Illuminating individual frequencies

MERGING SOUNDS: OceanSpace are a group of musicians who have combined to create a soulful vibe. Picture supplied

Tairawhiti has a new musical force on its hands, with OceanSpace dropping their first single tomorrow, Silver City Rain, treating ears to some much-needed chill tunes for the indoor days ahead.

“We just want people to boogie and have fun. That's what it's all about,” bass player Simon White said in an interview before the lockdown.

“Although it's our first single, it's not our first song.”

“We have about eight or nine so far, which could have been an album, but something about Silver City Rain was really fresh. Something about it felt like the start of something.

“It had something to it, flavour to it.”

The single was live-recorded in Gisborne at sound engineer Drew Kirk's home.

The band started when all seven members were living on Wairere Road in Wainui.

“We were just hanging and the band merged.”

OceanSpace has headlined and sold-out gigs with bands like Mini Simmons, Masaya, and Nicholas Franchise in less than a year of existence.

Each of the members has their own style that combines to create the delicious tunes that is OceanSpace, Simon says.

As the band's website states, they are a “constellation of seven stars . . . Each star illuminates individual frequencies which bound together to form harmonious light”.

Together the bandmates bring elements of funk, hard rock, spacey, Nicolas Jar vibes and soul to make their sound.

“All these ingredients come together to create this tornado. And when it gets going, we think it's going to carve out paths in the New Zealand music world.”

Writing a song by yourself is hard enough. How do seven people manage to do it?

“We've splashed out some of our band money and bought a fancy recorder, and when we jam, we listen back to it.

“We hear four seconds of fire and think, ‘Damn, let's repeat that'.”

But music is only half the story. The band aims to flavour their shows with performance-based art.

“That's our vibe. We decided to have a good time by playing quite intricate performances with theatrics, light shows, lasers and animations.

“The whole idea is to make it an experience.”

That means they want to have each show as a new creation.

“Expect something different each time. We don't want to stagnate. We make a new intro every time we play.”

Moving away from alcohol-based events, Simon says they can see themselves at more wellness-based festivals than booze ups.

But that doesn't stop them venturing out into the night.

Next month (if the lockdowns do their thing), OceanSpace will open for Nicholas Franchise at The Dome on September 25. Tickets from undertheradar, and you can find their single online tomorrow on all good streaming services.