The last few years have been tough on everyone in Australian music but Ocean Alley perhaps took it harder than most. One of the country’s most consistent and beloved touring artists, their sunny psychedelia thrives in the live setting; to be deprived of that for the best part of two years was a massive source of frustration for the six-piece.
That’s why the band returned to the stage last weekend with a renewed sense of purpose. They kicked off Cairns Summer Sounds 2022 with two nights of iconic hits and incessant energy. In what was essentially a long-delayed album release tour for 2020’s Lonely Diamond, they made sure to strike the correct balance between favourite tracks from that album and new material.
Enjoying being back on the road again, Ocean Alley made sure to enjoy the simple joy of being in another city. They took a helicopter ride over the Great Barrier Reef before their first Friday show. “It’s a lot different to the Northern Beaches, hey?” as lead singer Baden Donegal put it after soaring over one of the natural wonders of the world.
After their whirlwind trip to Cairns the band then headed to Brisbane, with stops still to come around Australia (find full dates and ticket information here). After their second night at Cairns Performing Arts Centre, I caught up with guitarist Mitch Galbraith to discuss the joy of touring again and what fans can expect from their new album.
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Did you enjoy the Cairns shows?
Oh yeah. It felt really good to get back onstage and see all the fans again and the crew as well.
Was it more a sense of relief than anything to just get back out there again?
Totally! There were also a lot of nerves involved though. We’ve got a new stage design that we’ve been working on for the last two years but we hadn’t had the chance to test it out until now. So when it went well, it was a massive sense of relief, especially after that first night. We eased into it nicely.
Did you enjoy being back in Cairns?
Fully loved it man. The helicopter ride we took was crazy! It was nuts. And just how compact and close everything is – you can drive for 20 minutes or get a boat round the next headland and you wouldn’t see a single building. It’s pure nature, it’s very awe-inspiring actually. And the weather’s beautifully warm too.
So you’ve left the Northern Beaches behind?
We’re all based in Byron now. We’ve all just recently made the move up in the last year.
That must be good for making music.
Yeah, it’s great. It’s nice for hanging out. That’s where a lot of our girlfriends work so we’re all together now which is really good.
Was it weird essentially doing an album release tour so long after Lonely Diamond?
Oh yeah. We’ve been working on new music which will be released later this year. That’s getting finalised just now while we’re touring the last record so it’s been a bit strange. We’d definitely rather be playing the new stuff but I think it’s only fair that we give everyone the proper tour from the previous record before we push on with the new stuff!
So what’s going on with the new music then?
We’ve got a couple of singles coming out before our album drops later in the year. There’ll be a second single after ‘Touch Back Down’ released in the next few months. Again, the reason why we’re doing it this way is so we can finish up the last cycle of the Lonely Diamond record because everything was kind of put on hold. It feels really good having the new one ready to go though, it’s something to look forward to at the end of the year. And it’s only going to get more exciting the closer it gets.
Are you exploring different territory on the new album?
Yeah, fully. We don’t want to write another Lonely Diamond record. If ‘Touch Back Down’ is anything to go by, there’s definitely a handful of songs on this new record that are boppy and upbeat and have more of a positive vibe. There’s also a couple of curveballs that we had a lot of fun recording, sounds that we’ve never put on record before. We’re really keen to see what people think of it.
The crowd seemed to enjoy your Pink Floyd covers last weekend.
They loved it but I hope we did it justice! They’re really fun songs to play and it’s a really special moment for us in the set. It’s really amazing to be able to cover one of the bands that we’ve looked up to our whole careers.
Would you say Pink Floyd are the main influence on the band overall?
(pause) It’s one of the main influences for Angus (Goodwin) and myself. Before the band formed, we used to jam out on our days off from uni just playing Pink Floyd covers. I’d just be strumming along to the chords and Angus would be soloing over the top. We could do that all day (laughs).
Excited for the rest of the tour?
For sure. The lighting guy kept telling us that Cairns was the small setup for the small venue. In Brisbane we’ve got mirrors onstage and a massive light show. We’re going to have the same setup in Melbourne and Sydney too I believe. We’ve got a week off after Brisbane and then we head to Sydney and Melbourne.
Where are you playing in Melbourne?
(surprise in his voice) John Cain Arena.
That’s massive!
I think they’re going to cram 6,000 people in there. That’s going to be hella cool.
