O.P.H., the collaborative project of producer Jamie King and award-winning actor-songwriter Joplin Sibtain, are forging a distinctive sound where live musicianship meets underground dance culture.
With their fourth release on Buckled Records, O.P.H. present You’re Everything, a collaboration with vocalist Krysten Cummings that captures both emotional gravity and dance-floor momentum. Written out of personal experience, the song reflects on devotion and unrequited love, with Cummings’ striking vocal performance carrying its message.
The production, rooted in live keys and bass alongside programmed drums from Greg “The Wizard” Flemming, finds space between groove and restraint – “less is more”, as O.P.H. put it. Remixes from Grace Sands and Ben Gomori expand the track’s reach, placing it firmly within contemporary house culture while retaining its emotional core. For O.P.H., You’re Everything also represents a milestone: the completion of Buckled’s opening run of releases and a foundation for what comes next.
We sat down with Jamie King to discuss the inspiration behind the song, the collaborative process with Cummings and the remixers, and how O.P.H. channels their roots in live performance and underground dance into every release.
What inspired the creation of “You’re Everything”? Was there a particular moment or feeling that sparked the track?
It was a classic breakup that Joplin (O.P.H.) went through… we’ve all been there.
The track balances groove with emotional weight. How do you approach that blend in your production?
The groove comes from getting the foundations right. The keys and bass are played live in the studio which provides that musical element. Joplin (songwriter) comes from a jazz background and a deep understanding of music arrangement, so the groove seems to come naturally. Once we had the baseline and keys/synths it was just a matter of placing a driving hi-hat and a classic house beat which provides the energetic feel to create a strong rhythmic pulse. A critical element is allowing the track to breathe which opens a space for the groove and emotion of the music to shine through (less is more). Greg ‘Wizzard’ did an incredible job in programming the drums and mixing the track. He is a huge talent that has worked with the likes of Chase and Status, The Chemical Brothers, Wile & DJ Fresh.
You’re Everything is an emotional song with or without any production. The challenge with such a big song is not adding anything that takes away the true elements and emotion of the song. It is very tempting to add effects and other electronic elements; however, you are at risk of watering down the true essence of the track. Krysten Cummings’ heartbreaking voice and delivery brings to life the emotion and feeling of You’re Everything.
Listen to You’re Everything.
What inspired the creation of “You’re Everything”? Was there a particular moment or feeling that sparked the track?
The feeling of utter devotion to someone in the face of unrequited affection. A place the majority of us have been in at some point in our lives.
How did you connect with Krysten Cummings, and what made you feel she was the perfect vocalist for this project?
Krysten is like family. We have known each other for over 15 years. I met Krysten when she used to host the ‘Original Songwriters’ which was pretty much an iconic Monday night gig for up-and-coming songwriters and musicians in London. Pam Robbins (RIP) created a night where original songwriters would submit their tracks to Pam and perform with the house band. Krysten used to perform and host the night. As a young musician it was incredible as you were able to perform your original tracks with serious musicians. Since those days Krysten would always support any live gigs we did and perform when she was free. I’ve seen Krysten perform live many times and her track record is huge. Not many singers would be able to deliver on the chorus and Krysten was perfect for the track. She has shared the stage with such artists as Tina Turner and Chaka Khan and is an accomplished actress.
What was it like working with remixers Grace Sands and Ben Gomori on You’re Everything, and how did their reworks expand the story of the song? What is your relationship with them like?
Grace and Ben have been incredible to work with and have been the missing piece in our puzzle. DIY sound system co-founder and ADONIS resident Grace Sands and Ben Gomori (Balearic London / Monologues Records / Turned On Podcast / RecordReplay / Pitchblack Playback / aka G. Markus).
O.P.H. come from a more live music background while Ben and Grace are your classic house producers that have excelled in their respective scenes. From a record label perspective, we want to create timeless tracks and then hand over quality parts/stems to top producers like Ben and Grace to give them the best chance of making a deadly remix. We know their sound, and they are chosen for that reason, so from a creative perspective we don’t really get too involved in the remixes. Working with Ben and Grace gives us the ability to get our music to a fresh new audience and it is incredible to see how they bring to life their own take on the track.
O.P.H. has deep roots in underground dance culture. How does that history shape the music you’re making now?
I would say the sound or influence has deep roots in underground dance music. A key element for me was how the Detroit house producers utilise the hi-hat and place it as a driving element within their sound. They provide so much colour and space within their music, and it’s not cluttered with layers of production. At Les by Carl Craig is a fine example. Regarding O.P.H. we want to create original music live in the studio and then utilise the best engineers/studios to bring that electronic feel into the production.
Check out O.P.H. on Traxsource.
Can you tell us about your collaboration with Greg ‘The Wizard’ Flemming and Justin Drake on mastering?
The collaboration is the fact that we got to work with them. Greg is really pushing the boundaries in the breakbeat scene and is DJing internationally. In addition, he tours with Alabama 3 (epic UK band) doing their live engineering and is a key player in their production. Greg is currently one of the most in-demand engineers around, working alongside and for high-profile artists such as UK No.1 DJ Fresh, M.I.A, Wiley, Chase & Status, Mampi Swift, Dizzie Rascal, Pete Tong, X-Press 2, The Klaxons, Sander Kleinenberg, The Freestylers, Scratch Perverts, Hadouken & Jack Beats and much more.
