Interview: Ocasan
Ocasan are a three piece alternative rock band based in Northampton, UK. They had a great first year with the release of debut album “Ricochet”, while debut single “When you’re around” shot straight to no. 1 in the Bulgarian charts – not bad for a new unsigned band!
They just began with regular updates via video blogs – watch them here!
Hello, how are you today?
I’m very well thankyou
For those who don’t know you, can you please introduce yourself?
My name is Luke, I’m the drummer from OCASAN
How did you all meet? And what’s your musical background?
We all met in Bath (the place, not the tub) a very cool, bohemian city that seems to be a mecca for musos and artists from all walks of life. We’ve all been playing since we we’re about 13 and it looks like fate had her filthy way with us.
How would you describe your sound?
Try ELO meets Panic at the disco meets All American Rejects
What is your creative process when writing songs as a band? Does everyone have their own specific role?
Generally we swap writing roles. Me personally, I’m pretty controlling so insist on being with a song from birth until fruition. I take on a strong role when it comes to lyrics where as Nick and Rich will have more influence on chords. Having said that we all do a bit of everything.
Do you enjoy performing live? How do you know when you’ve had a good gig? Any memorable live experiences you could tell us about?
I love performing when there’s a fantastic audience. I get that overwhelming “I was born to do this” feeling when I’m up there. We’ve played some incredible gigs. Once we played a show in the channel islands. It was in a huge marquee that during the gig filled up entirely with water. We kept playing the show but it was so dangerous. The best thing was it didn’t kill the vibe at all – people just kept rocking out and got really really wet.
You are currently working on your second album – what can you tell us about?
Its all top secret at the moment so I cant say too much. What I can hint at is its heavily influenced by Michael Jackson.
What the best piece of praise you’ve received so far?
That’s a hard question. We’re beginning to receive some great feedback from all over the world. I think it was last week I heard from one of the Rolling Stones saying how much they loved the music.
Josephine
What kind of music/artists do you listen to when you are not playing your own?
It’s so varied. Recently I’ve been listening to, of all people, Nat King Cole but generally sway towards rock/pop music. Rich is a big fan of RHCP and Nick has been filling his boots with Paramore as of late.
How do you promote your music?
We’ve just signed a distribution deal with Universal who will be hiring a top London media team to help with promo. We do our best to keep in contact with our fans every day.
What’s the plan for 2011?
Domination…no, we’ve got some big potential tours coming up, new music videos and we’re keeping a weekly video blog to keep every one in the loop. It’s going to be a really exciting year for OCASAN and we’re planning to have shit loads of fun in the process. Join the ride…
