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The surf-rock band has continued to cement itself as one of Australia’s most exciting musical exports. (Photo: The Sauce)

Ocean Alley Interview: Oz’s Hottest Band Who Surf And Make Music Every Day

We spoke to Nic and Angus from The Triple J Hottest 100 winning band.

Reading Time: 6 minutes

As a keen fan of Ocean Alley, I was strumming an air guitar and playing their latest album up loud when I got the message that the band was up for an interview. The froth was amplified when I learned the majority of the band members are passionate surfers who grew up reading Tracks Mags. If you haven’t heard of Ocean Alley, they’re a musical group that started jamming together over ten years ago around the Northern Beaches of Sydney. With seamlessly blended flavours of reggae, psychedelia and indie rock in their music, the band rose to national fame after their 2018 album “Chiaroscuro”. Their hit single from the album named ‘Confidence’ nabbed them the number one slot in the Triple J Hottest 100 in 2018. To those outside of Oz, it doesn’t get much bigger for our musicians.

We spoke to lead guitarist Angus Goodwin and the band’s bass player,  Nic Blom, shortly after they got home from their tour in the United States, for their latest album, ‘Low Altitude Living’. The boys were actually still dripping in saltwater when Tracks got in touch. We chatted about their enduring love for surfing, the band’s creative process, tour life, dream collabs and their new album, which they claim involved the most effort they’ve put into a project- Plus more.

Here’s our conversation.

Tracks: Hey guys, what’s been going on?

Angus: Oh, not much, went for a little wave this morning, but it kind of started blowing a pretty strong southerly.

You get some fun ones?

Nic: Yeah, it was kind of fun. 

Angus: A little lumpy, but the waves this week have been good.

We’ll get into the music later but how did your relationship with surfing start? Are you the only two who surf in the group or does the whole band get in the water?

Nic: Pretty much everyone surfs besides our drummer. And yeah, I don’t know, my dad surfed, and so did Anguses’, and I think we just got into it through that. 

Angus: Yeah, I mean, we all grew up on the northern beaches of Sydney. Walking distance to the beach, so I guess that’s just kind of what you do with your spare time.

Favourite surfers?

Angus: Dane Reynolds. Yep, he’s been ripping, especially about 10 years ago when he was a bit younger. Love Parko’s style too.

Nic: I always liked Taj Burrow when I was younger. Occy as well. We loved Occy growing up.

You guys Tracks readers growing up?

Both: Yeah!! haha

Angus: Used to have a subscription when I was younger, loved it.

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So, what influence do you think surfing has had on the music? Or is that too deep? Do you think it has had an influence?

Angus: It definitely does. I guess just your lifestyle in general, being around the ocean, obviously forms you as a person, which then translates into your music and the way you express yourself.

The music clique getting in a surf sesh while on tour in Bali.

Was there any like surfer musicians that you were influenced by? Or was your taste in music separate?

Nic: Yeah, Donavon Frankenreiter he was pretty cool. I used to be a fan of him. And Jack Johnson, I guess as a kid.  They maybe inspired us to play guitar, but I don’t know how much that comes across, you know, in the music these days.

So, which bands or artists were the biggest inspirations for your music?

Nic: Sort of the older stuff like Dire Straits. We grew up listening to a lot of that sort of stuff like Pink Floyd and those kinds of older rock bands. We grew up listening to that sort of stuff through our parents, and all of us as a band kind of bonded over that at a young age. So that was pretty cool. That’s obviously been a pretty big inspiration for us with all of those kinds of bands.

Angus: There was also a bit of a reggae phase too when we were younger. Some old sort of reggae we kind of used to jam when we were first starting, I guess formed the start of the band.

(This is a must-listen. Their cover of ‘Baby Come Back’ has garnered a whopping 5.5 million views on Youtube)

I may sound like a bit of a kook in regards to reggae but like Bob Marley, or was there other artists?

Nic: Bob Marley was in the mix. Eek-A-Mouse was another dude.  

