Band of the Day Revisited: Oceans

We spoke to Oceans a few months back, but they’re releasing a new EP today so we thought it a good time to see how things have changed with the band…

Simple things first – where are you guys from?

Well Zach (singer) is from the mean streets of Brighton, Conor (guitarist) is from the mean streets of London, Tom (guitarist) is from the mean streets of Chichester, Jack (bassist) is from the mean streets of Tring and James (drummer) is from the mean streets of Colchester but our current home turf is Brighton and London.

How did you meet?

This magical moment took place in stages over a course of drunken nights, coincidental meets and hours of talking shit! We all studied at a music institution in Brighton called BIMM so that played a big part in how we all met.

How long have you been playing as a band?

Well our newest member, Jack, has been in the band for 6 months but the rest of us have been in Oceans for over 2 years now. Technically the band has been going longer than that, but in late 2015 the band had a total revamp and most the line up changed. The change that this band went through was so big, that we just say the band started in late 2015.

Before you get sick of being asked… where does the band name come from?

We can never tire of hearing that question! We are all nature enthusiasts and we love the sea! Jokes, Conor just happened to stumble across the Mallory Knox song called “Oceans” and he thought he’d nab that name! It took a long time to agree on a band name but we got there in the end and we’re happy we came to agree on Oceans.

What are your influences?

Our influences range from Deftones, Don Broco, Sylosis to Frank Ocean. Bit of a mix and match… Each member derives from a different musical background. We don’t try to make our sound emulate anybody else’s. We aim to make something new and leave people open to interpretation.

Describe your music. What makes you unique?

It’s always hard to say what genre we are and we probably answer differently every time we’re asked this but to be vague, we’d say we’re an alternative rock band. To be less vague, we’d say we’re a post-hardcore band. We’ve been told we have a unique sound a fair few times. That might be because our vocalist isn’t a conventional rock singer. We’ve also been told we’re a hard band to pigeon hole.

Do you have any particular lyrical themes?

Our latest track we released called “Skin” is about living with an atopic skin disease and the self confidence issues that naturally come with that. The general lyrical theme of our soon to be released EP Far From Composure is based around mental instability. The lyrics to our songs are usually an indirect message aimed at a situation. By making people think, we hope they will become more involved in the music.

What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?

Our gigs are pure energy and you can expect to see a lot of us bumping into each other quite hard by accident during our performances! We all love performing and thrive off our live shows. We could not count how many shows we have played now, but it must be over 100 by this point. We can’t wait for the next 100!

What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?

Mid-set at a show in Wellingborough, our guitarist Conor walked around backstage, round the bar and walked out the venue whilst still playing a song. The people smoking outside the venue didn’t know what to think of the situation. Thank the lord for wireless systems!

What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc.?

Jack has a Fender Jazzmaster Bass, Conor has a Fender Stratocaster, Tom is on the old Ibanez SAS36QM and James has a Gretch Catalina Club. However, with live shows as it stands, the kit is usually a “take what you’re given” sort of situation. That’s mostly how it goes.

What are your plans for 2018?

We have a lot planned for 2018… On March 13th we’re dropping an EP called Far From Composure which is a pretty big deal to us! Also, an international tour later this year is in the pipelines, plus getting on a weekender or two is being discussed! We’re hoping to get on as many festivals as possible too!

If you were second on a three-band bill, which band would you love to be supporting and which band would you choose to open for you? A chance to plug someone you’ve toured with, or a mate’s band we’ve not heard of before!

We would love to be supporting Hypophora, they are all great people and just an all round wicked band! If we could choose a band to open for us, it would have to be Five Kites. They have such a cool sound, and they have absolutely nailed what they do. We have been fortunate enough to play with both bands and we hope to reach new strengths alongside them.

Header image by Jennifer Sanson

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