A Jem Forever in Holy Oker’s Debut Diamonds
Holy Oker.
His voice, honest words and the soothing yet upbeat sounds left me wanting more after listing to Holy Oker’s newest track, Diamonds. Also the title of his debut EP, Diamonds shouts emotion, storytelling, personality and honesty. As I delved further into each line of the track, I felt the heartbeat in each and every word written and sung. Due for release today, November 18, Diamonds is the sixth track on Holy Oker’s debut EP.
Holy Oker a.k.a. Greg Bevis, is the drummer from Vancouver based band, Bear Mountain. As his first solo project, Holy Oker and Diamonds is an exciting venture where Bevis has the chance to further express his talents and stories.
He says, “It feels good to be working on a solo project – though these things never feel like solo projects because there have been so many people involved who helped bring it to life.”
Diamonds EP, Holy Oker.
Diamonds, released via Boompa Records, is a great EP. Catchy and energetic, the album explores personal and universal emotions of heartache and love. The music is a combination of acoustic guitar, synth bass, drums beats and Bevis’s raw voice. A wonderful balance of strong beats and sweet flowing sounds.
“The Diamonds EP was a collaboration with two of my best friends Andrew Kesler and Andrew Mullin. We had free and open access to a vibey old school studio in Toronto called Canturbury – we went into the studio with some rough ideas for songs and spent late nights with all three of us playing guitar, drums and keyboards until we had something we believed in.”
Track six, Diamonds, explores young love. “Personally, releasing the song Diamonds is an act of catharsis. The song is about an old love who moved on and passed away and that song was my love letter to her. It’s a powerful story that I needed to tell,” Bevis says.
Holy Oker – Diamonds from Holy Oker on Vimeo.
Bevis says, “The Diamonds video explores a young woman who lives in one world but longs to be in another. She transitions to the new world and finds that it’s not what she thought it was going to be, and she’s lost the place she came from. She is left in the rubble of her crumbling and imagined future that was never meant to be – wondering what happened.”
And what a wonderful way to express such heavy and heartbreaking emotions.
“I am completely obsessed with dichotomy and contrast in music and art. Electronic sounds overtop orchestral arrangements, sunny melodies hiding dark lyrics, scary cartoons meant for little kids,” Bevis says.
Already working on EP number two, Bevis is exited for all that is to come.
Holy Oker’s Diamonds is released November 18 and can be ordered on iTunes, here.
