Fresh catch from ''The Oceans''

The Oceans are surfing on a wave of success following the release of their first single, “Holding Out For A Dream” in 2016. The three-piece band including drummer Lukas Stangl, a current student in the Bachelor of Science program at MODUL University Vienna, are back with a new single, “Colour the World” that is sure to set a positive tone for the year ahead. Student Communications Coordinator Darrah Lustig sat down with Lukas to talk about his band’s success, where The Oceans find inspiration, and what they have in store for us in 2017!

Darrah: How has life for The Oceans changed following the release of your first single, “Holding Out For a Dream?”

Lukas: We never expected such positive feedback. Since the release of our first single, we have continued using each and every second of our private lives to work on The Oceans. We do not have any external management, we do everything by ourselves – and since the release of “Holding Out For A Dream,” the work has increased. After the release of our first single, we played various shows but our main focus during that period was on the production of our next single, “Colour The World.”

What was the inspiration for your newest single, “Colour the World?”

The song is about someone who makes life “colourful,” meaning that this someone turns everyday life into something special. This can be different for everyone. Maybe it’s one person’s girlfriend, for another person it might be family or friends, or for a child in Aleppo it may even be a rescuer.

How do you balance a full-time study program and your responsibilities to your band?

Luckily some of the work for the band is possible to do over the Internet or via video conference. It can be really tough though, especially when it comes to taking exams at university when you have planned shows, rehearsals, and video shoots at the same time, which was the case in December when we shot the music video for “Colour the World.” For me, the trick is to listen to my body and make time for myself so that I can free my mind, even if only for a moment.

Who do you imagine your audience to be when you are writing your songs – who do you want to reach with your music and what do you want to say?

We don’t have a certain target group or audience. We want to make music for everybody, no matter what age, gender, race, nationality, etc. they are. We aimed to write “Colour the World” in a way that invites anyone who listens to it to empathize and identify with it personally. There is hardly anything in life that can change, influence, empower, offer solace, hold, or carry people as much as music does – that is the magic of music for us.