Interview: Who is Nocean?

Hanna: Nocean started as a classic hard rock band in 2013, when me and Ozzy came from another band that broke up. We got a record deal pretty fast and released our debut album last spring with Attitude Recordings – an independent label from Sweden. We went on our first European tour and had great fun on the road, became really good friends. But as life turns, Nocean also turned last summer when three of the members chose to leave the band for personal reasons. Me and Ozzy were left alone again with our never-dying-passion – and so we started to form a new sound and we found Sara (bass) and Patrick (drums) to continue the journey. Now we are playing alternative rock with metal influences and electronic elements and we have released two singles from our upcoming album with the new sound. In October 2016 we released the first single, The Change, along with an unique 360 video. Recently we released the second single, This Must Be, along with a music video as well.

CC: What does your band name mean?

Hannah: It’s a play with words! Notion and ocean together. If you wanna be deep you can say that it means an ocean of ideas/notions that we are creating with our music. It was our former bass player who came up with Notion, and then I played with the word and so we found “Nocean”. It’s sometime very difficult for people to pronounce it right. The fun thing is that we are Swedes, but not even English talking people say it correctly! We’ve heard various versions, like No-clean or No Seen etc. So we sometimes explain: it’s like Ocean with an N.

CC: Who are some of your musical inspirations?

Hannah: Every band member in Nocean has different inspirations of course. We have a fine mix of alternative rock, death metal, metalcore and classic rock. But to describe our music we say that we are influenced by bands such as Thirty Seconds To Mars and Muse. But we are a bit heavier than those bands, and we are all great fans of Devin Townsend. We want our music to be memorable, heavy and grand. Since we are now using backing tracks with electronic elements, it makes our music sound massive. I write the lyrics and I always find inspiration from an instant feeling or state of mind, I write about things that are happening to me or people around me. It is often about moving forward and to stay positive and strong.

CC: Who would you like to tour with realistically and unrealistically?

Hannah: Oh, that is a tough one. Realistically, it might be some Swedish band or so, maybe Amaranthe or the band Battle Beast from Finland. But un realistically, I would dream to play with bands such as Halestorm, Thirty Seconds To Mars or Muse. Devin Townsend again, and I think that I speak for all the band members on that. Iron Maiden… Well, the list goes on!

CC: What does the rest of 2017 have in store for you guys?

Hannah: On the 8th of June we are playing our biggest show ever – on Sweden Rock Festival! And in the end of May we are going back to England to play three headline shows in London, Tamworth and Birmingham. We’ve worked with two really great promoters there, Lillith Promotions and Mr Blad promotions. They’ve been so kind and we are so thankful that we get to do this again. Last year we went with the band Evyltyde from London so thanks to them we got in contact with the bookers for our show this year. We’ve also signed a contract with a management company (still not really official), so we hope to play more European shows this fall. We are also producing our second album on our own, in a professional home studio, and the plan is to release it later on this year. We are talking to several companies to collaborate on the release of the album, we are looking for labels and distribution partners and since we got booked to Sweden Rock we got some offers right away which is really fun.

CC: Is there anything else you’d like to say to your fans or anyone that may be reading this interview at all?

Hannah: If you want to hear something new that stands out from all the old school metal and rock bands – then listen to us. We are influenced by the old school but we do it in a modern way. To other bands that want to get far in this business: we are a band that work a lot on our own and that is what we’ve really learned on the way. We have had a record deal so we know how that part works, and it can be really awesome to get some great studio time and to have thing arranged for you. But you can also come a long way on your own today, with help of social media. Be creative, innovative, and don’t focus on record deals or management in the beginning. Play lots of shows and work on your social media platforms. Build your hype and following, and then people will find you. There are lots of people wanting to use you for money, so you need to choose wisely and don’t rush. Look at other bands that you look up to and follow their strategies. Thank you for reading this and thanks for the interview!

All questions answered by vocalist Hanna.

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