Baybeats: Audiocean are riding a wave

As countless musicians can testify, being in a band with your buddies can either be a painfully wretched experience or an eternally rewarding one. In the case of Singaporean rock act Audiocean, the latter seems to be more applicable. The youthful band’s journey has thus far proved pretty pleasant—well, at least pleasant enough for the group to play pranks on one another, as happened to vocalist Sarah Conceicao during a gig. “[The band] just decided that they were going to leave me flying solo during the start of ‘A Day Late’ by Anberlin,” she mockingly gripes.

Such loving bonds. And yet in the case of Audiocean, it has also been instrumental in helping the band stay together while they work on bringing their fizzy pop rock all around Singapore (well, as “around Singapore” as one can get within the overstuffed island). The band’s name–a combination of “audio” and “ocean” (and pronounced as such)–was co-inspired by drummer Justin Liwag and former guitarist Philip Ferdinand’s love for actress Shannyn Sossamon, who named her son Audio Science Clayton (someone really should buy all these famous people a freaking “baby names” book).

The band itself came together because Philip and guitarist Muhd Fadhrees decided to recruit within their already existing social circles back in the middle of 2007. Already, Audiocean (also consisting of bassist Gerard Loganathan and new guitarist Jonathan Cheong) have played in some of their country’s more reputed gig venues, including Zouk Club, Arts House and Home Club. Early this year, one of their songs, ‘Hollywood’, was picked to be featured on Big Ear’s Compilation Volume 1. And at the end of this month, they’ll be making their debut at Singapore’s Baybeats '09 music festival.

It’s a notable CV, and Audiocean certainly have done enough to be chuffed. Their current brand of female-fronted rock might lack the modern varnish of countless like-sounding acts from the West that populate airwaves these days, but the core constituents are no less trendy. ‘Hollywood’ is a soaring anthem with ample delayed guitars to mosey things along, while ‘Confide’ (the band’s first song written together) has a chunky chorus that underscores the belief that inner demons are best tackled in the company of firm friendships. “We want to break new ground by writing music and lyrics that’ll blow the minds of the audience at large,” says Sarah.

An EP is in the works, and hopes are up that it will be released before Baybeats. Like most friendships, things aren’t always peachy; founding guitarist Philip had to leave the band to go overseas, for instance. But strong unions don’t break easily, and the sense around these parts is that the ones between Audiocean can only get stronger. “There are many struggles we, as a band, face,” says Fadhrees. “But the point is that we try to never stray from the path of being a band that stays together, to face problems together and to catch each other when one of us falls.”

WORDS CHRIS PHOTO AUDIOCEAN
www.myspace.com/xaudioceanx

*Taken from Junk's August 2009 issue. Catch Audiocean live at Baybeats '09 on day three of the festival, 30 August 2009 at the Arena (Outdoor Theatre)!