Ocean
from WikiMusicGuide, the free music guide. Your music wiki.
Ocean is an American singer and songwriter from Malibu, California.
Contents |
About
Ocean emerged on the music scene in 2002 with the release of her debut CD, Mermaid Music, on the indie label, Ocean Rhythm Records. Her soulfully melodic vocal style is ably matched by her songwriting skill.
The album was named not for the mermaids of children's lore, but for the passionate longings of the spirit and for the expansiveness of the global seas.
Although one cut, Siren Song, explores directly the watery realm, most of the songs cover the distance between street-level adventures and spiritual connections.
Running the gamut from drum and bass and rap to progressive and melodic mainstream ballads, Ocean's voice proves she's well up to the challenge of these various styles as a singer.
As the songwriter for the songs, Ocean is just as adept at creating hit songs as she is in composing underground tunes and rockers.
As a lyricist, she proves herself as cool as a big city rapper with plenty of insouciant arrogance in some tunes and as effusive in mythic couplets as those penned by Led Zeppelin in others.
The songs themselves come across, evenly, as seperate works, and the song, Love-Junkie, also provides the fuel for an interesting film noir music video, now popular on the net.
Born in California, Ocean was named for the body of water on her doorstep and does homage to it in her off-music pursuits of standing up for the environment and in donating her time to rescue wildlife.
Ocean surfs, travels the world, and is a compassionate vegan. Her second CD, Ocean, previewed by the press, is a user-friendly collection of beach songs, a la Sting and Sade, again with a worldly feel and tons of sophistication.
Utilizing her personal contact with other cultures in her songwriting and production, Ocean infuses this CD with as much exotica as the first, but as the first one, Mermaid Music, exhibited a wide range of styles, the second, Ocean, presents one lush theme in myriad expressions of a cosmic mood.
Never ambient, Ocean's music is experienced as a presence, and her vocal talents place her in the company of some of the greats of music, like Julie London and Peggy Lee, in the more crooning numbers, and along with pop icons like Prince and Debbie Harry in others.
Gifted with a wider range, though, the touch of R & B is ever present in most of her music, and even some comparisons with blues artists of the past like Billie Holiday are appropo.
Ocean promises to be one of those singers who will remain with us through the long haul, since she possesses an unmistakable voice and her songs a distinctive sound.
