We Are The Ocean have been making big waves recently. They released their third album, ‘Maybe Today, Maybe Tomorrow’ last year and on the back of it have bagged a European tour support slot with Muse. Not bad! Leon Murray of DWF media caught up with the band to find out more

Hi Guys! So much fun was it supporting Muse and where was the biggest crowd?

Rome, the Olympic stadium was the biggest. It was a unique experience, it’s really cool that Muse took out a load of UK bands for their support shows.

The shows were incredible. We did 4 in total, 2 in Italy, 1 in Portugal and 1 in Switzerland. It’s like another world of touring we’re not really used to. It was quite surreal to play shows like that. We loved every minute of it.

Where was the video for ‘Machine’ filmed? Talk me through the day.

It was freezing cold on the rooftop where we were playing, probably the coldest day of the year. We traveled up to Manchester working with a film crew. They’re really cool and get great results. It was them that came up with the concept of the video; rather than taking the song as a direct meaning, they looked at it from another angle.

Going back a bit, when did you discover your own sound and did you have a particular sound you were aiming to achieve?

When you start a band and you start playing together, the sound is there and then. We’re not looking for anything in-particular, we’re just going with the changes. We don’t write songs thinking this song has got to sound like this or that. We’re just happy and comfortable playing together, coming up with the songs in the way that we do. It’s like a steady thing over a few years and people bring things to the table. We’re happy with how everything is now and we really enjoy playing together. We’re always writing, making new songs and coming up with new idea’s for songs and still loving it.

2012 you released the album ‘Maybe Today Maybe Tomorrow’, have you had chance to write any new material with your busy scedule since?

Yes. We’re always writing. We’re going to be doing some demo’s sometime between the festivals, stuff is happening. We’re thinking about recording something early next year.

Cool! You’ve been on the road a lot recently, what’s the most fun thing about touring?

Playing the live shows, that’s the best thing. Meeting new people and going to places you wouldn’t normally go. It makes you appreciate everything more, you appreciate your home town and the little things, like talking to complete strangers. You get see so many different cultures and places as well.

What announcement got you guys buzzed up?

We’ve had a lot of those recently.  ‘Big Weekend’ was wicked and back in December we played in Wembley arena with ‘You Me At Six’ which was awesome, and then the shows with ‘Muse’.

What track do you guys enjoy performing the most?

We enjoy them all but ‘The Road’ ‘Golden Gate’ and ‘Young Heart’ are our favorites.

What’s the craziest thing you’ve all done together?

We rode 150cc motocross bikes in America, we all got taught how to ride them on a course. We also jumped off a bridge together in Surrey, about 20 feet high. We did some recording on a separate island and we had to cross over a bridge to get to it, the river Themes runs under it and we just jumped off.

How would you describe the band to someone who’s never heard of you before?

We’re a four piece rock band with loud guitars. A rock band with pop structures, in the sense like the ‘Beatles’ wrote pop songs. We’re a rock band with loud guitars, distorted and sometimes clean. The drumming is loud, tight, and aggressive.

If you we’re asked to organize a party what would it be like?

You’d need a table in the middle for ‘flip cup’. A couple of kegs of beer, a couple of bottles of Jack Daniel’ and Gin. A massive swimming pool with a water slide and you’d have to do a shot of alcohol before you get on the slide. A bouncy castle, a PA system with a sick band and a DJ. Lets start a petition, we’ll get people to donate money so we can pull it off!

We’ll come! Am I right in saying you had one of your tracks ‘The Road’ on the computer game ‘Need For Speed’?

We get a lot of people online saying “We’ve never heard that song before”. You’re appealing to another sort of fan I guess, the gamer. It’s a great feeling. We got our own copies of the game and when we play the game it’s really cool to drive the car and listen to our own music.

Finally, what’s the best advice you can give to anyone thinking of starting out as a band?

When you start a band you need to have a lot of patience, don’t expect anything. You need a lot of commitment as it’s not something you can just do as a hobby. You have to really commit to it if you want to be a successful band. You have to play as many shows as you can and write as much music as you can. Don’t ever think you’re not good enough, just do the songs that you do and be yourself. Be happy, be confident and put yourself out there. Play as many gigs as you can. Hard work pays off.