We Are The Ocean are readying the release of their much anticipated fourth album Ark, which will be in the racks from Monday (May 11).
The album is the first for the band's new label BMG Chrysalis, which means they are now label-mates with A-listers Smashing Pumpkins and The Charlatans, but WATO are hoping to make a sharp ascent with this release too, and the signs are all good.
The Essex quartet return to Milton Keynes on Saturday, May 16, for a date at The Craufurd Arms.
Bassist Jack Spence went On Track with Total MK...
The song that first awakened your musical senses
I will unabashedly say that it was probably Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody that got me going. Based on that, I initially wanted to be a singer, but then reality stepped in and I looked towards music as a whole.
Physical or digital - how do you take your music?
Physical music will always be in my mind the ‘real’ way to support it, but with the amount we travel I do appreciate that there is a space for digital music. Furthermore, digital mediums are the perfect platform to discover new music, in my eyes. Discover it online then buy it in a shop.
The first time you thought 'Music - this is the job for me'
As for most, it was a hobby that developed into more than that, so I wouldn’t say there was a defining point where I thought that. But there have certainly been moments – particularly on stage, or listening back to a finished album for the first time – where I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.
Your best on stage memory
My memory always fails me, but the best memory I can remember in recent times happened a few weeks ago in Cologne. We were playing a headline show there, and unbeknownst to us the crowd had co-ordinated some touching crowd participation, and when we kicked into the chorus of Young Heart, a roomful of arms leapt into the air clutching homemade hearts and glow sticks.
It was simple but visually quite stunning from the stage, and certainly touching.
And the worst memory
Falling over; I used to fall over a lot – thankfully not so much these days. The trick is, and I learnt this the hard way, just embrace the fall.
Either stay on the floor and thrash out your part, or just get up and laugh it off. Oh, and pray nobody was filming.
What made you take up the bass?
I think for all of us it was the friendships we developed and the local scene we were in.
Which one song by another artist do you wish you had written?
Jeff Buckley – Hallelujah (I realise it originally was a Leonard Cohen song)
And one of yours which holds special significance
I think in the future, we’ll look back on the track ‘Ark’ as a significant song for the future of We Are The Ocean. Not to say future songs will be similar, but I think that track was a real step into the unknown, and a real challenge for us – and to see it be received so warmly has certainly bolstered our desire to push ourselves.
If you could step into the shoes of another musician, living or dead, who would it be and what would you do?
Prince; I bet he’s got some funky shoes. Not sure what size he is though, his feet look quite small.
Are there any current musical influences that you look to?
Queens of the Stone Age and Foo Fighters are two – albeit obvious – current influences we’ve looked to, not just for their music itself, but for their honest and unadulterated approach to recording and performing it.
And are there any genres of music that you simply can't stand?
Genre-wise, I am open to almost everything, as long as it is done well. I would much rather listen to a well-written rap track than a lazily-written, unadventurous rock song.
Finally, plug your new album and tell us what we can expect from the Craufurd Arms gig.
Ark is as expansive and eclectic a work as we’ve ever done. Musically and lyrically it’s the most exciting album we’ve written, and we don’t blow our own trumpets easily, so check it out!
As for the live show, we haven’t been to Milton Keynes in ages, and through recent touring we are a well-oiled live show machine, so we can’t wait to play.
