Page 18 - Black Velvet Issue 86

BV86 pg18-20 wato:BV86 pg18 05/09/2015 22:31 Page 1

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WILD AT
WILD AT

ack in May, Essex four-piece, We Are The Ocean, released their fourth studio album, ‘ARK’.
BIt’s their first album released on both Hassle Records as well as BMG in the UK. The album
covers a wide range of topics and was inspired by everything from books and movies to family
and lucid dreaming. We chat with frontman Liam Cromby about learning lessons, trekking across
America and aliens with their stomachs opened up.

iam tells Black Velvet that things have and ‘Shere Khan’, which ended up being about really weird stuff. Quite dark actually. I had a
Lbeen going well with both Hassle and living in London. “’Shere Khan’ was based on dream the other day, it was about an alien but
BMG releasing the album. “We’ve been with a love story at one point and then I guess me its stomach was opened up. It was quite
Hassle for the past three albums. Before this living in the city and basically taking on new strange, quite dark. I don’t know if it was a
one, BMG kind of came along once we’d fin- surroundings and what kind of relationship you dream or nightmare actually. That’s pretty
ished recording the album. I think having two can have with your city.” Liam says. ‘Wild’ was mad.”
labels work for your band is definitely a good about looking at yourself in the mirror. “A mes- ‘Remember To Remember Them’ is about
thing. Because we’ve been with Hassle for so sage, like ‘Get up, go do something, do some- fallen heroes. “At the time there was the World
long, it’s very family-orientated. When BMG thing a bit crazy instead of being comfortable, War I commemoration,” says Liam. “A lot of it
said they’d like to release it as well, it was just and not doing anything different in your life’.” was written in the studio as well so a lot of it
like “Ok, this is good, ’cause this can help”.” Title track ‘ARK’, meanwhile, was about a was what was going on in our lives at the same
Liam (who is joined in We Are The Ocean dream state. “You heard of lucid dreaming?” time.”
by lead guitarist Alfie Scully, bassist Jack Liam asks. “That was the inspiration for that Liam is interested in the World Wars and
Spence and drummer Tom Whittaker) explores one.” other historical events. “I’ve always watched
a variety of subject matter on the album. He explains, “When someone told me documentaries with my dad,” he says. “Always
There’s ‘Letter To Michael’, a song Liam says about it, I thought ‘Yeah, I have lucid dreaming, on in the house, World War and stuff, I find it
was heart-on-sleeve, ‘Holy Fire’, which was in- but when I think about it I probably haven’t. I really interesting. I guess stuff like that needs
spired by the movie and book, ‘Into The Wild’, do have some crazy dreams at times. Some to be remembered.”

WE ARE THE OCEAN