I wrote the song Ocean View about Victoria. It’s the opening track on the record and it’s about myself and my people, both the individuals and the groups. The ocean represents time and peace and regret and forgiveness and the future and optimism and newness. The ocean is big so it can hold all these things. It’s big but it’s also accessible and personal to anyone and the song is meant to be listened to on Sunday Morning.
Because Ocean View is a ‘Sunday Morning’ song, I decided to set a limitation in recording. It had to be recorded in the morning and only in the morning, and nothing after noon was allowed and this was a serious rule. I wanted the limitation to bring out something unique and something different and by closing a bunch of doors, the ones left open can be seen clearer and are the rights ones to travel through.
Because the song is at the same time personal and collective I assembled a somewhat random group of available friends to come to the studio one morning. Most of them assumed we are going to sing some ‘gang vocals’ but I think gang vocals are dumb. My friend Graeme Davies was really scared that he might have to sing, and he wasn’t into that at all, but over breakfast I assured Graeme he wouldn’t have to sing, and actually told him he wasn’t allowed to sing, and I told him about the song and the limitation and what we were going to do.
We put our phones in a pile and sat in the back-yard where the birds hung out and we sat in the quiet while I tracked the lead vocals. Outside, in the morning and amongst 10 of us we all just took in the quiet anti-climactic moment. I think we captured part of this moment and the moments like it. I like to think that all of our hearts and our breathing were at different tempo’s but we were all listening to the same imperfect song of the birds and breathing in the ocean air. It felt a little weird at first but it felt right.
Listen to the birds, listen to the imperfections in vocals, listen to quiet of the morning and the waves and listen to the peace, forgiveness, optimism and newness.
There’s a welcome to a quiet start
There’s an Ocean View for a tired art
There’s a welcome to a quiet rest
There’s an Ocean View we can see again
