Oceans: Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun
The current climate of the music industry means only the strongest survive to be picked up by a record label and only the strongest of those manage to carve out a professional career. However, to be picked up by a major label off the back of three singles, well, that’s just sheer dumb luck, isn’t it? “That’s absolutely true and we are beyond grateful, especially to our former A&R Markus Jakob as he was the one who stood up for us!” admits OCEANS frontman Timo Rotten.
“On the other hand, I must add that we really worked our asses off to get to this point. This is a team effort and we are lucky to be surrounded with the most amazing people. We’re hungry, man! There’s still so much stuff that needs to get out of us; this is just the beginning!”
Coming out of seemingly nowhere, Timo, along with childhood friends Patrick Zarske (guitar) and Thomas Winkelmann (bass), had toured the world with various other outfits, but knew there was something lacking. “Something was missing; we just couldn’t really define what it was back then. Everybody started writing material for their own projects back then. At some point we just decided to throw it all together and forge it into what became OCEANS.”
That material had taken the best part of three years to create and, once Timo found J.F Grill to fill the position as drummer, everything fell into place fast. In fact, the fledgling band generated an incredible amount of social media buzz before a note of music had even been heard. “That was some sort of hype that I did not expect at all,” Timo explains. “From that moment on we really stepped on the gas and we haven’t stopped since. We released three singles on our own and everything skyrocketed pretty quickly. We signed the deal with Nuclear Blast before we’d even played a single show.”
Nuclear Blast packaged together the three singles with two others and issued them as a debut EP, Into the Void. However, the stratospheric rise for OCEANS not only asked for a change in strategy, but also a new pressure straight off the bat for the band. “The music industry has shifted in so many ways and there are so many possibilities for artists today; we embraced the DIY approach fully and did every single bit ourselves. Well, with the help of some amazing friends, of course!” Timo reveals. “Then came Nuclear Blast, who wanted to release Into The Void as an EP. But the thing is, we had never planned to release those songs as an EP; all the songs on Into The Void were planned to be on our debut album. We had it all ready and there we were with no album any more. Four very important songs were missing and we had to write new ones of the same or even better quality. That was quite frightening actually, especially given we didn’t have three years to do it, but just a couple of months. Gladly it all worked out just fine!”
Fine is an understatement. That debut album, The Sun and the Cold, is a beautiful marriage of savage death metal and serene post rock, pulling at every sense and emotion as it goes. As far as Timo is concerned, that’s exactly what was desired. “OCEANS are about contrast, about two opposing sides fighting each other. The lyrics deal with mental illness, depression, suicide, but there’s always a silver lining on the horizon. After the storm is over and the sea has calmed there’s always hope – that’s our message. Together we can fight our demons and together we can shine, as long as we never lose hope.”
It won’t be long before OCEANS set off on the road in support of the album, opening for EQUILIBRIUM. When asked what people can expect, Timo is eager to connect with everyone on a very deep, personal level. “We’re all about emotions; our music comes from our hearts and is meant to reach yours, so naturally our live shows are very intimate and emotional. I really try to give my all every night; it’s what I have always done and that’s the only way it should be done in my opinion. We give everything, let you have a deep look into our hearts and souls, our fears and hopes. and hopefully in the end we’re all feeling this connection of being together down in the darkness. That said, there’s always time for a beer or two with us at the merchandise after the show!”
Sometimes it can be quite hard to see what else can be done within music, and then a band like OCEANS come along and prove there’s still an abundance of possibilities out there. Long may they continue.
The Sun and the Cold is out now via Nuclear Blast Records.
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