Angus: Peter Tosh. Yeah, I can’t remember that well, it was a while ago. But yeah, we still love that kind of music.

You guys just got back from the United States? How was the North American tour?

Nic: Yeah, it was good. Pretty cruisy. They’re all back to normal, everything’s pretty good. And we did the West Coast, which is like a favourite of ours. Anyway. I’d just spent some time in Cali’ before the tours, before we sort of started making it as a band. So, we’ve always liked that area and that coastline. So, it’s cool to tour around there now.

Angus: We did eight or nine California shows. It’s cool to go to a bunch of smaller cities, not just the main ones in California. We were kind of close to the beach and a few spots such as Ventura. Which is a lot nicer than when you’re in the middle of the country, just in cities and you cannot go to the beach.


What was the wildest place in the US?

Nic: I guess Texas is pretty wild. It feels like another country in itself down there. Yeah, they’re doing their own thing.

Angus: Texas was a lot of fun, haha.

How was it like, you know, having a break and then returning back to live music. Were you rejuvenated? 

Nic: Yeah. It was a long break. It’s good to get back into playing shows. But it was also nice to have a break as well. And just kind of cruise because we were going pretty hard before. Before the whole thing happened. And yeah, definitely good to be back. 

Angus: We got to do plenty of surfing over that time which was nice after so much time on the road.

The boys vibing at the Byron Falls Festival back in 2018. (Photo: The Sauce)

I love this new album! Curious to know about the band’s creative process for this one? Do you focus on themes? Is it structured? You try and have fun with it? Or is it a lot more serious than we think?

Nic: It’s pretty cruisy. It’s not serious at all, haha. 

Angus: When you’re in the studio, actually recording it then it kind of becomes serious. But the whole writing process is pretty laid back.

Nic: If it sounds good, we go with it. And if it doesn’t fit or doesn’t work, we just sort of kill it.

Angus: We did it over four separate writing sessions at different Airbnb’s kind of along the coast. We had one at Coffs, and one up here in Byron. And another two along the East Coast. We’re on acreage, and then close enough that we could surf in the morning, and we just write in the afternoon, which is a pretty good way to do it .You don’t want to be sitting in the room all day writing. 

Nic: You get pretty over that (writing), sort of flickering the whole time.

They literally released a new video clip of one of their new songs today.

What are you most proud of about this album?

Angus:  I think we put the most effort we’ve ever put into an album with this one.

Nic: Yeah, the writing process was a lot longer with this one than it normally is. 

Angus: I guess it just feels more refined and polished than previous records.

What do you what do you kind of want fans and listeners to take from the album?

Angus:  I just want them to start the record, listen to it the whole way through and enjoy it. I hope it takes them on a bit of a journey. 

Nic: Yeah, hopefully they get into a few songs. 

Angus: I guess you just want them to listen to the album from start to finish. That it works as a journey and for it to be enjoyable the whole time.

So, you guys have been playing together for over 10 years? What are some goals or pursuits you have in the next 10?

Nic: Love to play some big overseas festivals like Coachella and Glastonbury, that’s always kind of a goal. It would be so fun to play like a big set overseas somewhere.

Angus: It’s exciting playing in new places. I’d love to do a South America tour. That’d be cool at one stage.

Who are some dream artists you guys would love to collaborate in the future?  

Nic: Khruangbin would be cool to collaborate with. We went to their show in Brizzy. And it was pretty amazing. 

Angus: That’d be a pretty cool fit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDoiHu-pxg4
Imagine these two bands creating music together…

Last question, how are you keeping grounded with all this success and growth? 

Nic: A lot of work around the house. Yeah, just odd projects and stuff like that. Try and go surfing every morning. If the surf is crap find something else to do but yeah, we’re pretty mellow around here. 

Angus: Hanging out and getting down to the beach every morning. Yeah, hang out with mates and stuff. Nothing crazy. 

I really appreciate your time guys. I’m a massive fan and all the best for the future.

No worries. Cheers.

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