Ohsergio

Singer, songwriter, and music producer Sonia Schmidt is a walking dichotomy and that’s no insult. The contradictions in her music are the push and pull that culminate in greatness. Painfully honest while remaining defiantly convicted to her own vision and methodology, this European talent has crafted her own signature style while simultaneously contributing to that of other artists with a drastically different sound (as on Otm Shank’s electronic hit “Ravish”). While many artists and musicians flex their virtuosic muscles, Schmidt’s bare sincerity floats above this, winning her legions of fans. She divulges, “My music is simple and complicated at the same time. It is a musical embodiment of my self-reflections. Whenever I have an ‘aha’ moment about life, I write a song about it. Making music is a therapeutic experience for me. It’s an outlet and an experiment. I have clear ideas of concepts I want my music to move toward but it rarely ends up being what I thought it would be. I’ve learned to listen to my music and not try to dictate it. It’s very hard but I think it’s the most organic and genuine way to make music.”

Her debut release Ohsergio has been dubbed with the stylistic reference as glitchfolk. While she worked with producer/electronic music artist Otm Shank on the single “Hunter”, all the other tracks on Ohsergio were written and produced exclusively by Schmidt. Self-described as a bit of a control freak, she’s adamant that her music embrace imperfection and the “happy accidents” that she values. Sonia communicates, “The minimalistic aspect of Ohsergio is subconsciously intentional. I think it translates my shyness as a musician. Humorously, I think I’m what people call an extroverted introvert. People rarely believe me when I tell them how insecure I am as a musician and as a person. Ohsergio is simply who I am. There is no difference between my experience as a human being and what I put in my music; they’re one and the same. I value silence in music. I think that creating the space in music for people to make it their own is indispensable. I hope people can relate to my music because they essentially experience life as a person with everything that it entails, just as I do.”

While the aforementioned track “Hunter” contains a soundscape courtesy of Otm Shank, it’s the lush and layered vocals which are the emotional bait for listeners. It’s appropriate that the song’s message focuses on loneliness as the singer’s process for recording vocal takes was with her serving as artist, engineer, and producer alone in Bedrock Studios. Recording each individual track by herself and then returning to the control room to reset for the next track allowed Sonia to place herself in the optimal emotional space to communicate the song’s message. On the song “FIDITL”, Schmidt made the decision to leave the sound of her footsteps (as she walked back to the control room) on the track. “FIDITL” or “Fear Is Dancing In The Light” features Schmidt on all vocals and instruments including Xylophone. As with much of her music, she describes writing and performing this song as therapy for her. “Dream” contains one of Sonia’s calling cards, her own designed and implemented samples. In this case, it’s a tea bag. The artist reveals, “Towards the end of the song there is the sound of a tea bag tag hitting a cup. My tea cup happened to be right under the air conditioning and the tag was repeatedly hitting the glass, producing a very soothing sound. I recorded this and used it. I really enjoy paying attention to the sounds that occur in life and making these a part of my songs.” “Dream” was included in director Adria Baratta’s film Girl.

Sonia was excited to work with acclaimed engineer and producer Adam Moseley, known for his work with Tina Turner and U2, on her debut release Ohsergio. Adam’s forty years of experience with a range of artists spanning Chaka Khan to The Cure and Nikka Costa confirms that he’s interested in artists who have a unique and identifiable musical personality. Concerning his work with Schmidt, Moseley proclaims, “She has a natural and rare understanding of music. Her outstanding talents not only as a musician, but also as a producer, songwriter, and as a performer, are qualities that I recognized immediately.” Currently working on a new release titled “Eliah”, Schmidt continues to prove that she’s in the midst of a streak of creativity that has established her as a complex artist who simultaneously rediscovers and redefines who she is. - Medium.com

Artist: Ohsergio

Song: FIDITL

Based: LA, United States

Stands out: Experimental Sounds

If you like: Laura Marling, Bjork

Comparing her music to music to the Japanese art of Kinstsugi in which breaks and flaws in pottery are repaired with fine gold, Swiss born songwriter Ohsergio sees the imperfections in her vocal and instrumental performance not as something to hide but instead to be celebrated.

Playing with loops and sampling experimental soundscapes, FIDLT is at the forefront of the emerging Glitchfolk genre.

