Oceansize

Oceansize
Oceansize live in Vienna, 2008.
Background information
Origin	Manchester
Genres	Progressive rock Post-rock Space rock
Years active	1998–2011
Labels	Superball Music Beggars Banquet Records
Associated acts	Kong Pocketknife
Website	oceansize.co.uk
Members
Mike Vennart Steve Durose Gambler Mark Heron Steven Hodson
Past members
Jon Ellis

Oceansize were a British rock band, formed in Manchester, England on 19th October 1998. The band consisted of Mike Vennart (vocals, guitar), Steve Durose (guitar, backing vocals), Richard "Gambler" Ingram (guitar, keyboards), Mark Heron (drums) and Jon Ellis (bass guitar) for the majority of its career, with Steve Hodson replacing Ellis on bass in 2006. The band released four studio albums, in addition to a number of minor EPs and singles, and can be categorized variously as progressive rock, post-rock, alternative rock, new prog and space rock, among other genres. Following a twelve-year career, Oceansize announced their split in February 2011,^[1] with the members moving on to different projects.

Oceansize were named after the Jane's Addiction song "Ocean Size". According to guitarist Gambler, the band's then-bassist Jon Ellis came up with the name: "I think, at the time, he was thinking what we would sound like. Jane’s Nothing's Shocking album, which has the track "Ocean Size" on it, was definitely a big influence."^[2]

Style, influences and creative process

In regards to influences, Oceansize claimed to have an eclectic source of inspiration. Gambler has attested that everyone in the band had "such diverse influences. I think it would be a list a mile long. The obvious ones, especially for me, would be Radiohead, Mogwai, Aphex Twin, Nine Inch Nails and Tool; I think I could probably go on all day. I mean if you looked at our record collection you probably wouldn’t think it."^[2] Other cited influences have included Jane's Addiction and Cardiacs.

Oceansize often stated the bulk of their writing was the product of fruitful 'jam sessions,' with Steve Durose explaining after the release of Effloresce that "our sound has just evolved really, but right from the first rehearsal, we kind of had it in the bag. We were on mushrooms and just jammed for ages, and then we listened back to the tapes. About three songs from Effloresce were born in that one rehearsal, and we just realized we had something special happening. Everything comes from jams, though. That’s the way we write." ^[3] In regards to structure and time signature, Durose cites drummer Mark Heron as a key collaborator; "Mark’s very into strange beats, so what will start off as a very simple idea, once it’s been through the Oceansize washing machine will come out as something sounding quite bizarre at the other end."^[3] Gambler has advocated a 'no strings' approach with the creative process, saying that "I think we have been tied into the whole progressive thing for quite a bit now. When we formed the band we didn’t think we were going to be this or that sort of band. We’re forward thinking as far as our music is concerned".^[2]

History

Formation and early years (1998-2003)

The band members met each other while attending music college in Salford, where the various members performed in a range of different musical acts very stylistically different from the band they would go on to create.^[4] "[The bands were] pretty terrible," explains Mike Vennart. "We were in a grunge band. When I met Steve I asked him to be the new guitarist. I wanted to be experimental and unusual and still write pop songs. We were terrible at it. We didn't go anywhere for a while. When we got a new rhythm section, we re-thought what we were doing and got better. We had more vision. Although we don't all like the same music and have different tastes, we can see clearly where our music needs the most work."

Over the next few years, Oceansize would release two self-released EPs Amputee and A Very Still Movement. This in turn led to interest from Beggars Banquet Records, who signed the band in 2000. The band's first release on the label was the Relapse EP titled after a very early composition that had been through many different reworkings.^[4] The EP was produced by Cardiacs leader Tim Smith, a long-time hero of the band.

Effloresce (2003-2005)

Oceansize's debut album Effloresce was released on September 29, 2003 on Beggars Banquet. The album spawned the singles "Catalyst", "One Day All This Could Be Yours" and "Remember Where You Are", each of which featured a music video. The album garnered considerable critical acclaim, with music critic Ben Hogwood stating that: "with their broad harmonic language and fluctuating rhythms it's difficult to give an alternative to Oceansize, which is always a good sign. If pushed I would say they've taken a good liking to '70s rock but taken on board the works of bands such as Muse and The Cooper Temple Clause, along with the more expansive end of Seattle grunge music.".^[5]

Everyone Into Position (2005-2007)

Two years later, the band released their second album, Everyone Into Position on September 19, 2005.

Oceansize performing live at the LVC in Leiden, Netherlands.

