oberhofer what does it mean to me
[Photo by Coley Brown]

Oberhofer delivers shimmering psychedelic sounds in "What Does It Mean To Me?"

Oberhofer wants to remind you not to take life too seriously with his new single, “What Does It Mean To Me?,” out now.

Oberhofer, the musical project of frontman and founder Brad Oberhofer, has been making music for over a decade now. “What Does It Mean To Me?” is his latest song since he shared “Just When You Need Yourself Most” in February.

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What Does It Mean To Me?” employs shimmering keys and harmonies to craft mesmerizing dream pop. The stylistic instrumentals perfectly pair with the philosophical question repeated throughout the song: “What does it mean to me?”

To Oberhofer, that question suggests that nothing matters as much as you think it does.

“It’s a reminder that not much really matters,” he says. “If something feels like it matters too much, you just have to ask yourself, ‘What does it really mean to me?’ That form of questioning enabled me to set my spirit free.”

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Oberhofer wanted to stay true to that mentality and give people comfort during an unsettling time. So, every night for 115 days he went on Instagram Live to play piano and improvise music. His only goal? To make people feel less lonely during strange times.

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Self-releasing his first EP, o0O0o0Oo, in 2009 introduced Oberhofer to fans of chillwave and lo-fi indie-rock music. 

Oberhofer toured with various bands such as Sleigh Bells, Matt And Kim and Beach House and worked with Grammy-winning producer Steve Lillywhite on his 2012 album, Time Capsules II

“I’d written nearly 2,000 emails, and about eight blogs wrote about the songs,” Oberhofer said about the beginning stages of promoting his music in a 2019 interview with FLOOD Magazine. “‘Away Frm U’ began getting written about on Pitchfork, Stereogum and some other websites.” Then, he was offered a five-figure deal to use the single in a commercial, proving that his hard work paid off. 

This continued in 2016, with his song “Sea Of Dreams” from Chronovision getting featured in the Netflix television show BoJack Horseman

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Besides making music for himself, Oberhofer is also an accredited instrumentalist on songs by artists such as King Princess, Katy Perry, Moses Sumney, Amber Mark and more. “What Does It Mean To Me?,” however, shows that Oberhofer is at the top of his game when creating music for himself.

You can listen to “What Does It Mean To Me?” below, and let us know your thoughts in the comments.