While some artists are winding down their summer tours, Ocean Alley is just getting started. Well, they’re about to. Come August 7th, they’ll be kicking off a month-long run that’ll take them to and from throughout Europe and the UK. Before they hit everywhere from Budapest to Manchester, they stopped by ZO to talk about various aspects of the road and then some.
Kendra: Like with bands from anywhere on the map, the idea of touring internationally isn’t easy. With so many things factoring into leaving Australia when it comes to hitting the road, did you have a good sense of where the fans were that wanted to see you live?
Ocean Alley: We pretty much just wanted to hit all the big cities in Europe and the UK. It’s great we’ve sold plenty of tickets so I’m sure all the shows are going to be a good time. We will be traveling around on a bus and playing most nights of the 4 weeks are on the road. It can be tiring but it’s always loads of fun.
Kendra: You must have because you had a sold-out show in like May and the tour doesn’t even kick off until early August. What were your reactions when you heard you’d sold out the Electric Ballroom and had to then add another show in the area to accommodate fans wanting more?
Ocean Alley: We are stoked that we’ve had such a good response in London. We always have a good time in London so if we sell out some good-sized shows we are going to keep coming back. There are plenty of Aussie expats in London too so we end up seeing familiar faces all the time.
Kendra: It’s not uncommon to play the Electric Ballroom over in London but you did have some places on your itinerary one doesn’t see often like Budapest. Did you think the psych surf rock scene was strong there?
Ocean Alley: We are playing the Sziget Festival in Budapest for our first show of the tour which we are definitely looking forward to. None of us have ever been and we have heard amazing things about it. Unfortunately, we are only there for one day of the nearly week-long festival so we are going to have to make the most of it.
Kendra: Along with your own dates, you’ll be playing some festivals throughout the summer. Are you more or less stressed when it comes to festivals than your own headlining shows?
Ocean Alley: Definitely less stressed. Hanging out in the sun and mingling with huge crowds is the best part of festivals. I think festivals are just a good time for everyone!
Kendra: In between an extensive North American tour going on now and gearing up for your next leg later this summer you guys dropped a video for “Infinity.” Whose idea was it to go with the animated concept?
Ocean Alley: The band decided we wanted to make a shift away from the style of video clip we had done previously. We felt that we wanted to explore other ways of visualizing our music. Our friends at The Sauce collective from Sydney, who work with us for video, photo, and design helped us achieve this with a mix of video and animation to create the feel of a dream world still with tentative connections to real life. The finished product is something we are very happy with and we feel compliments the music and the motifs of the song well.
Kendra: Are there any plans set in stone for what’s to come after this tour wraps up?
Ocean Alley: We have shows back home in Australia and New Zealand over the summer with plenty of time scattered in there to write and record any new music we come up with. Next year will be a new cycle of touring overseas. Can’t give any timelines on that but it’s something we will be working towards.
Get tickets to Ocean Alley’s current tour HERE!
