Hive Life Interviews TVP
The Hive Singapore talks to Olivia Coléon about music curation for their online magazine, Hive Life
Yvonn Ong from The Hive Singapore interviewed The Vibe Project Founder and Chief Curator, Olivia Coléon, about her new music venture in Singapore for The Hive Life, the co-working space and work lifestyle brand's online magazine. They talk about the How's and Why's of the Vibe Project and the process of creating a playlist for a restaurant, event or space.
Take a look at Olivia's interview here or check out their conversation below! The Vibe Project also created a Midday Uplift for all Hivers, designed to rid that 4pm work slump. Get energized and positive with the fun mix below.
Can you share more about yourself and what you were doing before starting your own business?
The Vibe Project is a music and atmosphere curation agency for social spaces and brands. Before starting The Vibe Project, I was working in the music industry in New York. I’m a native New Yorker and I absolutely love the vibrancy of the city, especially the music and creative scenes. I have been lucky enough to work with some badass companies, brands and artists in the music world.
Most recently, I was at Boiler Room TV working on their partnership with Ray-Ban. Boiler Room is truly pushing the boundaries of music culture and it was an awesome movement to be a part of.
My favourite “corporate” job was with The Fader and I led their music account with PUMA. I had the opportunity to build their music program from the ground-up, sign endorsement deals with some amazing artists (like Solange, Vic Mensa and Diplo) and take things into my own hands. But right now, I couldn’t be happier being on my own!
The Vibe Project is a pretty new concept, especially in Singapore! What inspired you to start it?
Working with such cool and innovative brands and companies has been an incredible experience – You’re part of creating these moments in time that are just explosive.
I’m talking about huge festivals, once-in-a-lifetime intimate events, the launch of a campaign or album that has taken months, or even years to plan. Being in the scene shows me the power of music and the connection people have with it. So instead of creating these experiences that happen every so often, I wanted to focus on experiences that happen every day and use this power of music to enhance everyday life and experience.
The Vibe Project, like me, like music, is a global citizen. We want to bring good vibes to all corners of the world! The music industry in Singapore is going through a pivotal time right now and it’s really exciting to be part of the shift that’s happening. And it’s not just the music industry – it’s really all creative industries. Singapore businesses are realizing the need for creative expression in everyday life and businesses. They are more open to bringing on new concepts and taking creative risks.
A Midday Uplift Playlist for Hivers and hustlers alike
Music is intangible and easily accessible – How do you differentiate your music with the rest?
You’re right – music is everywhere – and now more than any other time in history. There is so much music because artists have endless avenues to put out their work and they no longer need huge, coveted record deals to be able to create.
What I do is sort through all of that music and find the music my client’s wish they always had – the music that represents the best version of their brand and their environment. Most importantly, I use music as a tool for my clients to hit their goals; whether that’s maintaining a loyal customer base, making more money at the bar, keeping their staff happy or creating an atmosphere that their clients love.
Can you walk us through the process of conceptualising the music for an event or location?
That’s a great question and one of the toughest to describe. For a space, it helps to spend some time in the environment – even if it hasn’t opened yet. Getting to understand brand language and messaging, marketing angles, target audience, where they want the actual music to play, the different times of day and transformations the space goes through in a day – That’s all hugely important to what I do.
Once I gather all of this information, I get a sense of the natural rhythm of a space and environment. Music is emotional so I put myself in the environment and experience it.
The same process goes for an event. I would start digging through my music, which is all organised by genres and emotions before creating the playlists. Each playlist is objective – I’m not putting together “Olivia’s dinner hits” for a restaurant’s dinner service, but I am the filter of whether a track is good or not for a specific atmosphere. It takes time and it is a great creative challenge for me every time. I am always finding new amazing music which is the best!