IndiePulse Interviews: Interview with Conor Hyde and Tom Hollands of OCEANS

“Determination and passion is the bread and vegan-butter of this Brighton and London based rock band, Oceans are scribing their name into 2018 with permanent ink”, says Tom Hollands of the UK Band OCEANS.

Their new EP ‘Far From Composure’ contains all the elements of their formidable sound, with post-hardcore and alternative rock influences. With a glimpse into how 2018 is going to go down, get ready to learn the real sound of an ocean.

We at IndiePulse want you to meet a new and upcoming group with musch to say about themselves, but not in a “look how cool we are” way, but in honest commentary of their path into the sun.

IPM: What inspired you to write you unique vision of music like you do?

Conor – Well obviously we’re huge fans of rock music and we love the trends and styles that this genre has gone through. We can only see ourselves playing the most current and up to date trend of this genre and I think that’s portrayed in our music. We enjoy the more technical side to things but also love the more stripped back and simplified alternative rock elements so we try to feature both in our music. Lately we’ve come to realize the importance of a simple melody and the power each note holds so we’re going to try to focus more on that for our newer material.

IPM: Tell us about the other members of the band, and of your chemistry.

Conor – Zach Silver is our vocalist and we also consider him our visual director. He’s artistic and has a good eye for what’s trending. As a singer, he has a very powerful voice and is very technically able. On guitar we have Tom Hollands and myself (Conor Hyde). Tom is probably the easiest person to work with in the world and is very level-headed at all times. He’s also a very technical player. Apparently I’m the driving force of the band and the one that motivates everyone. We also have Jack Warren who is the bass player of the band. Jack has great vision and is a key person in the whole decision making process. Jack also does all our designs. Last but not least, we have James Gillingham on the drums! James is probably the best at his instrument in the band and he makes being in a band with him very fun.

IPM: What are or were some of the challenges you have faced together?

Conor – I think something that took us by surprise was the insane expense of doing this, along the way we have kind of learnt that success is for sale in this game and having money opens a lot of doors. All that being said, this band is 100% self-sufficient and has no external investment going in, so it can be very tough sometimes… This is a personal choice as I believe future success will mean so much more when it has been accomplished entirely by ourselves.

IPM: Tell us about some of your recent shows.

Conor – The other night we played an acoustic set for the first time in ages! It was great fun and we hope to do it again. It’s interesting when doing an acoustic set of your own material as it makes you look at the songs in a different light.

IPM: Tell us about your new album ‘Far From Composure’ and are there shows planned to promote, possibly a tour?

Conor – We pretty much just released our EP ‘Far From Composure’ so it will most likely be a while before we release anything again. We’re currently in the writing process which is always great and we get a lot of pleasure from writing. We’ll most likely do single releases before any EP/album release.

IPM: Any “strange tales” or things that may have happened during a show that seemed too weird to be true?

Conor – We’ve told this tale a few times but it warrants another telling as it is so strange…

On tour last year we rocked up at a venue that was still under construction so we played our set in a semi-finished venue to the builders 2 hours after we were due to go on. I even remember one guy being totally asleep so we just played around him and on top of him… Good times…

IPM: Where do you see your music going, where would you like to be in the near future?

Tom – We hope to refine our music and build to the point where our songs appear alongside artists we look up to, on the radio or Spotify playlists etc, and like most bands we dream of being able to tour more and do this full time! – All this whilst hopefully creating something unique that both us and our audience want to hear.

IPM:  What would you like our readers to know about you?

Tom – We throw ourselves around a fair bit on stage so if you want to see some mostly plant-fueled organisms get crazy you may want to see us play live. I’d like to think there’s a little something in our music for everybody, since our sound is quite eclectic, but there’s only one way to find, come see us, or at least find us online, hear it for yourselves!

IPM:  Where can our readers find your music Online

Tom – Our recently released EP ‘Far From Composure’ along with all our other music is available on Spotify, iTunes, Google Play and most other platforms, as well as music videos for our song ‘Ctrl’ and some other audio-visual delights on YouTube.

Visit OCEANS Online:

New EP on Spotify HERENew EP on Spotify HERE:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oceansukband/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oceansukband/