Ocean Leaves was the name frontman Timothy Poitras gave his solo project when he first started writing songs a few years back.
But the name stuck after Timothy met a bunch of fellow musicians through Facebook, and Ocean Leaves was no longer a one-man show. The band released their debut EP, 'Always Is The Time To Make Everything' in 2013, and next month they are set to release their follow-up EP, ' Winter Heart'. “I think thematically [the new EP is] a little bit darker, just from the place that I was writing from, kinda dealing with some darker themes I guess, some stuff I was going through, like a bit of depression, and feeling a little bit isolated.
“But musically it's definitely a step in a different direction, especially the single, which is called 'Yellow Knife'. That was the first song that we wrote collaboratively, and I think it's probably the most ambitious thing musically that I've ever done, definitely that the band's ever done,” Timothy says.
Turning the conversation to the launch of 'Winter Heart', Timothy's excitement about playing at his favourite, Brisbane venue is evident. “I've seen so many awesome international acts play [at The Zoo], so we're really excited to play there on a Saturday night; we're doing something we haven't done before – instead of playing as a five-piece band, we're playing as an eight-piece band.
“We're going to have a horn section and a cellist joining us on stage, and our multi-instrumentalist Finn has arranged all the horn parts. We've been rehearsing with a trombone player and a trumpet player and a cellist, so it's going to be a really fun time on stage with these added players, it's going to bring the songs to life.”
'Winter Heart' is released 19 September. Ocean Leaves play Bunker Records (Toowoomba) 5 September and The Zoo (Brisbane) 19 September.