Keep your ears peeled for more releases this February. - Audiotox

Ohsergio is the Los Angeles-based musician and singer-songwriter Sonia Schmidt’s musical project. “Hunter” is her first track from her forthcoming debut EP due this fall. The track shows her delicate and hypnotic vocals and an exploration of the classic folk sound. Listen below. - Son Of Marketing

Ohsergio is the Los Angeles-based musician and singer-songwriter Sonia Schmidt’s musical project. Two years ago we introduced her with “Hunter”. Now she’s back with a new track titled “FIDITL (Fear is Dancing in the Light)” that shows the grace of her vocals and the refined minimal sound textures. Listen below. - Son Of Marketing

Location: Los Angeles

FFO: Lauran Hibberd, Wild Front

Label: Unsigned

Swiss singer-songwriter Ohsergio released her first single ‘Hunter’ back in 2016, but has finally returned with new material which will please her growing following. As a self-taught singer and guitar player, Ohsergio embraces her imperfections and adopts them as part of her pioneering sound. She describes her style as ‘Glitchfolk’ as she attempts to blur the genre of folk with blues, experimental sounds and vocal layering, illustrated by her new single. Inspired by everyday interactions, ‘FIDITL’ features typical folk guitar playing coupled with cut up samples of her vocals, harmonies and synths. If you take a typical folk song, stick it in a blender, add a dash of blues and a dollop of synths, you get Ohsergio. Nice! - Born Music

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sonia Schmidt.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
As far as I can remember, music has always been the backbone of who I am. Growing up in Switzerland, I would spend hours listening to my parent’s vinyl laying on the floor, singing along as best as I could. I didn’t understand or speak English at the time, which I believe helped me create a bond with music as a language itself. I played the violin until I decided that I just didn’t enjoy the sound of it at age 12 when I switched to the piano.

I have always been an intuitive learner and didn’t do very well in a structured environment. I hated learning how to read sheet music but knew the basics, so I would learn everything by heart and focus on playing rather than understanding the technicalities. This approach led me to gradually think that I wasn’t good at music and that I was too lazy to actually master any instruments. Yet, I couldn’t keep away from music.

That’s when I started taking vocal lessons at a jazz music school. The voice being a part of me, the technicalities became a way to learn how to use my own body, which didn’t feel technical at all. It felt like I was relearning how to breathe. Music was never a career option in my family, so I studied law and went on to work in a courthouse after College. I thought that if music had been my path, I would have already proven myself in that field by then.

That was until I had to take a good look at where my life was headed, and accept how unhappy I was working in a field that just wasn’t my passion. I knew I had to take a big leap of faith and change the course of my professional trajectory. I moved to Los Angeles in September of 2012, not knowing exactly what I was pursuing, but it had to be related to music.

I bought a guitar, wanting to experiment sound with an instrument that seemed more intuitive to me. I taught myself to play covers for the first couple of years. I just wanted to experience songs I loved on a deeper level than only by listening to them. Appropriating certain pieces was so much more interesting to me. That’s how I slowly but surely began composing little riffs that eventually developed into songs.

Since 2014, I have been actively developing my guitar and songwriting skills, learning how to record and produce music, and released a few singles under the moniker Ohsergio.

Has it been a smooth road?
With thousands of people moving to Los Angeles to pursue a career in the arts, it is sometimes overwhelming and difficult not to compare myself to others, which ultimately leads to me feeling like my music is just not good enough, and that I am just not good enough. The real struggle has been and will always be within myself.

Music is challenging me to overcome my insecurities like nothing else. I have to work so much harder than I would ever have had to would I have stayed in the legal field. But that feels so far now, and there is no coming back. I opened the pandora box of creative possibilities, and I can’t even imagine living a different lifestyle.

It is very humbling, which I think is such an important experience as a person. I work seven days a week, rarely take some time off, and have to redetermine every day to overcome my fears and lack of self-esteem. Yet, this is what makes me the happiest.

Ultimately, I think that pursuing music makes me a better person. To make great music, I have to become the best version of myself.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Ohsergio – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
I started performing under the name Ohsergio in 2015. At the time, I was taking a songwriting class that challenged me to venture out of my comfort zone. There was nothing comfortable about writing music for me, but it was a great challenge, and that’s how I wrote my first single “Hunter.”

Before moving to LA, I was spending a lot of time traveling in Europe, particularly to Berlin. I love that city. I also love its nightlife and minimal techno scene. Being immersed in sound like I was in Berlin was really the trigger for me to move to Los Angeles and make music my prime focus.

My love of minimal sounds followed me here, and I developed my folk-sounding music into something I call “glitch-folk.” It is minimal folk with a dash of experimental sounds and layered vocals. I think that what I do is very unique in the sense that it exploits the fact that I don’t have a musical education.

I continue my exploration of sound, only now I share it with the world. My hope is that the self-discovery of it will resonate with other people trying to find their voice, be it in music or something else.

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I love the diversity of LA, I have learned more about human beings in Los Angeles than I ever did traveling around the world. On the other hand, what I like the least about Los Angeles is how huge the disparities are between people.

Some people lose their sense of identity and of what actually matters because they have too much material and so little humanistic nourishment. On the other end of the spectrum, other people don’t have time to ask themselves existential questions because they have to think of how they are going to feed their kids.

LA has so much to offer, but it also is a rough environment. That what makes the beauty of it. I find it fascinating, and I never get tired of learning more from it. - Voyage LA