Strawberry Ocean Sea

Strawberry Ocean Sea

This Scottish five piece band, birthed in Glasgow, has already been strongly tipped by XFM’s Jim Gellatly. In a radical departure from the lo-fi punk outfits still leftover from the Libertine craze, Strawberry Ocean Sea introduces a rush of fully-fledged songs and warm jubilant rushes of anthems. Appropriately named, the music is based on sweet simple melodies and wide sweeping structures – a definitive move for bassist Ritchie Bell, previously of punk-pop three piece, Hi 5 Alive. The songs are bursts of hope and sadness as in ‘Down by The River’ with the lyrics: ‘’I'm sick of having nothing / But sometimes nothings all you need / It gives you the will to survive /
The need to succeed’ and stand-out reassuring hug of a tune ‘Today’s The Day’. With CDs already mixed and touring dates with Glasvegas, Strawberry Ocean Sea are causing ripples at the very least and gained the biggest crowd at Rock and Roll Circus – despite being first up. - Clash Magazine

Photographs of all coverage from publications above can be found at the URL below - The Sunday Mail, The Metro, The Sun, The News of the World. The Daily Record

Photo of article on www.facebook.com/strawberryoceansea under folder 'Press' - The Scottish Sun (Chris Sweeney 18/04/10)

Strawberry Ocean Sea - Today's the Day
TAKE Glasvegas and Unforgettable Fire-era U2 and you have Strawberry Ocean Sea. Today's the Day is epic with a capital E. Euphoric and heartfelt it soars with cracked emotion as singer J Skinner sings: "I won't like them take you from us". A tribal beat pounds in the background as the Glasgow band squeeze every drip of emotion from themselves. One of the best unsigned Scots songs of the year so far.
Three free downloads are available from their website www.myspace.com/strawberryoceansea
- The Daily Record, Rick Fulton (Sound Check 01/04/11)

The New Year’s Revolution series of shows at King Tut’s came up trumps on Saturday night.

Those who arrived early were treated to an entertaining acoustic set by local band Selective Service in the bar before Strawberry Ocean Sea superbly headlined a fine four band bill on the stage.

Scott Nicol got things moving with an excellent set of acoustic rock songs. He has a strong voice with just a touch of huskiness to add an edge to his vocals, especially on the slower tracks. This was a high energy performance and Nicol got the crowd involved as much as he could. Definitely one for my “must see again” list.

The Twist from Dundee had brought plenty of fans to Glasgow with them and performed will in front of what was an appreciative crowd. Their two guitar indie sound is solid, if unremarkable, but they added variety with a couple of slower numbers, one featuring some complex vocal harmonies. The Twist clearly love playing live and are building a good reputation on the Scottish scene.

Jumpersknee brought their electro-rock to the party, a heavy bass beat adding to the dominant keyboards. There is a modern feel to their music, even in their cover of Adamski’s Killer, which was very well received. I would have liked to hear more from the lead guitarist, who was reduced to adding the occasional flourish.

Strawberry Ocean Sea took to the stage just after 11pm, meaning that their set was curtailed to around half an hour. But that was long enough for the large crowd to see exactly what the five piece Glasgow band have to offer.

Opening with Heart and Soul, followed by the excellent Enough Is Never Enough, the band married a solid sound with soaring vocals and anthemic choruses to great effect. With two guitars plus keyboards in the mix they have a potent rock sound and the set moved along at a fine pace.

Strawberry Ocean Sea came together last March, although you could have been forgiven for thinking that they have been playing together for longer. They have a number of fine songs in their repertoire, including Down By The River and the atmospheric The Spirit. They are as yet unsigned, which must surely provide an opportunity for a record label somewhere.

Frontman Jonny Skinner is the leader of the band, his vocals strong and clear. He is ably backed by the rest of the group, with Richie Bell on bass and Cobo on drums providing a strong backbeat. Stuart Kennedy on keyboards has both power and finesse, while guitarist Greg Kenney offers up a mix of power chords and some delicate lead guitar work.

The band left the stage in a howl of feedback to a noisy reception from a capacity crowd that had been very well entertained. It was perhaps unfortunate that they did not have a little longer to play, and an encore would certainly have been justified.

