my head, I would love to produce a collabo with Andre Three Stacks and Cee-Lo. I would want to just do something bananas with them, like on some Led Zeppelin meets MGMT type shit.
iR: Wow, that'd be ill. Where do you see yourself five years from now?
OY: I see myself in five years just doing what I'm trying to do now which is make honest music. I'm not sure where my sound will be in five years from now, so it's hard to tell. The only thing I know is that I want it to sound fresh and raw.
Oren Yoel finds a chicken.
iR: No doubt. What plans do you have for the future?
OY: After this album, definitely check for my band New Kingdom's debut which will be dropping soon! That's what I'm currently working on. There's also some other projects in the works which you will be hearing about soon enough. And of course, my dude Asher's sophomore album which we are already getting ideas for.
iR: Oh wow, that is what's up. White, wheat or rye?
OY: Wheat all day.
iR: Any shout outs?
OY: Big shot out to Asher, who is definately my favorite new MC without a question and a very close friend. I love working with him, he's such an honest dude and a beast on the mic. When we first started working together, there was no budget, no big studios, just some ideas and a microphone so it's cool to see that people are excited about the album. Oh and also a shot out to my man Dave Appleton who produced a couple of the joints with me, Scooter Braun, and definately Mike Waxx from illRoots for showing us some love! Cop Asleep In The Bread Aisle this Monday on 4/20!