The album track "Meredith" was featured on the popular television drama The O.C., and one of the album's singles, "Music For A Nurse", became the soundtrack to an Orange advertising campaign entitled Fish during summer 2006. "Music For A Nurse" was also featured in the motion picture The Invisible (2007), and both "Music For A Nurse" and "Meredith" have also been used in the BBC drama series Waterloo Road.

Oceansize have mixed views on the album as a whole. In 2007, Steve Durose admitted that:^[6]

“

the 'singley' songs we put out didn't do us any good whatsoever. There might be a few songs on the new album you can sing along to, but they're not our fans' favourite tunes, and they're not our favourite tunes.

”

Despite the band's view on the record, critics and fans have generally praised the release. Jeremy Chick praised the album, writing: "songs seeping into each other, the palpable sense of drama and sounds that will haunt you forever in your dreams. I hate to pander to the whole US vs. UK debate but you can't deny Oceansize are living proof that we have some very special bands over here; making music that is not only thought provoking; but genre defying, original and mind-blowingly amazing!".^[7] Pitchfork however gave the album a mediocre rating, suggesting that "[the styles] don't really blend but instead just seem to sidle up beside one another, varying extensively from track to track. There are powerful moments throughout, from intense bouts of noise and vocal wails, to quiet, serene ambience, but tying it all together somehow makes it seem watered down and banal."^[8]

Following the release of Everyone Into Position, Oceansize subsequently left Beggars Banquet.^[9] The band sought a new record deal that would better support the band in terms of promotion and financial backing for international touring.^{[citation needed]} Mike Vennart implied in a recent interview that the record deal was contingent on the band writing two tracks "on order" for the company. These mp3s were released on the band's Myspace page around Christmas 2006 as a band-described gift to the fans. The two songs were "Red Rag to a Bear" and "Siberian Bullshit". In the posting of these mp3s, Vennart described these tracks as "warts an' all," and suggested that they would not show up on the new album.

On moving to new label, Superball Music, Vennart described the move as a chance for the band to move forward: "we reached a point when we’d gone as far as we could [with Beggars’ Banquet]. We needed a new home and these guys offered it to us on a plate. We’re the only band on the label at the moment, so they can’t do enough for us"^[6]

Departure of Ellis and arrival of Hodson

Everyone Into Position marked the final appearance of bassist Jon Ellis. On December 4, 2005, the band issued a press release, stating that Ellis was leaving the band, but would still contribute musically. On January 16, 2006, frontman Mike Vennart, issued a short post on an Oceansize messageboard announcing Ellis' replacement, Steve Hodson - a member of the Oceansize side-project Kong and also the drummer in Capulet. In 2007, Vennart stated that:^[9]

“

when Jon left, we thought we were really screwed, because when you start gambling with your chemistry, you can come a cropper. So it’s something we took very seriously. There was an unspoken vibe that if we couldn’t find the right guy, then we’d have to quit, because there’s no point carrying on if you’re only going to be firing on half your cylinders. Thankfully, we were really, really lucky and we found Steven [Hodson], who was actually already in a band [Kong] with our drummer. [...] I don’t really know why we went through the painful process of auditioning people. People came from far and wide to try out, and there were some really good players, but I think we were auditioning simply ‘bass players’, when we were looking for an all-round musician, who could look at the music from lots of different perspectives

”

In a 2010 interview with Gambler, the guitarist/keyboardist revealed that the relationship with Ellis ended with his departure from Oceansize. Gambler admitted that Ellis had not stayed in contact with band since his leaving; "It’s a shame. He doesn’t seem to want to get in touch or spend any time with the other members of the band, and I’m not going to force him. I’m not sure what the reason is."^[10] Gambler also alluded to why Ellis chose to depart the band; "Jon never liked touring, he didn’t like being away from home, but he loved writing. But if you want to be in a band you have to make these sacrifices, you have to learn to put up with things you may not be too keen on. So sitting at home writing songs while the rest of the band did the hard work didn’t seem fair to me."^[10]

Frames (2007-2008)

The band's third album, Frames, was released on October 1, 2007 on Superball Music. Artwork for the album was provided by Robin Finck of Nine Inch Nails and Guns 'n' Roses.^[2] Originally entitled The Frame, the band elected to alter the name slightly after an incidental suggestion; Vennart explained that "one of our friends, who’s in Future of the Left, said ‘I love the title… Frames, isn’t it?’ We just thought, ‘well it wasn’t, but that’s a lot better. It’s an angular title, it evokes strength and structure and it’s quite cinematic."^[9] The album was trailed as featuring "a lot of songs about grudges and negative energy”,^[6] with the song "Commemorative 9/11 T-Shirt", inspired by a gift to Vennart by band Cardiacs, which includes a time signature of "11/8 or 9/8, so when we were naming the song it was like 'it's in 11, it's in 9, it's got to be 9/11",^[6]