Strawberry Ocean Sea are more than just a solid rock band; they have that added touch of quality that separates them from many other bands. And their stock is rising with each show they play. - Glasswerk National (17/01/11)

An interview with…
Strawberry Ocean Sea
Impressive Glaswegian five-piece, Strawberry Ocean Sea formed when Jonny and Greg's old band The Apple Scruffs decided to split. With a whole host of new songs under their belts, the lads are currently gigging their hearts out in and around Glasgow/Edinburgh. Frontman, Jonny Skinner talks to soundfreak about the band, new songs and recent gigs.

Q: Am I right in thinking Strawberry Ocean Sea was formed when Jonny and Greg’s old band the Apple Scruffs decided to split? How did you get together with the other members?

A: Yeah the band was formed off the back of the Scruffs, we were obviously gutted about the Scruffs but I'd written a bunch of songs that were different from the ones before & I could hear the way the band should sound in my head. So I got my mate Stuart to play keys/synths to create a wall of sound, Greg on the guitar, Ritchie from Hi 5 Alive on the bass and Cobo on drums and that was us ready.

Q: Where did the name come from?

A: The name came from a dream I had about a place where you can do anything you want and live out all your dreams. It was dark as well, the dream was pretty trippy - the sea was a sort of strawberry colour so I came up with the idea Strawberry Ocean Sea.

Q: How would you describe your sound?

A: Our sound is massive, trippy, dreamy, hazy and dark.

Q: You guys have been busy with gigs lately…how was the Edinburgh show?

A: Yeah we've been really busy, we practiced like crazy before we started so everything was perfect and now it’s paying off because we're tight as fuck. The gig in Edinburgh was really good, it is good to let people hear us and see their reaction. Everything has been positive so far, so it’s all good.

Q: You’re set to play Oxjam at Nice n Sleazy this Thursday with a few other local bands and you play McChuills next week. What’s been your best gig to date?

A: We're really looking forward to playing those two gigs. I'd say each gig has been better than the last as we're improving all the time, so these next ones should be the best.

Q: Who is the main songwriter or do you all contribute?

A: I write all the songs.

Q: Who are your influences?

A: I'm influenced by everything that means something to me. Musically, I like everything from The Beatles, Phil Spector, To Al Green, Ike & Tina, Arcade Fire, Neil Diamond, Elvis, Dylan. Anything really, if you’re gonna write songs I think you should try and listen to as much good music as possible, it’s not essential but it's always good to listen.

Q: Which local bands should we be checking out?

A: If you want something to believe in then you should be checking out us. There's a band called The Imagineers I like, they remind me of the Kinks. I think the singers voice is brilliant and his words are witty and passionate, everything you want really. Check out their songs Mariana and Fairground, they’re magical.

Q: What are your plans for the rest of the year?

A: We've just finished recording 3 new songs and they'll be with you soon. I've recorded a couple of tracks with James Allen as well. They are all sounding amazing, can't wait for people to hear them. Hopefully once the songs are out people will get it and roll with it. We're hoping to play some festivals and get our music out to as many people as possible.

You can catch the lads when they play the following dates: 4th Nov - Oxjam at Nice n Sleazy and 12th Nov - McChuills, Glasgow.
- SoundFreak (03/11/10)

Strawberry Ocean Sea played in the HMV Picture House in Edinburgh Scotland on 24 April 2011. Being an opening act for an established band must be a terrifying prospect but opening for a band like Glasvegas doesn’t bear thinking about as their fans are renowned for being loyal and thoroughly partisan…… anybody who aren’t Glasvegas are not worth the listening too….This was the task awarded to Strawberry Ocean Sea on Sunday night at the HMV Picture House in Edinburgh.

