INTERVIEW: Saudi Oil
Saudi Oil frontman, Christopher Al-Jumah, who asked us to write that he was born in 2004, snuck a clause into his architectural contract with Partisan Records that resulted in them accidentally agreeing to listen to his band’s demo which, at that point in time, didn’t exist yet. The result of that joke gone too far is a band that lives up to the absurdity of their formation and actually makes interesting music as a nice bonus. We were able to sit down with Christopher and hear all about the band’s unique comedy, their recently announced upcoming debut album, and his memorable appearance on the popular TikTok series, Subway Takes.
What was it like making a music video centered on the common struggle of trying to unravel tangled headphones in a world where the majority of people use wireless headphones?
Do you think that’s true, though? I feel like wired headphones are kind of in vogue, don’t you think? A little? Am I outdated? You threw me into an existential crisis. I still use wired headphones, but I also have AirPods and I have wireless over ear headphones, but I feel like— yeah, that is a good question. I think my official stance is that wired headphones will never go out of style, but I respect the skepticism that you’ve met that with.
You’ve previously described your music as “radio-friendly & ripe for mass consumption,” what can the masses expect from your upcoming album?
More radio-friendly hit songs.
What was it like working on your first album compared to your past singles? Especially now that you have a label backing (Iris Falls Records).
We did three singles before getting a label and I think it’s a bit of a blessing that it’s been more or less the same. The main difference is just having that team in our corner checking in and seeing how things are going, but the process has been really similar. I think the thing that’s cool about being with a label is that they give you a bit of legitimacy. I feel like I’ve always been wheeling and dealing to try to make cool events happen and punching up in terms of who we’re playing with and what we’re doing and having a label backing now makes doing those things a lot easier which is really cool.
You’ve done several successful live shows in fairly intimate venues. Do you have ambitions to expand to larger music halls or even arenas?
I would love to open for like Ed Sheeran. If we’d ever get there, I think that’d be huge. It’s funny, I never think about the size of the crowd. I think more about “what is the space?” Going into this project, I was so averse to playing venues and I have nothing against venues, but the process of going to the venue, getting a ticket, you’re at the bar waiting for the band to play, and they play, and then you’re waiting for the next band to play. There’s something fun about that too, but I was more interested in crafting more of an experience. Without sounding like some kind of lame ad exec or something, I just like the idea of doing DIY shows. We didn’t play a venue for almost a year; we were just doing a bunch of DIY rooftop shows where we could have our friends come out and DJ. So you’re kind of partying, hanging out, and then the band plays; everyone is doing their own thing just making things a bit more fluid and a bit more fun because I think people really need a release more than anything.
What was it like making that transition from architect to frontman and how did that come about?
People never believe me when I tell them I snuck it into my contract. It was for Partisan Records, famously, Geese’s label. They were going to open a venue that I designed and I included in my contract that they had to listen to my EP and they thought it was so funny. I was like “Oh, I’ll get signed,” but I didn’t. Not by them. They listened to the demo and let us play the opening party that actually ended up being the closing party for the venue.
You were recently on an episode of Subway Takes. What was that experience like? Do you think you were a better guest than famous actor Matt Damon, Stokes frontman Julian Casablancas, and the rizzler?
Subway Takes was an interesting experience because I kind of went into it just joking with a friend and I think a lot of people took it really seriously. Which is fine. I wasn’t freaking out about it. We’re still not a big band by any means and I’ve never done anything quite in public like that before, so it was my first experience seeing what it feels like to do something so publicly. I had like 5 or 6 different subway takes and that was the one my friend said was the most okay, so you can imagine what else I said. It was a fun experience and I kinda wish I could redo it. I think if I had another shot, I could really nail that bad boy and get an even worse take in there. Julian Casablancas really went in on Israel, which I think was cool. I think I stack up as definitely one of the guests of all time.
You guys have what I can only describe as a polarizing sense of humor, where you’re either in on the joke or you’re not. Do you guys think that polarizing humor is a reflection of who you are as a band and the kind of music you make where you make what you like and people are free to take it or leave it?
The music, to me, is really serious. I think there’s an inherent humor or like a bit of dry sarcasm to the bit, but I think the humor that’s in it still has an artistic integrity. I think part of the reason I got back into music was because I felt that with architecture, there are so many variables involved, making it easy to feel handcuffed when you’re working on a project. My return to music was rooted in craving that artistry. I don’t think I ever put any music out as a joke or fuck around while making it. Even when we’re working with people on music videos, they sometimes have this gut instinct to make a skit or something like that and I have to push back and be like “I’m down to do absurdity, but it has to be rooted in something serious.” I think Jeff who directed “Hair in My Shower Drain” was really awesome about that and Kevin who directed “Wires” really nailed it too. I enjoy finding these surreal situations, but I still want what we’re putting out to have artistic integrity. I will say, I don’t think there’s much of a strategy around the music we put out or the order we’re putting it out in. I think maybe that’s where that same mindset of humor comes back in. For example, if you listen to our past singles, there’s maybe a throughline, but to me, they’re just so different in terms of genre. That’s maybe where we’re not taking it too serious, but the music is something we take very seriously.
Who are some of your musical influences?
You know what’s funny? And this isn’t exclusive to music, but I don’t really draw influence. I’m sure subconsciously I do, but I don’t actively think of influences from the art form I’m working on. It’s the same with architecture. If I’m trying to design something, I purposefully avoid looking at other designs because it gets too easy to get swept up in the right or wrong way to do it. If anything, if I’m trying to work on a song, I might think about a book I read or a poster I saw and try to draw inspiration from that. That being said, I think Zamrock was really inspirational. For “Cracked Window,” going into it, I wanted to make a really pretty pop song and then dirty it up. I was looking to really artistic pop like Kate Bush or Bjork. I don’t think you can see it in the final product, but it was a big influence.
If you had to play one song to introduce people to your music, what would it be?
I would say it’s probably an unreleased song. It’s actually the next song coming out called “Okay Okay.” That song would be a really good introduction to us. It has a mix of me and the other guitarist, Ray singing on it together. It’s really dark and heavy and chunky, but it’s recorded clean and I think it really encapsulates the way we love to blend a few unexpected genres together. It’s a bit of a punky song, but it also has strings and bongos in it. That’s the song I’m most excited for people to check out.
LISTEN TO “WIRES” OUT NOW
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