Regarding the band's change of approach for Frames, album, Vennart stated that:^[9]

“

Everyone Into Position was all over the place with so many different styles and moods, whereas I think these songs know each other. It was a liberating experience making this record, because to be quite honest, we didn’t care what people thought of it. We were very insular, doing it six days a week and indulging ourselves, and I think that means it’s not contrived, it’s a lot more us than we’ve done before. On our second album, we did that classic thing that every band seems to do – try to sanitise who we are to make a bid for airplay and try and trim everything down so it’s nice and concise. I think that worked for some of the songs, but there was a couple of singles that didn’t really suit us. The fans didn’t like them and they didn’t get played on the radio anyway! So when we sat down to write this one, the only thing we said was ‘let’s not make any singles!"

”

Feed to Feed and Home & Minor (2009)

In May and June 2009, Oceansize supported Sydney band Cog on a national tour of Australia, along with other support act Calling All Cars, playing a string of dates which included shows in capital cities Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide & Brisbane. Of the tour, Mike Vennart spoke of the excitement, saying "from the moment (the tour) was mentioned, I was just hammering our manager, going ‘make it happen!’” ^[11]

On the 1 August 2009, the band played the Sonisphere festival at Knebworth, joining Linkin Park, Metallica, Nine Inch Nails, Alice in Chains and more for the weekend festival. On the 21 August 2009, Oceansize supported Biffy Clyro at the Edinburgh Corn Exchange and the reformed Faith No More on the 25th^[12]

The band released a live box set in September 2009, entitled Feed to Feed.^[13] The release is limited to 5000 copies.^[14] The live recordings are taken from a series of shows the band performed on three consecutive nights at the Roadhouse in Manchester. The band played each of their three studio albums from start to finish, one album each night, including related b-sides. The boxset contains three DVDs and four CDs.

A new EP, entitled Home and Minor, was released in October 2009.^[15] On the EP, Vennart has explained that the band have adopted a particular stylistic approach on the record:^[16]

“

There’s no big blast beats, no metal, there’s no riffs, there’s no ‘loud loud’ on it. The whole EP is a more gentle affair. There’s stuff on it like Music For a Nurse (from Everyone Into Position ), that sorta stuff....It certainly sounds like us, but it is a bit different.”[11] Vennart added that “the idea of this more-chilled EP is something that we’ve been thinking about way before we got signed. It would be nice to be able to do different albums and EPs, with different flavours. And we thought about how the second album Everyone Into Position was quite scattered, with a million different styles on it and I think that turned a lot of people off in some ways. So we thought if it’s an EP, let’s just do something that is one flavour, rather than try and put in all these different colours into it and freak everybody out, because it’s not going to work for thirty minutes.

”

Self Preserved While the Bodies Float Up (2010)

Earlier, in January 2010, the band embarked upon a UK tour, showcasing new material from their forthcoming fourth studio album. Mike Vennart stated that:^[17]

“

The plan was when we got back from the tour, which was actually scheduled for two months or so ago, we were going to [record the songs] then. We thought, "let's not start recording now, let's write some more stuff, and go out and play that on the rescheduled dates, and then we'll have more stuff to put down." We've set ourselves a deadline and it's all coming together, it's exciting.

”

In February 2010, guitarist Gambler revealed more about the new album, stating:^[10]

“

Most of the songs are shorter, more concise. We didn’t set out to write shorter songs, it just happened; we didn’t feel the need to drag them out and elaborate on them any further than necessary. I think we’ve been tarred with the ‘oh-they-write-long-proggy-songs’ brush so I think a few people will be quite surprised.

”

According to Mike Vennart's Twitter, the recording of the album was completed as on the 17 April, with Vennart stating "Recording is complete! Album 4 is go! It's all on Chris Sheldon now". Mastering was completed at Abbey Road Studios on 18 May 2010 by Sean Magee.^[18] On 22 July 2010, Oceansize posted one of the album's songs, "SuperImposer", on their ^[19] Superball website, and made it available for download via Twitter and Facebook.

Oceansize's fourth (and, to date, final) album, Self Preserved While the Bodies Float Up, was released on 6 September 2010.The album showcased a heavier side to the band, who stated that it probably was their heaviest studio album to date. However, Vennart claimed that the album still had the diversity found on other Oceansize albums.

