The Ocean Band

The Ocean Band is a Singapore-based rock quintet who, having literally exhausted every covers-playing club in the country (and not to mention their own collective patience), have moved on to the ambitious task of independently recording, performing and selling their own original music. On this tiny island’s skeptical and often incestuous music scene, this is no small feat. Still, The Ocean Band has developed a damn loyal following and a reputation for musical adventurism in the wake of their 2004 formation.

The members of the band represent the cultural meeting-point that is Singapore. Neve Chen (an Israeli), Angshu Chatterjee (from India), and Sammy Arvis (from France) met one humid night at The Crazy Elephant Blues Bar, Singapore’s leading blues and rock venue. The trio quickly formed a fast musical friendship and ascended to become the club’s house band. After the addition of Uwe Vogel (a German) and Dave D’aranjo (some weird Singaporean-American mix), the completed Ocean Band embarked on a mini-tour of France and the Netherlands, performing at the famous Bourbon Street Blues Bar in Amsterdam. This tour was cut short in late 2004 when the band was called back to Singapore to open for major American act Hoobstank. Throughout 2005, The Ocean Band continued to play the club circuit and worked hard on their debut album “Barcodes”. They also earned the right to represent Singapore in the New Zealand-based “World Battle of the Bands” competition - quite a feat for a band that is, technically, only 10% Singaporean. This culminated in a major “industry” performance in Hong Kong. 2006 saw them on the main stage of the inaugural Sembawang Music Festival back in Singapore and, shortly afterwards, in the renowned Esplanade Concert Hall (marking their fifth gig at this prestigious venue). As Singapore’s fledgling music scene continues to mature, so too does the notability of this international group of fervent ‘musos’.

The Ocean Band’s debut album “Barcodes” [2005] has received shining reviews in the local press, and their ginormous sophomore effort, “Couch Dictators” [2009] was recently called “one heck of a ballsy album” by Christopher Toh of TODAY Newspaper. “Couch Dictators” is a massive, independently-produced concept album, three years in the making, that showcases 32 guest artists from across 5 different countries over 22 tracks - beautifully packaged and with artwork by Brooklyn’s art phenom Chris Duffy. Even though most members of the band have moved on from Singapore, the musicians of The Ocean Band continue to create their one-of-a-kind brand of music all over the world. It’s a post-rock, post-punk, post-new wave, post-funk, post-pop, post-goth, post-office hours aural shagfest, and you’re invited, baby.
Enjoy!