OUTER STELLA OVERDRIVE

AN INTRODUCTION TO

Outer Stella Overdrive are a London based band who formed three years ago consisting of Rafferty Law, Rudy Albarn, Kelvin Bueno and Amin El Makkawi. They initially met when Raff was introduced to Kelvin by his sister. Raff ‘s childhood friend Rudy then joined the band as drummer and he brought with him keyboardist and producer Amin into the mix.

Far from being a band born purely out of nepotism (Raff being the son of Jude Law and Sadie Frost and Rudy being the nephew of Damon Albarn) Outer Stellar Overdrive are a band becoming renowned for their high octane performances reminiscent of early Libertines brilliance coupled with a perhaps a more predictable britpop base, but who are fighting to be heard in their own right.

It’s clear that the band has been forged through the lads own hard work;

‘We have built this from the ground up. We haven’t got a label or a team, we do everything ourselves,’ says Rudy.

And Raff adds ‘It’s like a four-way marriage – we are all equal, and we all find a tenner to pay to put together for the studio or find a friend with an amp we can borrow.’

While OSO are a serious and professional band with huge potential, they like to mix things up a bit and have fun with their music and their lyrics making sure to inject happiness into the everyday mundane through the power of song.

While there’s an undeniable element of fun surrounding the band, OSO aren’t afraid to use their platform to speak out over socials issues such as mental health awareness and online bullying. Raff has said:

‘I get a lot of abuse because of my family and people commenting on my appearance… Luckily I am pretty thick-skinned and can take it, but I have seen people around me get eaten up by trolls on social media’

The band say that taking care of each other is key to what they describe as their ‘ultimate aim’ they are conscious of the fact that they all come from different backgrounds, yet making music together has been unifying for them.

The band released their debut EP “Clout & Self Doubt” earlier on in the year to a warm and welcoming response from critics and fans alike with them being added to the Spotify Punk Playlist, appearing on Soccer AM, playing a virtual gig with TotallyWired, makig the front cover of Foxes, and being featured in Tatler.

Outer Stella Overdrive have spent their forced time in lockdown wisely to hone their song writing and practise their art and we are told that they are now nearly ready to bring us their next round of new music. After Listening to the Debut EP and the featured tracks, Camel Blue, Bad Times, Three Piece, Stock Exchange, Danger Mouse, Cowboy Bebop and Stare at The Screen, we here at The Songbird HQ are beyond excited to see what these boys have got coming up next.

As is not unusual with young bands, OSO’s first EP, we feel its not unjust to say, has a feeling of experimentation to it; a feeling of a taster of things to come and if the new music has that more polished and honed sound to it, we think this is a band that could seriously take off in a big way.

Raff and Kelvin are the main songwriters for the band and they spent a lot of time during lockdown creating new tunes for their upcoming album which is due for imminent release. On being asked about their musical style OSO have said that they are ‘combining 80s punk with contemporary themes’

Listen to Camel Blue from the Clout and Self Doubt EP here now.

Outer Stella Overdrive have a couple of gigs planned already including an already Sold Out show at the iconic Water Rats in London on the 16th June, at the O2 Academy in Islington on the 9th September and at Muthers Studio in Birmingham on the 17th September. Be sure to keep an eye on their socials for further announcements and updates.