When asked by Fasterlouder.com on the future of Oceansize, Vennart was coy, but optimistic about the band's future goals:^[11]

“

after the second album we stopped trying to make goals. We started getting a chip on our shoulder about not having broken through and being broke. We were getting to the point where if you start expecting certain things to happen, you’re going to be pretty bummed when they don’t. So we’ve got to the point where we kind of literally float through the whole thing. We don’t really think about any long term plans. We really do live for the day. I’m sure that our record company or our manager have some kind of financial expectations of us. All we really want to do is to be able to pay our rent. We really don’t care about anything else. Having this kind of mentality has paid off. We’ve stuck to our goals and made the records we wanted to make and forgot about the fact that everybody is listening to us and just concentrated on turning each other on. And that is a risky thing to do. I don’t think a lot of bands can do that, especially the bands higher up the ladder.

”

Breakup (2011)

It was announced on 25 February 2011 via the band's Twitter and Facebook pages that Oceansize had split up. No explanations were given.

Later in the day, the band released information on further plans for the majority of its members. Mike Vennart would be working on a project called Hhaitch as well as working with Gambler on a new project called British Theatre. Gambler, in turn, would also be continuing his solo career under his real name of Richard Ingram. Mark Heron and Steve Hodson would continue with Kong, while each also worked on two other projects separately – Hodson on Chandelier Swing and Mild Eyes, Heron on Krem and improv band Shamefaced. Steve Durose will be joining long time friends Amplifier as live second guitarist on all of their scheduled 2011 tour dates.

Side projects and collaborations

Kong (consisting of Steven Hodson and Mark Heron) recorded their debut album Snake Magnet in the summer of 2007 at The Works Recording Studio in Bredbury (where Everyone Into Position was recorded). Kong signed with Los Angeles based label White Drugs, home of The Bronx and released Snake Magnet in 2009, with two singles preceding the release (on Brew Records).

Gambler - under his real name of Richard A. Ingram - released a solo album Consolamentum in May 2010 on a small Manchester label called WhiteBox. He has also sometimes played bass guitar with the post-punk band Pocketknife, and released a couple of CD-Rs independently consisting of solo piano music.

In 2010, Mike Vennart joined long-time friends Biffy Clyro as second guitarist on all live dates.

On 7 May 2010, Steve Hodson was announced as the fill in bassist of Future of the Left as the short term replacement for the recently departed Kelson.

Currently ex-bassist Jon Ellis is recording and producing tracks from underground Manchester band 'The Marivaux' ^[20]

Oceansize shared a camaraderie with fellow Mancunian band Amplifier, with the bands referring to each other as “brothers-in-amps”.^[21] Mike Vennart and Steve Durose supplied backing vocals on two of the tracks on Amplifier's self-titled debut album, while Amplifier's front-man Sel Balamir is credited in Oceansize's song “Sizeofanocean”.

During the recording of Everyone Into Position in 2005 at The Works Recording Studio, Vennart ran into Snoop Dogg, and recorded guitar parts for the rapper's demos. After a phone call from Polydor Records requesting use of the studio, the mystery client turned out to be Snoop Dogg. "This studio is where we have done a lot of our work but it isn't an industry blinged up place, it's just a nice and comfortable basement studio. We ended up being his skivvies for the night literally making pizza and frying chicken for him. He worked out that I was a guitarist and sent me driving at five o' clock in the morning to fetch my guitar because I'm left-handed. I ended up playing all these cheesy porn soundtrack guitar riffs to him for about three hours until I couldn't play it anymore. He likes everything really loose, definitely not tight. His grooves are unorthodox. I'll be honest; I didn't appreciate his music until I saw how they do it all. After every gig he does he has somewhere booked out so he can just turn up with about fifteen guys who all have a Macintosh and just make beats all night. It was really great watching them work"^[22] elaborated Vennart.

Discography

Albums

• Effloresce (2003)
• Everyone into Position (2005)
• Frames (2007)
• Self Preserved While the Bodies Float Up (2010)

EPs

• Amputee (1999)
• A Very Still Movement (2001)
• Relapse (2002)
• Music for Nurses (2004)
• Home and Minor (2009)

Box sets

• Feed to Feed (2009)^[13]

Singles

• "Saturday Morning Breakfast Show" (1999) (7" Vinyl Only)
• "One Day All This Could Be Yours" (2003) (CD/10" Vinyl)
• "Catalyst" (2003) (Download Single)
• "Remember Where You Are" (2003) (CD/7" Vinyl)
• "Catalyst" (2004) (CD/7" Vinyl) - UK #73^[23]
• "Heaven Alive" (2005) (CD/7" Vinyl)
• "New Pin" (2006) (CD/7" Vinyl)
• "Walking in the Air" (Cover version) (2007) (Free Christmas Single, Web Only)
• "SuperImposer" (2010) (7" Vinyl/Digital Download)

