INTERVIEW: Ocean Alley
Ocean Alley
The Photo Ladies Interview
Australian alternative psychedelic surf-rock band Ocean Alley makes music that has been described as "cruisey psych, rock and reggae fusion". They have independently released two EPs, Yellow Mellow (2013) and In Purple (2015), as well as two albums, Lost Tropics (2016) and Chiaroscuro (2018). The band's breakthrough came with the release of Chiaroscuro, which thrust the band into the national spotlight, selling 25,000 tickets and selling out 15 shows that year in Australia alone. 2019 saw them sell out 30 shows around the world and perform at major festivals such as Reading & Leeds (UK), Splendour In The Grass (AUS), Sziget (HU) and Bottlerock (US), with the band amassing 250 million streams to date. The band will be independently releasing their new album, Lonely Diamond, on June 19th, produced by longtime collaborator Callum Howell at Grove Studios with distribution via UNIFIED Music Group. Encapsulating nostalgia for the music of past eras, the album is a sonic mix of 70s guitar rock, country, western, old school funk and synth-heavy new wave that draws comparisons to Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac and Dire Straits. Guitarist Mitch Galbraith explains, “It’s pushing forward into the unknown… taking a journey to a different place or a different time that seems familiar or that you’ve been before and all the emotions and feels that come with that.” Although steeped in sounds familiar to the band, the album has more intricate arrangements, a production pushed to new limits and an introduction of new instruments. The band recently released their latest single from the album, "Hot Chicken", about grappling with spiraling out of control and encapsulating the seduction and suffering that comes from wrestling with the devil on one’s shoulder. With plans to write more and hopefully work on more videos, the band has plenty to keep them busy through the rest of the year. You can follow Ocean Alley and stay up to date with all upcoming music and news, as well as stream and purchase their music, via the following links.
Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify | SoundCloud | iTunes/Apple Music | YouTube | Deezer | Google Play | Bandcamp
You will be releasing your third album Lonely Diamond on June 9th! You guys have a progression in sound with each album you have done, so what can you tell me about the process of making and recording this album and what were the sonic goals you were trying to achieve? How do you go about striking a balance between progressing your sound and maintaining the styles and techniques you are known for?
We started with ideas that each of us bought to the table and we spent a lot of time jamming them out, so pretty much the same as the last couple of records. We did have more time this time around to demo and rework a lot of the tracks though, and this helped us give the record some cohesion and direction. The intro and outro tracks were written in the studio during the final weeks of recording. With them, we hoped to give the album some context and explore some more western sounds, just for something new and different. As for the process, it was much the same when it came to recording but we have obviously learnt plenty from the last couple of albums, so it was more efficient but as always, lots of fun.
Aside from music and promoting the new album, what have you guys been doing to stay busy during quarantine?
Yeh obviously heaps of music stuff. It’s the perfect quarantine activity really. But apart from that lots of surfing, swimming and fishing. Lots of outdoor activities away from the crowds, just trying to stay healthy and happy. Luckily we are close to the beach so we don’t have to travel far, but we are stingin’ to get back on the road again.
What has it been like to prepare for an album release during quarantine when you can't do the things you might normally do for a release, such as tour?
It’s been hard to connect with those songs like we normally do following a release, but it’s something we know will happen once we can share them live with a crowd. It was important for us to make sure our fans can still connect with us during this time without any shows, so that’s why we chose to release the record and give people some new music to enjoy. It has given us more time to focus on making sure our live shows when they do start again can be top notch and we can give the crowd an epic night.
I saw you will be selling some limited edition runs of different colors of vinyl for the album release. What inspired that decision?
We love the idea of having something visual to compliment our music. We all collect records too, so it is awesome to have our own version of that for those that want to collect. A lot of people do love to collect vinyl records, so these special releases are just for them and something we hope they like looking at just as much as they like listening to.
What was the idea behind the album artwork? Did you create the design?
Our longtime friend and artist Kane Lehanneur has created the Album artwork. We worked together with him to design something that helped give the record some context. The symbolism of the artwork might help to explain this group of songs as a multi-faceted window shedding light onto one subject from many angles. We wanted to include themes of the circular and the repeatable, whilst also having a feeling of exploration into the unknown. It’s the push and pull of these visual ideas that compliments the journey within the music.
What can you tell me about the nonprofit organization One Eighty Inc, who fills a gap in Australia's current suicide prevention strategy, that you are trying to raise awareness for? Why do you feel that peer to peer models of community support for young people is so important? What effect are the shutdowns and quarantine having on the mental health of the youth in Australia and with May being Mental Health Awareness Month, do you feel that awareness is being made about suicide, suicide prevention and mental health in general?
One Eighty was started by some young people from our community on Sydney’s Northern Beaches to offer support in various ways to community members suffering mental health issues, but also in a response to the growing numbers of youth suicide in our area. They facilitate open up groups and raise awareness for their cause because it’s an issue that’s at the forefront for a lot of us, and many people are affected by this issue in many different ways. We have used our profile to help build support for this wonderful organization because they are on the ground actively offering tangible ways for people to be mentally healthy. It’s important for communities to address this on a local level first and provide outreach and support for those doing it tough. There is no blanket approach, with each individual person having differing needs, so at the very least if people can look out for each other more at a local community level, that is a great start.
What can you tell me about your new single ‘Hot Chicken’ and the idea behind the video? I love the fun, funky and psychedelic vibe of the video!
It’s a song about temptation and distraction. The upbeat feel works well with the snake imagery in the video and we had a lot of fun recording it. Mikey Askew created the video with Kane and the rest of the team at The Sauce. We pretty much loved the first idea they came up with. Its an obvious rendition of the lyrical metaphors and a continuation to the styles of the video clips for Infinity and Stained Glass. The video, like the song is unapologetic and raw.
I read that you guys have started to make your videos more vague for your fans to challenge them to find their own meaning. Why is it important for you to have your listeners find their own meaning with your songs?
It’s just about having something entertaining to watch. You don’t want to spell it out for anyone but it has to suit the music. We wanted our music videos to move away from more of documentary to something with some metaphor and a story.
You recently released 'The Archives', a 49 minute tour film that shows behind-the-scene moments during your 2019 tours through North America, Europe and the UK. I imagine you had lots of fun moments on tour! What can you tell me about the idea behind the film and what inspired you to want to make and release it? How has the response been?
The response has been really great which is nice to see. We have our wonderful videographer and TM Tyler Bell along with us on the road to document it all. It’s nice to show people life off the stage when we are on a long tour and all the other stuff we get to do and see. Hopefully it gives some insight into who we are and what we do when we aren’t performing.
What's next for the band? With your next tour postponed until 2021, what do you have planned for the rest of the year?
More writing with all this spare time will be nice and just gearing up for touring again. We will be doing some rehearsals and working with our production team to build our new live show which is exiting. Hopefully work on some new video content too possible for other tracks on the record.