The Ocean reveal new single 'Ultima Esperanza'!

The Ocean today release their new single 'Ultima Esperanza', the first half of the 20-minute closing piece of Solaris, their forthcoming 12th studio album (25th September, Pelagic Records).

Ultima Esperanza (Spanish for “last hope”) is the name of the southernmost province on the South American continent, named after the inlet known as Última Esperanza Sound. The inlet was given its name by Spanish navigator Juan Ladrillero in 1557, who hoped it would offer a passage to the Strait of Magellan. Instead, it leads to a glacier - and ultimately, a dead end.

The band comment: "'Ultima Esperanza' explores the intrinsically human notion of hope as the driving force behind all explorative endeavours, and loss thereof. It is a reflection on mental resilience, tracing the different stages of losing hope and the mind’s remarkable tendency to keep projecting it even onto the most dire realities, as an instinctive means of survival."

Featuring members from six different countries in the core line up, The Ocean returns to their collective formation and is able to draw on the experiences and talents of a pool of extraordinary musicians. The Ocean’s signature atmospheric post-metal is embellished by the adventurous spirit of their new members, as well as the impressive contribution of Thorsten Quaeschning of Tangerine Dream on keys.

Solaris is an album that tells a story of cosmic escapism: a journey on that ship, which is essentially a celestial rescue boat escaping from a metaphorically sinking Mother Earth. The rescue boat can be imagined as a historic naval vessel, and the lyrics and episodes of the album  make reference to the real-life explorers of the past who set out to discover (back then) unknown continents and uncharted territories: Da Gama, Magellan, Sir Frances Drake, as well as the Polar explorers Amundsen, Scott, Rasmussen etc.

The stories of these historic journeys all share similar elements: storms, disease, wreckage, power games, personal rivalries, egos, belligerence, mutiny, finally the quest for truth and justice. While most explorers initially had noble motives and were driven by a limitless spirit of exploration and discovery which was stronger than the many hardships suffered along the way, their legacy is often stained with cultural imperialism, genocide and tales of dictatorial leadership.

Far from being a glorification of male, white explorers who sought to colonise unknown worlds, or a romanticization of patriarchal constructs, Solaris draws a line between these extremely driven explorers and present-day political leaders. 

The album serves as a critique of the underlying motives and psychological dispositions of an explorative mindset and a thirst for power. It is an existential questioning, a probe of reason of the general purpose of technological advance, in the specific light of the destruction of our habitat. It's a dystopian outlook into a future where Earth has become uninhabitable – not despite, but as a direct consequence of human intelligence, as the foundation of technological advance.

The Solaris album artwork is a collaborative effort by German artist Phillip Janta (Metallica, Queens Of the Stone Age, Envy) whose distinctive, highly detailed line work is instantly recognisable, and Norwegian artist Martin Kvamme who is the graphic designer behind most of Mike Patton's numerous projects. The deluxe version of the album will be accompanied by a hardcover, fabric-wrapped book with copper hot foil print, printed inner sleeves, a 32 pages book, seven art prints by Phillip Janta as well as a customised, retro-futuristic star constellation finder.

Stream / Buy / Download the album on Bandcamp

The Ocean Line-up:
Robin Staps – guitar, vocals
Mattias Hägerstrand - bass
Jordi Farré – drums, percussion
Enrico Tiberi – vocals, keys
Lane Shi – vocals
Emmanuel Jessua – guitar
Marco Gennaro – guitar

In addition, the following musicians performed on this record:
Thorsten Quaeschning – keys
Orestis Zafiriou – keys
Simen Eifring – trombone
Jiawei Zhang – vibraphone

The Ocean online:
Label Website / Instagram / Facebook / Bandcamp / Spotify YouTube

Thank you very much Hold Tight

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Photo by © The Ocean Collective promo