Producer Spekulation Brings His Studio to Life in Video for “Oh Grow Up” (premiere)

Later this year Seattle based producer Spekulation (Matt Watson) releases the sequel to his triumphant The Crossover Event album. Conceived as a soundtrack to an unmade movie, the second act in the series extends the narrative arc from the first album, revisiting previously explored themes while adding new characters and story threads. The first release from the record is the vibrant and grooving, “Oh Grow Up” single, accompanied by a joyous new video.

“Oh Grow Up” has all the joyful bounce and animated sparkle of the best summer tune with the Watson splicing each element with the precision of a top surgeon. Scaffolded around a bassline that oozes and melts like liquid sunshine, popping drums and trumpets that circle and glide, Spekulation layers in sliced and diced funk and soul samples on a tune that could raise a smile from a medieval, stone statue. For Watson, the bright and breezy tune was just as much fun to make as it is to listen to.

“Producing this song gave me the same kind of thrill that I used to get when I first started producing and flipping samples,” Spekulation enthuses. “It had me dancing around the studio remembering what it was like to create something that surprised myself, that felt new. So the intention of the project became about capturing that nostalgia and celebrating that naive kind of creative joy.

The playfulness and ever-present sense of fun is matched by the brilliant video which sees the various toys and action figures from his studio, come to life – as if the music itself has sparked them into existence. It’s a simple yet ingenious concept, executed with flair and comedic timing. Surprising then, to learn that this was Watson’s first attempt at animation, as he explains.

“My daughter has been obsessed with Toy Story, and that inspired me to learn how to animate the toys I had laying around, which she thought was magical and was really just a good excuse to play with toys for a couple of months and work in a medium I’d never practiced before. The whole project was just spontaneous and revitalizing, and a good reminder of how fun this job can be.”