David Kirshenbaum and Michael Lipp had aspirations of being musicians as they could remember. Having been the best of friends since their days running around the halls in high school, the duo in the younger days at one point were marching towards that vision. Unfortunately, the pair went on to different colleges after high school, which ultimately halted any progress of their collaborations. Kirshenbaum went on to work at KPMG as a business consultant while Lipp went into teaching after a short-lived run of being a strip club DJ ended.
As we all should know by now, the world is much smaller than we give it credit. For the two friends, a chance encounter with each other sparked that fire of making music together once more. Quitting their jobs, Kirshenbaum and Lipp began wasting little time going back to work and thus creating OYLS.
Throughout the duo’s self-titled debut EP, one could wonder if the separation was the best thing that could have happened. Experiencing the life lessons and moments in time, the lyrical content in songs like “Maps” and “In The Light” are prime examples of what they have discovered. Nothing is going to be easy, but the result is going to be something amazing. Surrounded by the influence of Los Angeles (where the duo resides), the instrumentals are vintage Cali with heavy usage of synth and brass. The five-song EP overall has a rawness, yet unique flair that is associated with itself; you will be catching yourself dancing the groove and happily nodding your head to the beats.
Having done everything to make the EP become a reality (recording, producing the album themselves), this is only the beginning of something great for OYLS. Time will tell where these two longtime friends will go with their music. Let’s hope that they don’t separate anytime soon.