From Sleep On It to Oslo: Catching Up with T.J. Horansky

From Sleep On It to Oslo: Catching Up with T.J. Horansky

Best known for his participation within the ranks of Sleep On It from 2013 until their untimely breakup during the pandemic in 2020, T.J. Horansky has remained active with his passion for music.  His new solo project is named Oslo, and T.J. recently released his debut single If You Were Here Then I’d Be Home.  In this interview with Highwire Daze, T.J. discusses the awakening of Oslo, some thoughts on the conclusion of Sleep On It, his other music endeavors, and a discussion about the almighty Star Wars universe.  Read on…

At what point did your solo project, Oslo, come about?
I’ve always had some songs that I’m kind of working on here and there for a few years. Kind of unsure of what I wanted to do with them. They just didn’t feel like Sleep On It songs. I showed them to the guys and they liked them, too. Specifically, If You Were Here Then I’d Be Home, is a song that I actually had written for a few years. We had talked about, like “is this a Sleep On It song, or is it not?” Then ultimately, just decided it’s not.  “It’s just kind of like your song” – them saying that to me.  Which was cool – and I kind of felt the same way – that song in particular.

I have a few other songs written that are just really personal and just such a different vibe than anything Sleep On It. I’d always had it in my mind I wanted to do this project, so just like over quarantine and back in the winter. I was staying with my parents for a week or two. I just brought some recording stuff with me and I recorded that.  I kind of wanted to have it be this super intimate, not Lo-Fi, but just a very sparse and personal vibe to the music. The idea had been there for a while, but it didn’t really come about until the past few months, solidifying a name and just going from there.

Where did the name, Oslo, come from?
One of my really good buds – my friend, John, he actually used to be in Sleep On It back in the day. He’s done his own music projects, and he’s an awesome songwriter. He’s one of my really good friends. He had shown me that as like a band idea years ago, and I always thought that was a really cool name.

When I was trying to think of a name for a solo project, I kept coming up with names that are like this is kind of cool, but for some reason, just didn’t fit the vibe. I kept coming back to Oslo and I don’t know why, but something about that just felt like it really matched the vibe, so I asked John. I didn’t just steal it from him. I was just like, “Hey, you never really use this band name. How would you feel if I just used it for this project that I’m doing?” He’s like, “Dude, I’d be honored. Go for it.” That was cool.

I also realized later that it’s an anagram for solo, which is fun, too. I was like, “Okay, that seems fitting.” Just kind of overall aesthetic that I was going for with announcing the project. At least the first song was very winter-inspired, very insulated, very black and white. For some reason, I just felt like that name reflected the overall vibe that I was going for.

Your first song is, If You Were Here Then I’d Be Home. Tell me a little about that song and what inspired the lyrics?
As I mentioned before, I actually had that song written for a few years. The first demo of that was from 2016, maybe. In essence and at its heart, it’s a love song, which is not something that I typically write, at least that directly. It has this sort of longing element to it.  It’s inspired by a previous relationship I was going through. But I think it was more so this feeling of finding somebody that just makes you… That person just feels like home. Somebody that you find comfort in and connection. That’s a pretty powerful feeling. Home is a metaphor that I know can be overdone. We’ve done it with Sleep On It songs, but it’s such a powerful feeling.

Are there any other Oslo songs on the way?
Yeah, there definitely is. I’ve got a home studio here in my apartment, and I have quite a few songs that I’m working on. I’m not exactly sure if I want to do an album or an EP or just release songs, as I go. It’s nice, though. There’s really no pressure with it. I think going forward with the first song, I just wanted to put something out. I wanted to be a bit more focused and have a bit more of a rollout for it. Things are definitely in the works.

Over quarantine, I got really into producing and mixing and the more technical side of things, so that’s been cool. I’ve been working with other artists and doing a lot of freelance mixing and producing and stuff like that, but being able to transfer the skills of… I’ve always been able to song write and do that side of it. Now I feel like I’m at a point where I can write the music, record it myself, have it actually sound pretty good, mix it and just take care of every step myself, which is a liberating thing. I have the freedom to do this without any pressure, without any rushing – and see the songs through from start to finish.  I’m hoping to put out something within the next few months, definitely by the end of the year.

Has Oslo done any live shows or do you plan to do any?
I haven’t played any shows. I haven’t even really gotten to that point, of even thinking if I want to play solo shows or not. It’s a weird thing for me because I’ve never been a lead singer in any band I’ve been a part of, but I’ve always been very involved in the songwriting and writing vocals and lyrics and stuff.

It is cool to be able to finally sing my own words and stuff, and that was never an issue before. Any project or band that I have been in, there’s always been a lot of communication with whoever is singing and a lot of trust and we would work on lyrics and vocals together. It’s cool to be able to sing my own words now, so I haven’t even really considered playing shows or anything yet because they’re still not really happening. Everybody just have to wait and see at the moment.

I want to finish the album or just finish up these songs, before I even start thinking about shows because a lot of the other songs that I have, they’re more filled out, like instrumentation-wise. There’s a lot of songs that are guitar, bass, piano, drums, more than just an acoustic guitar. If I’m going to play shows, it’s something to consider, like do I figure out how to play these all just myself on acoustic guitar or do I fill out some sort of band to do this project? I’m figuring that out, as I go.  I think I would like to, at least, play one show at some point. I think would be cool just to be able to play these songs for people.

