This was the subject line of an email I received a few months ago.  Why this stood out to me amongst many unread emails is beyond me.  But it was the first I opened.  Whilst on holidays in New York, I listened to each song on Oscar Lush’s EP, twice.

Oscar Lush is more than a musician.  He is a poet, an artist, a wordsmith, a perfectionist, an old soul and what may surprise you most, he’s still a teenager.

At just 18 years old the Sydney based musician only began writing two years ago.  When asked what influenced him to start writing, Oscar responded, “Because I felt I had something to say and it couldn’t be bottled inside me.  I thought that would only end up hurting me.”

I, for one, am quite thankful Oscar didn’t bottle his words.  With deep and complex lyrics, Oscar writes tales of a young man who is wise beyond his years, dragging you into his story and asking you to believe every honest word.  The Bob Dylan influenced singer/songwriter has an early memory of stumbling across his parent’s copy of ‘The Best of Bob Dylan‘ CD lying around the house.  He later discovered the a love for the works of poet Allen Ginsberg, John Wieners and Charles Bukowski.  This was what lead Oscar to write poetry himself, eventually turning his poems into lyrics.

Growing up in a musical household Oscar has his sister to thank for being the musician and the man he is today, “She’s the reason I listen to all I listen to.”  His parents also supported his path to music by teaching him to do whatever made him happy, “I think that’s one of the saddest things about modern day society.  People not having the courage or self-belief to follow the things they love.”  Oscar has done just the right amount of soul searching, and is ready to be discovered in 2013.  We’re extremely privileged to be involved.

Oscar mentioned a list of his musical influences, highlighting Bob Dylan, Ryan Adams, Conor Oberst, Tom Waits, Neil Young, Laura Marling, The Tallest Man On Earth, Joni Mitchell and Jeff Buckley.  A highlight of his journey so far was going to see Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes in Sydney at the Enmore.  Oscar met Conor and gave him a copy of his CD.  In a break between songs, Conor Oberst called out Oscar’s name and pointed him out in the crowd saying, “Everyone should listen to his music.  I really liked his song The Weatherman.”  And then broke into the next song.  This was the first validation Oscar received from one of his major influences.

Oscar’s album “The World Is Round, So I’ll Go Round” (a Tom Waits reference to his song A Little Rain) is due to be released in March this year.  His philosophical lyrics are centred around love and an intrigue about the unavoidable concept of death, he focuses on the purpose of life and meaning, “I think the meaning of life is to accept that there is no meaning.  It’s only what you make it.”

We think he’s going to make it.

You can see Oscar Lush perform on 13 February 2013 at FBi Folk Informal in Sydney. 

Words by Charlotte Abroms.