Melbourne’s own, OJIKAE
At just 17, Matt Cicero, aka OJIKAE had already reached acclaim from local and global tastemakers, making a name for himself in the world of Soul and R&B.
Since his first project, Ojikae’s vision has undertaken a deep maturity, as Cicero himself has evolved. Through many years of vocal lessons and sheer talent, Ojikae has graced us with an arrestingly chill beat, sensual lyrics, and complete vocal transparency and fearlessness. His latest EP, 3033 was released on March 5th, and we discuss this project, his creative processes, inspirations & idols and what he’s got planned for the future.
We opened the discussion to first talk about visuals, and how our love of film and music go hand in hand.
OJIKAE on the impact of music in film:
OJIKAE: “Music, in order to be as powerful as it should, does need visuals to go along with it. Film and music are incomplete without one another, some may disagree with me, but when you close your eyes and listen to a song, you’re accompanying visuals with it. When a film has beautifully crafted and tailored music, there’s nothing better. Prince’s ‘Purple Rain’ is one of my favorite films because of that.”
Gulie Carrington: Ahhhh, who doesn’t love Prince?! That film was bar none one of the best marriages between music and visual art, for sure.
I know you’ve described Prince, Stevie Wonder and David Bowie as your idols and inspirations, but are there any other older or contemporary artists that influence your melodies?
OJIKAE: Harmonically and melodically, Jodeci is a big one. DeVante Swing’s chords are very churchy and gospel-y. The whole reason I have any knowledge about music is my dad, we listened to everything in the car and around the house. He is a massive rock fan, so we listened to artists like Bill Evans, Jaco Pastorius and The Police. My inspiration comes from everywhere, it’s hard to pinpoint.
My dad would say, “If you want to be something, you have to be unique”. If you’re uniquely yourself, nobody will come close. I motivate myself by watching videos from my favorite artists. I cite Stevie Wonder as one of the greatest artists of all time. His first 5 albums, up to Hotter Than July, are just perfect.
Stevie made the message of struggle at the time that resonated with us culturally, with songs like Living Just Enough for The City. He encapsulated his most powerful messages in equally great music. Stevie was able to blend conscious music with popular music so well. Kendrick Lamar with To Pimp a Butterfly was also able to do that masterfully; that is one of my favorite albums of all time.
GC: Stevie is incredible, and I agree, he was able to work magic with his music and make us think at the same time. I love the timelessness of artists like him.
OJIKAE: That 70’s soul sound will never die. For example, the new Silk Sonic song, Leave the Door Open, that sound is so iconic. You can listen to Donny Hathaway anywhere, anytime, and it fits.
GC: Funk is forever! It’s the type of music that makes you want to get up and dance, without fail!
OJIKAE: If you hear The Payback by James Brown, or anything by Sly and the Family Stone, it’s just magic. You must dance. If the crowd isn’t dancing, you’re not playing funk. In commercial pop today, you hear more of a restricted form of funk, but it has funky elements.
To Pimp a Butterfly is an album I always go back to because there hasn’t been an album that was so cohesive and in its own world, similar to how I feel Voodoo by D’Angelo made its own world in itself. D’Angelo was different, he came from a jazz background, and I believe that to be the most complex form of music. Here in Melbourne, we have a prominent jazz scene.
GC: Interesting! By just tweaking a few elements on your instrument, you can make a vast amount of music. It’s not meant to be made or heard by just anyone, but I think that’s what makes it special.
Random question, I was reading a lot about you of what I could find, and I must know, where did you get your artist’s name from?
OJIKAE: As a kid around age 15, my artist’s name was ‘Kaeus’ (I just thought it sounded cool) and then I cut the US and was just ‘Kae’. Growing up, my favorite TV show was The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, it was where my wardrobe inspiration came from as well. I admired him because he dresses how he wants and he looked fresh and growing up I did the same to express myself, but my peers weren’t feeling it as much. When I was around 15 or 16, I changed it from ‘Kae’ to “OJIKAE” because “oji” in Japanese means “Prince”, in reference to the fresh prince, because when I was younger, based on my love of the show, my friends would call me “The Fresh Prince.”
GC: 90’s fashion is unmatched. There was so many different styles and I feel like that was the peak of when designers really started to experiment with new elements of style. I’d love to see Japan!
Have you made it over to the states, by the way?
OJIKAE: I’ve been to Disneyland in Anaheim, CA to sing! I’ve seen Vegas, Philly, but my favorite place was probably Washington D.C, because I love history. Wawa is excellent too!
GC: I wanted to depart from music for a moment and ask, when you’re off and not working, what do you do to relax?
OJIKAE: As a kid, it was video games and music. Those were my two escape mechanisms. During coronavirus lockdown, I learned a lot about women because we spent a lot of time together due to her not working. In addition to having a little sister, I understand the mind of a female much more clearly now. Besides that, I’m playing tennis, currently reading Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs, while also in the middle of a few other books including Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami as well as American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis.
If I have a pen on me, I write poetry as well. I try to make it as far-fetched as possible, and I may not ever publish it, but it will make its way into my music one way or another. I practice my drums, guitar, etc. but honestly, I try not to put too much pressure on myself in that regard.
GC: I understand, the pressure to practice can take the enjoyment out of it. I would try to do the same!
OJIKAE: At the end of forming my most recent EP, I started feeling burnt out. The energy in my room was off and my previous management put a lot of pressure on me to blow up quickly. I only just started enjoying it again recently. After a day of telling myself I didn’t have to make music, I started wanting to do it again. I trained myself to say “I’ll do it on my own time”. Also, ever since I was a kid, I hated being told what to do. I was even a pretty stubborn student. I was a good student, mostly due to my mom assisting me and giving me her time, so overall it was tough for me to create my art under those conditions.
GC: I totally agree! ‘Forced art’ is a paradox, how can you get great work from a creative while under that kind of pressure?
OJIKAE: The music I was pressured to create was still good, but I didn’t enjoy the process. Everybody needs a bit of a push sometimes, or that reminder, but at the time I didn’t appreciate it. My favorite time making music was during year 12, instead of studying I would create. I’m trying to get back to that. It’s been a long ride and right now, I’m at a pretty solid place.
GC: You’ll get there, I’m sure of it. Speaking of getting back into that creative space, you’ve just released your EP, ‘3033’! Just so you know, I’ve been bumping ‘Different Places’ HEAVY, but the whole project is incredible. With that being out now, what’s next?
OJIKAE: My next EP is going to be completely live, and it’ll be sort of a ‘jam’ album, they’re all written and just need to be arranged. I’m also working on an EP focused on the female struggle, in general. I’m going to interview 5 powerful females from my life at the start of every song about their favorite parts of being a woman as well as the most disconcerting parts of being a woman. The goal is to discuss the female experience utilizing a male’s voice, because I feel it will click more to men so they can understand and listen a bit more intently. I want males to be conscious of the female experience and how they regard and impact women, both knowingly and unknowingly. I don’t want my little sister to grow up in a world where any mistreatment to women is accepted. I have a lot of feminine aspects to myself that I like to embrace as well.
I don’t want this project to be preachy, but more so informative. I want to feature some of my favorite female acquaintances in music as well. My live EP is what is next though, so that next step is just getting in the studio since the songs are written already.
GC: I love live projects, and I am looking forward to your female-centered project as well! I haven’t seen something like that in quite a while, if ever, so I can’t wait!
Thank you so much for giving me your time! I’ll be on the lookout, and I wish you the best in the future.
Check out OJIKAE:
