Biography
DRUMS: Torge LießmannBASS GUITAR: Jonathan Heine, Gordon Hünies
GUITARS, SAMPLES, ARRANGEMENTS: Robin Staps
PERCUSSION, TOOLS, VOCALS: Gerd Kornmann
ADDITIONAL LIVE GUITARS: Andreas Hillebrand
LIVE VISUALS: Nils Lindenhayn
SEQUENCING: Nico Webers
MAIN VOCALS: Meta
ADDITIONAL VOCALS: Tomas Hallbom, Sean Ingram, Nate Newton, Carsten Albrecht, Ercüment Kasalar
In early 2000, guitarist / songwriter Robin Staps moved to Berlin to look for like-minded people who would share his vision of a larger collective of musicians playing together to create a carefully composed sound that was to be orchestral and heavy at the same time. The first bandmembers were found by advertisements in local music magazines, plus the usual word of mouth-propaganda, and some first demos were recorded with guitars, bass and drum-machines.
By the end of 2001 the band moved into the basement catacombs of an old aluminium factory that quit business after World War II. After two months of work, the band had established itself at what was going to be called OCEANLAND, a fairly big underground complex of various rehearsal-, studio- and even bedrooms. All OCEAN-records to date have been recorded and produced here.
The band made a huge step forward when drummer Liessmann and bass-player Heine joined in early 2002. Liessmann took it as a challenge to learn how to play live the previously programmed drum-beats that Staps came up with on his machines. As for what the song-writing was concerned, the approach of "jamming" now completely gave way to the approach of playing pre-composed music. The lack of spontaneity implicit in this approach was compensated by the thrilling experience of working with highly intricate arrangements,
thus reaching entirely new spheres of musical intensity.
In the following months, THE OCEAN COLLECTIVE rehearsed intensely to work on their live-program. The sequencer was included as an integral part into the live-performance, controlling not only the samples, but also guitar-effects and amp channelswitching, plus, later on, a MIDI-triggered light-show. Kornmann used the virtually unlimited space at OCEANLAND to further expand
his percussion-arsenal with self-built frame-drums.
In a melting-pot like Berlin, information spreads quickly, and within a few months more and more classical musicians gathered around the inner core of the band, that was now made up of drums, bass, 2 guitars, 2 singers, 1 percussionist and one visual artist. In July 2002 THE OCEAN COLLECTIVE played their first show ever in front of 200 people at the famous EIMER location in Berlin-Mitte, supported by cello-, flute- and trombone-players.
THE OCEAN signed to MAKE MY DAY Records / Zomba for their official debut release entitled "Fogdiver". In order to not tie oneself down to a certain musical style, "Fogdiver" remained entirely instrumental, though the live
band-concept has featured aggressive vocals from the beginning. The band chose 5 peculiar tracks that altogether would represent the wide range of sound for which THE OCEAN stands: from dreamy soundscapes with interspersed trip-hop and
drum&bass-elements to squalling noise-assaults, "Fogdiver" moves playfully between the margins of the wide spectre of modern heavy music. The response of the German Press was more than overwhelming: METAL HAMMER, VISIONS, ROCK HARD, OX and GITARRE & BASS all agreed on that THE OCEAN was "Germany's new hope in heavy music" (METAL HAMMER).
In 2003, THE OCEAN played more than 30 shows (including radio appearances) in Germany and Benelux. The cinematic, conceptual live-show was continuously improved and reamed with new components: at a gig with ISIS in Munich, a video-performance was part of the show for the first time. Next to the MIDI-triggered light-show, flashing in time to the beat of the music, fixed interludes and samples between the songs ensure the continuousity of the imaginary movie that THE OCEAN conjure on stage. The absence of announcements between songs creates a mystic distance between the band and the listener, making it easy for him to get lost in the dismal oceanic spheres. The Lynch-esque play with darkness only adds to that: oftentimes the faces of the musicians diappear in the diffuse blue-green twilight on stage.
