Start Listening To: Ollie Cook

The Birmingham-based songwriter on DIY recording mishaps, the rise of “Brumicana Dad Rock,” and finding joy in imperfection.

Ollie Cook, frontman of The Hogwash, is carving out his own lane somewhere between alt-country warmth and scrappy Midlands grit. With his new single Home Video, released via Hand In Hive, Cook captures a feeling of fleeting nostalgia and present-tense reflection, reminding listeners not to get too lost in the past. Speaking from years spent bouncing between Birmingham, Bristol and Wolverhampton, he discusses the band’s self-made approach, their growing place in the UK’s alt-country scene, and why collaboration has become central to their sound.

For those unfamiliar with your music, can you tell us who you are, where you’re from and about the music you make?

My name is Ollie Cook and I play with my band, and best friends, The Hogwash. We’re all from Birmingham and it’s surrounding areas in the West Midlands, and we like to make music that’s a little Americana-ish, a little bit garage. For fans of: Dad’s in New Balance.

How did your experiences at university influence the creation of 'Home Video' and the sound you’re pursuing as an artist?

When I first started out in College, I was making music entirely by myself, playing in different bands and being quite isolated in my own songwriting. Then when I met the band, moving from College into University, we slowly started to open up and work on these songs together, with ‘Home Video’ being one of the first tracks I took to the guys, that we re-worked from a demo I had made on my own.

Can you describe the process of recording 'Home Video' in self-made studios and how it shaped the final outcome of the track?

Recording the song took a while. I knew that I wanted to record this one ourselves, so early this year we booked out free recording time in our university in Birmingham. Jamie, our drummer came into the session and smashed his takes out in a room that sounded terrible and was the size of the back of a sprinter van. During that session, we all finished up and when my co-producer and guitarist Elliot was saving the takes, I turned off a switch thinking it was the lights. It wasn’t, I’d turned off the pre-amps and power to the computer. We lost everything.

Though, it was a blessing in disguise as I had just moved to Bristol and had access to bigger and better studios. So I then gathered up Elliot and my mate Ruben to engineer Jamie’s takes in Bristol. You can see some of this in the music video. After that, we tracked everything else at my childhood home in Wolverhampton. Doing it all DIY, I really learnt a lot about making music and producing, and not being too perfectionist over what we’re doing as a band.

What themes or messages do you hope listeners take away from 'Home Video', especially with its focus on memories and absence?

The song in its entirety is about living in this very moment. We can look back on things later, so please don’t get stuck in one particular time, there is so much more you can get up to.

Can you share any stories or moments from your recent live performances that particularly resonated with you?

Very recently, we’ve just gotten back from a tour with Deep Sea Diver in Europe. Those shows in general really resonated with me. The crowds are amazing and we noticed they always wish for your success at the merch table, which is cool. In Cologne, we had met this couple after the show who asked us where we’re from, we explained how we’re from the West Midlands/Birmingham expecting maybe, a blank stare. It turns out that one of their parents was born in Hong-Kong, and then moved to Solihull, where our drummer Jamie is from. Birmingham is everywhere.

How do you feel your music fits into the broader alt-country and indie scenes, and what influences have shaped this direction?

I mean, we all really love the Alt-Country scene coming out of Asheville and Burlington over in the states. I don’t think we’re entirely reminiscent of that, but whenever any of those bands come over to the West Midlands/UK we almost always end up opening for them in Birmingham, which we love of course. Brown Horse are a band that we’ve opened up for a couple times; with them being from the UK too, it’s cool to see them doing well in their own genre and is really inspiring. All of this comes from my Dad though, who used to play Wilco and Lucinda Williams in the house when I was a kid, and also played in his own bands.

What do you consider to be your biggest personal growth since starting your musical journey, both as a songwriter and performer?

Collaboration never used to be on the cards when I first started writing music, it was and still is a very personal thing to me. But I’ve opened up to other people’s ideas and I think that’s what really tightened the bond in the bands songwriting. It makes us more confident in the rehearsal room and on stage.

How does the concept of 'Brumicana Dad Rock' reflect your identity as an artist and the music you create?

‘Brumicana Dad Rock’ was a joke at first but it very clearly rings true with the shows that we’re playing and who’s coming to them, who’s digging the music. We wanted a word that captured the rising scene in Birmingham for artists that lean into our type of influences. I feel this city really gets overlooked when it comes to the current scene of musicians that are playing around currently.

What are your plans for future releases or projects, and how do you see your sound evolving in the coming years?

We’ve got tons of new songs, we’ve been playing them in our live sets. It’ll be nice to have an album recorded for next year. Honestly, I don’t think me or the band know where the sound will go after future projects, I guess we’re just taking everything on the nose right now.

What’s it like working with the label Hand In Hive?

I met Hand In Hive at a Wetherspoons before an MJ Lenderman gig around about a year ago. We were introduced by a friend and after that kept in touch, with them then booking us for their Great Escape showcase this year. Hand In Hive are really doing this for the cause and because they’re into what we make and that’s all that we can ask for.

What do you love right now?

Pretending to be a DJ in the tour van, Elvis Costello, eggs on toast, Fallout: New Vegas.

What do you hate right now?

Fast food, Birmingham road works, my dissertation, the constant headache I’ve had for the past week.

Name an album you’re still listening to from when you were younger and why it’s still important to you?

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot by Wilco was one of those albums that I started to get into when I was around 13 to 14 and figuring out what music I liked and didn’t. There are so many memories that come with that album from when I was growing up, and it was so much fun making my friends listen to it for the first time, and how much they loved it too.

When someone hears your music for the first time, what do you hope sticks with them?

I hope they can find the fun in the new music we make, we hope it resonates. It’s such a great feeling looking into the crowd and seeing people really enjoy themselves. We like to have fun on stage and we hope it can be infectious.