Members

• Mike Vennart - guitar, lead vocals (1998–2011)
• Steve Durose - guitar, backing vocals (1998–2011)
• Richard "Gambler" Ingram - guitar, keyboards (1998–2011)
• Steven Hodson - bass, keyboards (2006–2011)
• Mark Heron - drums (1998–2011)

Former members

• Jon Ellis - bass, keyboards (1998–2005)

References

1. ^ "www.oceansize.co.uk". oceansize.co.uk. 2011 [last update]. http://www.oceansize.co.uk/. Retrieved 25 March 2011. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d} "Oceansize : Interview". Pennyblackmusic.co.uk. http://www.pennyblackmusic.co.uk/MagSitePages/Article.aspx?id=4478. Retrieved 2011-04-03. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "Oceansize Interview". Stayfun.co.uk. http://www.stayfun.co.uk/old/features/oceansize.shtml. Retrieved 2011-04-03. 
4. ^ ^{a b} "Oceansize". Freewilliamsburg.com. http://www.freewilliamsburg.com/july_2004/oceansize.html. Retrieved 2011-04-03. 
5. ^ "Oceansize - Effloresce | album reviews". musicOMH.com. http://www.musicomh.com/albums/oceansize.htm. Retrieved 2011-04-03. 
6. ^ ^{a b c d} "God Is In The TV | Oceansize". Godisinthetvzine.co.uk. http://www.godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=2013&type=Interviews. Retrieved 2011-04-03. 
7. ^ http://www.subba-cultcha.com/article_album.php?id=399
8. ^ "Album Reviews: Oceansize: Everyone Into Position". Pitchfork. 2006-02-23. http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/6122-everyone-into-position/. Retrieved 2011-04-03. 
9. ^ ^{a b c d} The Size of things. "Manchester - Entertainment - The Size of things". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/manchester/content/articles/2007/10/01/011007_oceansize_feature.shtml. Retrieved 2011-04-03. 
10. ^ ^{a b c} Lindsay, Andrew. "SK vs… Oceansize". stereokill.net. http://stereokill.net/2010/02/sk-vs-oceansize/. Retrieved 2011-04-03. 
11. ^ ^{a b c} "Oceansize on". Fasterlouder.com.au. 2009-05-20. http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/features/18521/Oceansize.htm. Retrieved 2011-04-03. 
12. ^ http://sizeboard.com/index.php/topic,4250.0.htm
13. ^ ^{a b} Lindsay, Andrew. "Oceansize to release live box set". stereokill.net. http://stereokill.net/2009/04/28/oceansize-to-release-live-box-set/. Retrieved 2011-04-03. 
14. ^ Lindsay, Andrew. "More Oceansize box set news". stereokill.net. http://stereokill.net/2009/04/30/more-oceansize-box-set-news/. Retrieved 2011-04-03. 
15. ^ Lindsay, Andrew. "Oceansize announce 'Home and Minor' EP". stereokill.net. http://stereokill.net/2009/08/17/oceansize-announce-home-and-minor-ep/. Retrieved 2011-04-03. 
16. ^ Hallam Drury (2009-05-02). "The Screaming Silence - Philosophy and Stories from the Silence: Oceansize prepare their 'Progressive Death Indie' for Australian shores". Hallamd.blogspot.com. http://hallamd.blogspot.com/2009/05/oceansize-prepare-their-progressive.html. Retrieved 2011-04-03. 
17. ^ "Oceansize frontman Mike Vennart talks to eGigs - current tour, favourite gigs, favourite albums, and a dead bat! on Monday 25 January 2010". eGigs.co.uk. 2010-01-25. http://www.egigs.co.uk/index.php?a=13338. Retrieved 2011-04-03. 
18. ^ "Oceansize (RealOceansize) on Twitter". Twitter.com. http://twitter.com/realoceansize. Retrieved 2011-04-03. 
19. ^ "Oceansize - Self Preserved While The Bodies Float Up". Superballmusic.com. http://www.superballmusic.com/specials/oceansize. Retrieved 2011-04-03. 
20. ^ according to beinginaband.blogspot.com
21. ^ "Links". Amplifier's homepage. http://www.amplifiertheband.com/links.php. Retrieved 2007-06-11. 
22. ^ "Oceansize Interview van apoplectic. op Myspace". Blogs.myspace.com. 2006-10-19. http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=12778932&blogId=182708399. Retrieved 2011-04-03. 
23. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 403. ISBN 1-904994-10-5. 

External links

• Official website
• Oceansize on Myspace
• Kong on Myspace
• Stereokill: February 2010
• Radio Interview. Dec 2006 - 3SYN 90.7FM Melbourne, Australia