Ocean Alley – Lonely Diamond

By starrymag | August 6, 2020

By: Jennifer Vintzileos

 

Q) How would you describe your sound?

 

A) A 70’s guitar rock backbone with some psychedelic and surf rock elements.

 

Q) Who are some of your musical influences?

 

A) Jimi Hendrix, Dire Straits, Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac, Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Ween, Nile Rodgers, Steve Lukather, John Mayer, David Bowie, Midnight Oil, Australian Crawl, INXS and the list goes on.

 

Q) What was the inspiration behind the song “Hot Chicken?”

 

A) It started as a silly jam that we made after watching a show by comedian Eric Andre. In the show he sings a song with his guest Jack Black and we recreated a version of it to mess around with in between jamming. We loved the feel of it so much so we turned it into a song. Baden applied a dark and ominous story with his lyrics which we thought fit the groove well. In short, “Hot Chicken” is not about chicken at all.

 

Q) Just like with your videos for “Stained Glass,” “Infinity” and “Tombstone, the one for “Hot Chicken” was also released with an animated video. How did you come up with the idea to use animation as a video concept for the songs on Lonely Diamond?

 

A) We wanted to move away from more of the documentary style video that’s depicting us playing or hanging out and have something that told more of a story. Animation allowed us to do this and we tried to connect the video clips together with a running theme. Mike Askew created the clips with his team and we followed a lot of his creative direction to come up with a style that we liked. We tried to give each of the videos a slightly different treatment and enjoyed experimenting with things we had never done before.

 

Q) What song or songs were your favorite to record for the album?

 

A) “Hot Chicken” was really fun to record. We spent lots of time in the studio doing percussion and adding other weird sounds like a can of beer being cracked open and some others. We also had a lot of fun recording “All Worn Out” with our friends Lara King who played cello and Will Morrissey who played saxophone. It’s not something we do often, but adding guest parts is really what takes things to another level. It’s also special sharing the recording experience with them too.

 

Q) How do you all shake off a long day in the studio?

 

A) Plenty of cold beer, a good sleep-in and a home cooked breakfast.

 

Q) What do you hope listeners take away from Lonely Diamond?

A) We hope it takes the listener to a place that feels familiar, but at the same time is challenging with something new for them to explore and feel. We want this record to be an extension of the work we’ve done before but also an exploration of things we haven’t done before. It’s important to keep things fresh but still stay true to our sound.

 

Q) In addition to releasing the official video for “Hot Chicken” you also released a two-part mini-documentary called “Constructing The Diamond” on YouTube, which gave fans the chance to get a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the album. What made you decide to give fans a glimpse into your creative process?

 

A) It’s something that sheds light on what we were doing behind the scenes and how we work. It’s just another part that helps to reinforce what’s on the record. Some people are interested in that and so we made this for them. It’s maybe a way to get to know us a bit as well.

 

Q) With tour dates scheduled for early 2021 and Lonely Diamond released on June 19th of this year, has there been talk of a potential live-stream concert in the interim to promote the new album?

 

A) We have had to explore other ways to connect with our listeners since there are no live shows. It was important to us to get this music out there even if we couldn’t tour it yet and live shows are a huge part of it for us. So, we have been working on some form of live show we can share together from the comfort of our homes during lockdown. We are stoked to be trying something different.

 

Q) In the past you have shared a lot of videos on YouTube, from music videos and even a tour vlog. How do you feel that YouTube has helped to shape and change the way music is created and shared?

 

A) It’s another streaming platform and it’s a place to have visual and music content side by side. Listeners want an enriched experience when streaming online, so that’s what we use it for. I like to think that it has added to the many ways we consume our entertainment today.

 

Q) What are you currently listening to now?

 

A) Donny Benét – Second Dinner

 

Q) If you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be and why?

 

A) RHCP simply because it would be fucking awesome.

 

Q) What would you like to share with your fans and supporters?

 

A) A beer or two.

 

 

 

All Questions Answered By Mitch Galbraith