Ocean Alley have a sound that’s hard to pin down – psychedelic, reggae and funk melodic, with a hint of sand and sea – and for fans, this kaleidoscope of sound makes the perfect recipe for a chilled-out gig.
The band are playing Groovin The Moo this April/ May and are keen to have one hell of a time. “We like going out, getting out of town and playing the regional festivals,” guitar player Mitch Galbraith says.
“They’ve definitely got a different vibe to the festivals held in the city. We like getting out and playing on a big stage that’s set up in some field in the middle of nowhere.
"I think this is our first tour where we’ll be playing in all the shows. We’re looking forward to travelling around meeting all the other artists.”
Groovin The Moo has been a trailblazing regional music festival since 2005. “[The festival] is very special for us as it validates the work you put in and the hours that you spend writing music and making music,” Mitch says.
“But it’s important for all the people of those towns who might not get to see as much live music as city slickers do.
"So, it’s very special for everyone involved and it’s important those festivals keep happening in all those out of the way places. We played Maitland Groovin The Moo last year, and that was fun.”
Ocean Alley’s new album, ‘Chiaroscuro’, will be released next month, a follow-up from their debut ‘Lost Tropics’. “We’ll be playing all of our songs from ['Chiaroscuro'], which we’re very excited to do since it’s been a while since we’ve played some new music.
“'Chiaroscuro' is a word from the Renaissance. It means strong, tonal contrast between light and dark. We thought that was an interesting name.
"Nothing too cliché, but it describes this album, as it’s going to have two groups of songs. Pretty snazzy for us. But we like doing something that’s different.
“We didn’t really go out with a set plan of how the album should turn out. But once we started writing a few songs the middle of last year, a sort of theme emerged of light and dark and there were two groups we could put these songs in that we were writing.”
Mitch says the band have been exploring new ideas with their music, including the concept of space. “We’ve had these great sessions in a really nice studio north of Sydney called The Grove, and when you’re out there there’s heaps of room and heaps of scope to really focus on who’s playing what.
“I’m kind of speaking for Baden [Donegal] here who’s the lead singer and writes the songs, but [the album] follows themes of relationships and stuff that we’re doing at the moment.
"We might not be spending as much time at home or on the beach, and more time on the road, which is what we always wanted to be doing, but broadly we’re still singing and still writing music about the same themes.”
Alongside Groovin The Moo will be the Ocean Alley headline tour, interspersed around the capital cities. “It will be a super busy time for us, but we think we’ll manage,” Mitch says.
“And then maybe a trip to Europe and the [United] States. We’ve had an offer from a festival in California, so we’ll probably go over there and try and build a tour around that. We went to Europe a year ago, but we’ve never been to the States as a group, so it’ll be fun.”
'Chiaroscuro' is released 9 March.
Ocean Alley Tour Dates
Sat 14 Apr – The Tivoli Theatre (Brisbane)Sat 21 Apr – Enmore Theatre (Sydney)
Fri 11 May – Metropolis (Fremantle)
Sat 19 May – Forum Melbourne
Groovin The Moo Tour Dates
Fri 27 Apr - GTM Wayville @ Adelaide ShowgroundSat 28 Apr - GTM Maitland @ Maitland Showground
Sun 29 Apr - GTM Canberra @ University of Canberra
Sat 5 May - GTM Bendigo @ Prince Of Wales Showground
Sun 6 May - GTM Townsville @ Murray Sports Complex
Sat 12 May - GTM Bunbury @ Hay Park
