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Ocean Flaws: “That means we’ve found ourselves – what you hear is a natural byproduct'

Updated: Jun 24, 2020

Credit: @oceanflawsuk instagram

Ocean Flaws are an Essex based band that have been putting out music since 2017. After a great debut EP called ‘Cosmic Tropics’, they really hit their stride with last years release, ‘Deep Sea Dreaming’. The lush sounding song got a spin on Radio X which was a really big turning point for the lads.

Sadly their recording for their follow up single was cut short due to COVID-19, though we know it will be worth the wait and that Ocean Flaws have a bright future after lockdown. We were fortunate to catch up with all the band members and hope you enjoy this great interview!

What were your earliest memories playing together?

Sean: We’ve all been playing together for quite some time. Hamish and I used to jam at school together, same as Callum and I around each other’s homes. Hamish and I were introduced to Alex through a mutual friend and we started playing / writing pretty much anywhere we could; garages, village halls, school classrooms etc. Callum was the final piece to our jigsaw and we’ve all clicked ever since.

What songwriters or artists inspire you independently and collectively?

Sean: One of the beautiful things about this group is that we’re all individually into different genres of music which trickles into our writing. I think it’s healthy that way as your music can grow quite stale and uninspired if you listen to the same genres and bands constantly.

However, collectively we’re into the same genres / bands otherwise we wouldn’t be together – we all take influence from groups like Tame Impala and Arctic Monkeys. They’re without a doubt the most influential bands of our generation so why wouldn’t you want to take influence from them?

Your first single was ‘20:22’ back in 2017, when did you guys write it and how do you view the song now? Been three years! Has it gone quick?

Callum: 3 years does seem to go quick! I remember this one was penned whilst half of us were at University and we still play it live! It’s definitely the most sinister song in the set (which is a good thing as it adds some dynamics). We also tend to shake it up a bit with an impromptu jam/groove at the end. You should come see it sometime…

(I’ll happily take up that offer….venue’s got hand sanitiser right?)

How important is playing live for you as a band? What are the key ingredients to nail your sound live?

Callum: Oh massively! It accounts for 50% of how people listen to our music (the other half being on record) so we’re constantly in talks of how we can keep things as fresh as possible.

The main task at hand is how we can adapt the tracks we’ve recorded in the studio to have that little extra oomph when playing to a room of people.

This might include Hamish whacking up the distortion on his guitar in some parts.

Are there people outside the band that you feel like have played a huge part in where you guys have got to so far?

Alex: Absolutely. We’re really lucky to have supportive families and friends who have turned up to almost every gig and listened to our music since day one, even throughout the early years when we were rubbish! We’re also grateful to the people who have produced our music along the way and helped us to hone our songwriting skills; we’ve learned a lot from them. There are a few other people who have looked out for us, too, and it’d be criminal not to mention John and Vic who own the Control Rooms where we practise in Shenfield. They’re legends.

What was the experience like writing your first EP, ‘Cosmic Tropics’?

Alex: We used to always find ourselves in a cycle where we’d struggle for song ideas for ages then they’d all come along in one ago. ‘Cosmic Tropics’ was definitely written in one of those creative spurts, so that was both exciting and relieving.

EPs are always really rewarding in a creative sense, because you have to employ more artistic sensibilities than on a one-off single; how do the songs tie together sonically and thematically, how should the tracklisting go?

It can be difficult to keep that sonic consistency while managing a little variety in flavour, but I think we achieved that balance on ‘Cosmic Tropics’ – ‘Beach Heads’ is essentially an R&B song, ‘One Night In Palolem’ is a dancy indie cut, the title track is a trippy instrumental, ‘Heartshake’ is an anthemic singalong and ‘The Greatest Show On Earth’ is an emotional builder.

‘Heartshake’ is such a great journey sonically, how did that song come about?

Alex: That’s kind of you to say, and I think you’re right – it builds quite nicely with the electronic drums and Hamish’s emotional e-bow, all the way up to those big choruses, and then drops down and kind of comes full circle. We definitely had that arc in mind as we wrote it.

But I remember when we entered the studio, what’s now the chorus was just a post-chorus and only appeared once; the current bridge was the chorus at the time. Our producer Mitch heard the then-post-chorus and said: “That has to be your chorus.” So he deserves a lot of credit for that! The hits in the chorus are very War On Drugs and kind of anchor the song now.

Lyrically, it’s about how people change when they drink. Some people aren’t affected much, but there are those who get really aggressive, others who get quite sad… There’s even a known condition where you legitimately change personalities entirely when you’re drunk.

You most of been so amazed when John Kennedy played ‘Deep Sea Dreaming’!! How did you guys find out about the X-posure king wanting to play your track to the country?

Hamish: We’d sent our tracks in before, without much luck – and understandably so! We sent this one in, as usual, and forgot all about it. I remember walking into work one morning, and for some reason, I checked the band’s spam emails. We’d recieved a message from one of the producers saying “I think John is playing it tonight…

I stopped walking and convinced myself someone was having a laugh. But, once I realised, I sent a voice note to the band – we were just buzzing.

How do you view your growth as a band since the start? A more assured sound is heard in ‘Deep Sea Dreaming’?

Hamish: Like most bands we started off playing poor covers of the songs we liked, even recording them!? Looking back though, that phase was formative – it helped us establish the palet of sounds we would draw from later.

Once we started writing our own material, there’d be a constant argument on how to steer songs to back to “our sound”.

Today, the Ocean Flaws sound just comes out in practice, and we don’t question it. To me, that means we’ve found ourselves – what you hear is a natural byproduct of us just playing together. That confidence comes through in Deep Sea Dreaming, I think.

What are the plans next for you guys post lockdown? Hope you and your loved ones are all safe and well!

Hamish: Funnily enough, we were actually stuck up in Liverpool recoding a follow up single when lockdown was declared. That night, we mournfully packed up our gear and drove home at midnight. As soon as we can get up there again, we will be hitting the airwaves with that as yet unfinished track.

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