Here’s a few Sleep On It questions. You can answer them, if you want. Sleep On It literally toured all the way until the pandemic lockdown. What was that experience like and were you actually on the road when the lockdown happened?
We were halfway through our first headline tour. Literally, like halfway. We were in Georgia and we had just played Atlanta. We had a day off and we’re going to play Columbus, Ohio, the day after that. It’s the morning after the Atlanta show when things really shut down. On the drive towards Ohio, we got the news that the governor of Ohio was shutting things down. Even still, we’re like, “Well, maybe we can.” We just didn’t know. Nobody had any idea of what this was, what it really meant. That was pretty tough. That was pretty soul-crushing.

There was a new EP scheduled to be released in September of last year. Do you think it will ever see the light of day?
Yeah, I think so. I think some of those stuff we did on our EP is something like the coolest stuff we’ve done – just different. Each song is like a different style with different instrumentation. Lost and Found is like a full-on orchestra.  We just had to shelve it, but I think it’ll definitely see the light of day when the time is right.

Do you still keep in touch with any of the members of Sleep On It at this point?
TJ: Yes, mm-hmm. We’ve had open communication, more so lately, which is nice. It’s good to just check-in and just be buds again.

Then the last Sleep On It question. How do you deal with a band you spent your time with since 2013, suddenly breaking up? What goes through your mind?
A lot. I won’t really get into it too much, but yeah, it’s been a roller coaster. I’ll say that. Lot of ups and downs, but that’s life. I don’t know.

Do you have any other bands or projects on the horizon at the moment?
I’m working with my friend, Eric, on a project that he’s doing. I’m producing, recording and mixing and mastering it. It’s cool. It’s heavier. It’s kind of like Underoath meets Counterparts-type stuff.  He wants to do a whole EP. We’re working on the 1st song right now and we’re recording vocals tomorrow. I’m really excited about that.

It’s cool to be a part of a music project that’s not my own thing. I can come into it from a bit more of an objective producer standpoint and be a part of that process, but sort of guiding his vision, sort of aiding in what he wants to do with the project. The song is really cool. He’s a really good screamer, so I’m excited to put vocals on it and do that.

In addition to that, I have my own music workshop, where I’ve just been working with a handful of artists, anything from singer-songwriter stuff to pop punk bands and indie stuff. I worked with a rapper. Anything that I can provide my skills and experience towards… I really enjoy doing that and I’m hoping to continue to work with more artists, writing, recording, mixing music.

Does the band with your friend, Eric… Do you have a name yet? Can you announce it?
Oh yeah, yeah. Well, it’s his project, so I’m not really in the band. It’s called Epilogues and he put out a song last year, so he has one song out now that is pretty awesome, but I think the new stuff is going to be next level, for sure.  You can listen to that first song on Spotify.

I want you to talk about Star Wars, just for a minute.
Always down to talk Star Wars.

Cool, cool, because I see you have a Star Wars shirt on. Who is your favorite Star Wars character and why?
That’s such a simple, but also really loaded question, because there’s a lot of obvious answers. It’s so hard to say my favorite, but right now at this moment that you’re asking me, I think one of the most interesting and complex characters is Ahsoka Tano. Everybody knows Ahsoka now because of The Mandalorian, but I love the Clone Wars series that they did. It’s Dave Filoni’s animated series.

Her story and character arc, I think, is one of the best of any character in the expanded universe. She’s this Jedi and she’s very pure in her intentions, but she starts to have issues with the Jedi Council and is eventually, wrongfully kicked out of the Jedi, and then asked to come back and doesn’t want to. She, like this internal struggle of trying to be what she’s supposed to be, but seeing the flaws and the faults in the Jedi.

We have this gap at the end of Clone Wars. She’s Anakin Skywalker’s Padawan is a whole thing. We see a whole different side of Anakin and their relationship is really interesting and really special. The end of Clone Wars… This is the big spoiler. Anakin Skywalker becomes Darth Vader. You see her reaction to that happening and it’s just so soul-crushing because you become so close to this character. Then there’s this gap. We see her again in The Mandalorian and she’s just this badass.

There’s actually books and stuff, too, that talks about her, like she is a Jedi, but she isn’t. She has these white lightsabers. It represents this neutrality of not committing herself to a certain order or whatever, but committing herself to the greater ideology of what the Jedi represents. Now we jump into her in The Mandalorian. She’s looking for Captain Thrawn, which is really exciting.

That’s a really long-winded answer to your question. I’m sorry. but you ask me Star Wars stuff and I’m probably going to go off on a tangent like that. The short answer is yes. Ahsoka is one of my favorite characters.

Last question. Do you have any messages for Sleep On It fans who were just discovering Oslo or who have not yet discovered Oslo?
I only have one song out. My friend, Molly Coleman, sang on it. She’s a Chicago singer-songwriter. She’s really awesome, so I recommend checking her out, too. She has her own music on Spotify and all that.

Yeah, I hope you enjoy the song. It’s definitely like a different vibe, but I have a lot more songs in the works, so just stay tuned.  And enjoy the one song that I have out.

(Interview by Ken Morton)

Oslo on Facebook