In December 2003, THE OCEAN won the band-contest of the RIOTFEST in Antwerp (B) and played a devastating gig with THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN and others on a stage that for the first time had a decent size for the 8- member collective... Shortly afterwards, THE OCEAN retreated to OCEANLAND again to record, in a mammoth-session that lasted from January to April 2004, more than 110 minutes of material for the upcoming 2 full-length albums. In the course of
that recording-session, an entire orchestra was recorded down in the catacombs of OCEANLAND, including 8 violins, 5 celli, clarinets, kettledrums and flutes.
In August 2004, the first half of that recording session was released under the title "Fluxion" through MAKE MY DAY Records(Germany) and the Spanish label Throne Records (abroad). Once again, the German press got more than excited: METAL
In April and May 2004, THE OCEAN toured Germany, Austria, Holland, Belgium, Czech and Poland for 3 weeks. The Fall of 2004 saw THE OCEAN play 20 more shows with CULT OF LUNA, NASUM, STRETCH ARM STRONG, BURST, and others.
After talking to various labels for months, all the while working on their new album "aeolian", THE OCEAN finally signed to METAL BLADE RECORDS in July 2005. Before the release of the upcoming full-length, two 'appetizers' have been released in october: a split 7" with Sweden's BURST (Relapse Records) out on Dutch label GARDEN OF EXILE Records, with a fold-out poster-cover designed by Seldon Hunt (known for his cover art for NEUROSIS and ISIS, among others), and another 7" record on Danish FUTHERMOCKER collective, strictly limited to 220 hand-numbered copies.
November 2005 will see the release of "Aeolian" - the heavier twin of the 2004 release "Fluxion". While "Fluxion" mixed the orchestral and atmospheric side of its predecessor "Fogdiver" with harsh vocals and complex metal passages, "Aeolian" develops all this fusion even further: the orchestral parts have been relegated to the background, the songs are heavier and more complex, and the arrangements are totally uncompromising.
However, this is not necessarily the direction in which the band is headed, but a result of the choice of songs on offer THE OCEAN won't move away from their epic orchestrations. In fact, on "Aeolian" the band wanted to experiment how a reduction to the classic line-up of guitar/bass/drums/vocals would work in the context of THE OCEAN. What came out is a dense, brutal album without
unnecessary decorations, aiming straight for the throat.
Despite its heaviness, "Aeolian" is more accessible than the previous album, which might be due to the fact that the unavoidable monotony of "hard" vocals has been broken up by using a number of different voices. There are 6 singers on the album altogether, covering the entire spectrum of aggressive vocals. Guest vocalists include Tomas Hallbom of BREACH, Nate Newton of CONVERGE / OLD MAN GLOOM and former COALESCE frontman Sean Ingram. Tomas Hallbom, who guests on 5 tracks, also appeared on stage with the band at selected shows last April, during which a few BREACH songs were covered. BREACH is one of
THE OCEAN's most important influences. Sean Ingram recorded the entire track "Queen Of The Food-Chain". Sean himself had the following to say about his participation: "if my rough takes at home are any indication, this will be my favourite guest appearance yet".
The album's elaborate design is the brainchild of Norwegian artist Martin Kvamme, who is best known for his work on Mike Patton's various projects (Fantomas, Tomahawk, Patton / Kaada). The 16-page booklet will be printed on different types of paper: the exterior depicts pictures of clouds, which will be printed on a heavy, mat paperboard. The lyrics in the interior will be printed on very thin paper, in the style of old Gutenberg bibles. The CD comes in a white slipcase with golden, embossed drawings by Kvamme.
The album was mastered by Magnus Lindberg (CULT OF LUNA) at the Tonteknik studio in Umea, Sweden. A 3xLP vinyl box set including the albums "Fluxion" and "Aeolian" will be released in November through the Spanish label Throne Records. The CD version of "Aeolian" will be released on the 25th of November in Germany and on the 28th of November in the rest of Europe through.
THE OCEAN esteem the following artists as particularly important influences and thus try even more assiduously to dissociate from them: Neurosis, David Lynch, The Refused, King Crimson, Lautreamont, Chopin, Portishead, Botch, Tarkowskij, Godspeed You Black Emperor!, Rimbaud, Breach, Godflesh, Dali, the Melvins and other surrealists... read less
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CDs
Live Apperances
- Ocean at The Ocean - Pelagial Tour 2014 (Reviewed)