Formed in Glasgow 2010 Strawberry Ocean Sea (SOS) are already making waves in the local music scene having been featured in the Scottish Sun (Ones to Watch) and their song Today's the Day was described as 'one of the best unsigned songs of the year' by Rick Fulton, Daily Record. The band have recently released 3 songs as free downloads and they have been going down very well with plays on BBC Radio 1 Scotland (Ally McCrae) and on local band champion Jim Gellatly’s show and with label interest from David O'Hagen of Mercury who spoke in glowing terms about the band on the A&R zone on Ally McCrae show. Things seem to be on the up for SOS…

Opening with Today’s The Day the band presented the crowd a belter of a song, full of dreamy but powerful vocals and spacey guitar riffs not unlike the main act…. so luckily the audience accepted them into their gang from the off…

Strawberry Ocean Sea play a confident set of six songs and go down well with the Glasvegas fans and in my opinion deserve all the applause given to them and I’m sure this will not be the last we have heard of Strawberry Ocean Sea.
- Gigape (28/04/11)

Glasgow band Strawberry Ocean Sea, whom we covered a while back here have released a new EP/single. Dauphin thinks it’s pretty good.

The guitar is still excellently reminiscent of The Edge or The Temper Trap; the vocals are still as strained and growling as The Airborne Toxic Event, as are the White Lies-inspired synth intros that guide each song gliding into your ears. These songs much better than the ones I judged them on before – in fact they are downloadable from the site I linked to above.

Although Today’s the Day and Enough is Enough are both great examples of what the group can do, it’s Under the Moonlight that stole the show for me, a driven, rising song that builds and builds to a climax that fully exhibits Strawberry Ocean Sea’s range. It’s almost a relief to find they don’t just sell guitar-indie/rock in the mould of Razorlight; there’s another facet here that deserves a look.

*If you were wondering about the picture above, the answer is: yes, the Pirate’s Code applies. - Dauphin Digital Music Magazine (17/02/11)

Everyone loves free stuff. Everyone also loves strawberries.
So when news of a hitherto unknown band called Strawberry Ocean Sea firing three songs up on their website for free download broke, the Tidal Wave of Indifference turned thoughts of dessert, milkshakes and tennis.
Once we woke up from that delicious dream, we remembered that there were some tunes available for zero pence and rushed over to get them.
The results were a very pleasant surprise. The tunes definitely play more to the expansive-sounding ‘ocean sea’ part of their name rather than anything too sickly sweet.
Enough is Never Enough and Under the Moonlight carry the melancholic melody of a Scottish Echo and the Bunnymen while Today’s the Day has a clear nod to Arcade Fire’s Wake Up, a comparison that may be a little passé these days, but one that’s still weighty and evocative.
The five-piece are Glasgow based and made up by Jonny Skinner (vocals/guitar), Greg Kenney (Guitar), Richie Bell (bass/backing vocals), Stu Kennedy (keys/synths/backing vocals) and Cobo Boyle (drums).
I caught up with Jonny to find out a wee bit more.
So who the hell are you?
We’re Strawberry Ocean Sea – Jonny, Greg, Stu, Richie and Cobo.
Describe your sound in ten words or less!
Our sound is a mix of anger, boredom, desperation and hope.

What are the key influences on your sound?
Life.
Great name – both sweet and epic-sounding. How did you come up with it?
We came up with the name because I kept having a recurring dream about a place where you can do what you want and be happy and have hope and belief. In my mind it looks like a Strawberry Ocean Sea, so that’s what I called us.
How did you guys get together?
We’ve all known each other a long time, so we’ve always been together. The band’s an extension of our friendship.
You’ve put some free tracks up on your site – any more formal releases planned?
We’re also going back into record at the start of April and we’re gonna put the songs out as a single or EP. So listen out.
You can get these tunes for nada over at the band’s website with a wee sneak preview below.
There’s a few shows coming up too, including an appearance at Edinburgh’s Maggie’s Chamber on Saturday (ok, tomorrow) at 9.40 as part of the controversial Haddowfest, so if you’ve got your ticket sorted already you should pop along. If you don’t you’re missing out on sets by Broken Records, Laki Mera, Kitty the Lion and loads more. There isn’t even an obligation to see Razorlight, so go, aye?
There’s also:
April 8, Whitburn Welfare
April 23, Glasgow Classic Grand (part of Easter Fest)
May 28 Under the Moonlight, their own night at Stereo in Glasgow.
- The Tidal Wave of Indifference (01/04/11)