Justin was highly recommended, and he is a pioneer in this space. He has mastered all the releases for Buckled Records, and you just know the track is going to bang out in the club, car or at home. As half of Peace Division, Justin Drake helped spearhead a deep tribal house vogue from the mid-90s to mid-2000s, paving the way for the future of deep and tech house in the process. Having Greg and Justin onboard is a power combination in regard to production.
The cover art by Mark Humphrey has a striking visual identity. How did the collaboration with him come about? Why choose an artist for the cover? In a world increasingly pushing towards AI “art,” can you tell us why you felt that this was important?
I met Mark Humphrey through a mutual friend over 10 years ago. From an artistic perspective he has been hugely influential in my life. The fact that he remains independent and keeps pushing the boundaries and works on incredible projects just blows my mind. It is kind of like a dream. I’ve always wanted to work with Mark; however, he was just too big. Over the years we would often meet for a pint, and he would always encourage me to keep writing and doing music. He really loved the track and music video we did with SWAY (shout out Love Music Records. Dell Steel, DAE, Ben Cain) and we would often discuss the concept and how we filmed it etc.
I knew I couldn’t just phone him or email over some dry proposal; I had to meet him face to face. I had a clear idea of how I wanted the Buckled Records logo to be. Basically, I used coloured crayons and then covered it with a black crayon. I tried multiple times to write Buckled Records over the piece; however, it looked like a 5-year-old’s drawing. I really needed that artistic flair. So I arranged a beer with Mark and put my crayons and drawing in my bag and I think on the second pint I whipped my paper and crayons out and asked if he could just write/sign Buckled Records over the drawing. Initially the shock and horror on his face was hilarious. He wasn’t quite sure if I was being serious as I randomly started getting my crayons and drawing out in the middle of the pub. After a few beers Mark was happy to sign the drawing, and we spoke about the concept of art and music. Mark is one of the founders of Buckled Records and drives the label from an art and brand perspective.
Choosing an artist for the cover brings authenticity to the project. It is electric to see the artwork in real life and then in a digital format and then on the cover of our music. AI has its place; however, like all things in life everything is permissible but not always beneficial.
Was the artwork created specifically for “You’re Everything,” or does it tie into a broader artistic relationship with Buckled Records?
The art is tied into a broader artistic relationship. Mark has a tapestry of design works from sculpture to staircases to paintings etc. We will provide Mark with the music and background to the tracks, and he will provide some recommendations in regard to the direction of art he thinks we should go. We have an agreement upon where we licence the artwork and Mark is tied into the label from a business and artistic perspective.
How do you see the artwork reflecting the mood or message of the track?
Buckled Records’ 4th release You’re Everything is about wrapping up the 4 EPs launched on Buckled Records and the essence of love as the title states: “You’re Everything” to me. It’s the sense of pure love, love as the meaning of life, nudity, bare, innocence… just love, bareness of obstacles. Mark Humphrey’s relief painting is an art technique that adds a three-dimensional texture to a painting by creating raised areas of material, created from a raw piece of wood that represents nature as purity, like love in life. Wood represents the tangible elements of life. Mark Humphrey’s sculpture Races of Faces and Krysten Cummings’ heartbreaking voice bring to life the emotion and feeling of You’re Everything. The artwork represents tears, suffering and the obsession of missing a lover. Raw (wood) simplicity/love (nudity).
Do visuals influence how you want listeners to experience the music, or do they follow after the song is complete?
I suppose we don’t really think that far ahead. From our perspective we want to create quality music intertwined with striking art. When you’re in the studio you’re 100% focused on the music and bringing the original song to life. Everything is driven from the melody and lyrics and from there you start thinking about the million musical elements that you can add to the track to enhance the mood/groove and overall production. Once the music is on point, we start thinking about the art direction which is always driven by the song and the lyrics. In today’s world visuals play a huge role in music and they open people’s eyes to your sound.
What’s the central message behind “You’re Everything”?
Love.
How do you want listeners to feel when they hear it on the dancefloor vs. at home?
Ideally you want listeners to connect emotionally with the song and associate their own life experiences to the track. It is more about the listener and not us. It is a privilege to know that a DJ is playing our track and/or one of the remixes to a packed dancefloor and/or someone is listening to the music at home. We are merely just facilitating music lovers and dancers on their own journey along with all the other creatives in the world.
What’s next for O.P.H. after this release? Is it leading into a bigger project or part of a longer story?
It has been all about the music and getting the product right. We have had some incredible DJs/producers and worked with some amazing artists. We truly now have a product and fully functional label with the support of MN2S (shout out to Tim Burnett for the intro and Chris James and the team). We will keep driving O.P.H and bring new artists into collaborate and push their careers. We have the songs we will be going into the studio and start phase two. Along with pushing our music and catalogue we will be looking to collaborate with Mark. He has some projects where we will utilise our music with his art. We also need to take into consideration Joplin Sibtain, the other half of O.P.H and our chief songwriter who is an award-winning actor. Joplin played Brasso in the 5-time Emmy award winning show Andor plus he’s currently filming season 3 of House of the Dragon. He is much-needed in the studio as chief songwriter and music arranger and brings a substantial amount of input.