THE OCEAN have to announce a few line-up changes. Please read the statements from the band members as follows:
THE OCEAN: „As most of you will already know by now, Luc and Jona are leaving the band at the end of this tour. They have given us fair notice of their departure in June this year, so that we would have enough time to find replacements.”
Luc Hess comments:
„I’m getting to this point where i feel like everything I could bring to this band, i already have. And everything I learned music-wise from it can’t go any further. This is a tough decision, but i’ve been thinking this through since a while already. I have no regrets at all, it was most certainly one of the best experiences I’ve ever lived, and I am more than happy we’ve been through this together. I feel very thankful and grateful that you guys trusted me and shared these moments over the last 5 years.”
Jona Nido comments:
„There are obviously a ton of reasons for that to happen now. These include artistic divergence, full-time commitment to a project that isn’t 100% fulfilling anymore and other stuff like not wanting to deal with certain aspects/restrictions of what an established/touring act requires for its production and also the way things are generally working, especially on a personal level.”
Robin Staps continues:
„These guys have dedicated the time of their lives to playing live with this band, and I am grateful for sharing what has always been essentially my own vision of this band with me for almost 6 years. Jona has written great songs for „Anthropocentric”, and Luc has coined and personalized the sound of this band with his hard-hitting, creative approach to drumming. But over the past 2 years of intense touring, we have grown apart as musicians and as people, and it has gotten to a point where it was unfulfilling for everyone involved.
„A divorce usually hurts, but it always also opens up new horizons. We are happy to announce that Paul Seidel will be the new drummer in The Ocean. Paul is currently playing in War From A Harlot’s Mouth, who are going on indefinite hiatus at the end of the year, as well as in Dioramic and Wassbass. He also gives drum lessons in Berlin and knows from the experience with his own bands what it’s like to tour America, Europe and Australia. To get a taste of Paul’s drumming, watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?
„This clip only represents a small fraction of Paul repertoire and abilities. We have only had 3 rehearsals with Paul so far, but it has clicked from the beginning both on a musical and personal level. I would have never thought that I could find another drummer who plays at the same level as Luc, but now I am sure that Paul will not only follow in Luc’s footsteps, but also stray from the path and bring new, exciting things to the table. I always knew that Paul was a machine who wouldn’t struggle with fast stuff like in ‘Disequilibrated’ or ‘The Wish In Dreams’, but watching him enjoy playing some of the slow and calm songs with so much feeling and energy really made me aware of how awesome and versatile a drummer he really is. Paul was the only drummer we auditioned, and after we did, there was no desire to try out anyone else.”
Paul Seidel adds:
„I’m very pleased to officially announce, that I’ll be joining forces with THE OCEAN. I am glad, both musically and on a personal scale, to walk new paths and broaden my horizon. My personal approach has always been to overcome genre boundaries as well as stereotypes, to swim against the current and to play or enjoy music apart from conventional habits. THE OCEAN have ever since implemented a conceptual urge in the context of progressive music and have never been afraid to dare to experiment. Therefore, I am more than looking forward to getting creative and contribute my part to the art of THE OCEAN.”
THE OCEAN, in collaboration with Noisey, are streaming the entire ‘China’ chapter of Collective Oblivion! Head to noisey.vice.com to view the 30-minute chapter!
Collective Oblivion is something the band has been teasing for quite a while. Fans saw a glimpse of what sort of content would be on this release in the form of tour updates on youtube, including: Russia 2012 video blog, The Ocean in China, The Ocean North American tour blog 2011, and more. Finally, fans will be able to order this thorough and expansive look at THE OCEAN’s career and touring experiences, including the Heliocentric record release show with an extended line-up of 13 musicians on stage; as well as a special performance at the museum for musical instruments in Berlin, and much, much more!
Collective Oblivion includes:
– Multiple camera shots of three full live concerts with a total of 21 individual song performances
– 130 minutes of THE OCEAN history, as told by band members, past and present
– 175 minutes of tour documentaries and live footage filmed in North America, Asia, Russia, Australia, and Europe
– Total run time of 500 minutes!
Collective Oblivion comes in a hardcover / book-style packaging with brass-foil print. The book contains 3 DVDs and a +30 pages booklet, with loads of photos, tour diaries and writings by band members and by director Alex Kraudelt, who dedicated 2 and a half years of his life to traveling with THE OCEAN around the globe. Collective Oblivion is the end result of this long odyssey, which produced a total of 28 terabyte of video data for editing. The DVD is out now!
View the trailer for Collective Oblivion and order your copy now at www.metalblade.com/theocean.
Also, THE OCEAN will be on tour throughout Europe in November. The complete list of dates can be found below, and on facebook.com/
THE OCEAN
+ SHINING
+ TIDES FROM NEBULA
+ HACRIDE
31/10/13 NL – Rotterdam – Baroeg
01/11/13 UK – London – The Garage
02/11/13 UK – Leeds – Damnation Festival
03/11/13 FR – Paris – Divan du Monde
04/11/13 FR – Aix-en-Provence – Le Korigan
05/11/13 ES – Barcelona – Apolo 2
06/11/13 ES – Madrid – Caracol
07/11/13 PT – Porto – Hard Club
08/11/13 ES – Bilbao – Santana 27
09/11/13 IT – Torino – Audiodrome
10/11/13 IT – Rome – Traffic
11/11/13 SI – Ljubljana – Gala Hala
12/11/13 DE – München – Backstage Club
13/11/13 CH – Winterthur – Salzhaus
14/11/13 FR – Belfort – La Poudriere
15/11/13 DE – Essen – Zeche Car
16/11/13 DE – Karlsruhe – Die Stadtmitte
17/11/13 DE – Berlin – Lido
18/11/13 PL – Warsaw – Progresja
19/11/13 PL – Wroclaw – Alibi
THE OCEAN
+ TIDES FROM NEBULA
+ ABRAHAM
20/11/13 AT – Wien – Viper Room
21/11/13 HU – Budapest – A38
22/11/13 RO – Cluj-Napoca – Gambinus Pub
23/11/13 RO – Bucharest – Fabrica
24/11/13 BG – Sofia – t.b.a.
25/11/13 GR – Athens – Gagarin 205
26/11/13 GR – Thessaloniki – Eightball
27/11/13 RS – Belgrade – Club Fest
28/11/13 BA – Sarajevo – Cinema Kriterion
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