Oceanique are an indie/folk band, fronted by twins from small town Walpole, Maddy and Jess Larkman. Along with drawing inspiration from their hometown, Oceanique’s unique sound is also heavily influenced by musicians like Missy Higgins and The Waifs. The duo released their first single ‘Papier Mache’ in November 2019, followed by their second single ‘Grandmothers Shelf’ in February 2020.

We sent a few questions to the duo to see how they are coping in isolation and how they are keeping themselves occupied.

How have you been coping with these strange times? What have you been up to, to keep yourselves occupied?

Certainly are very strange times at the moment! As soon as things got pretty hectic we left Perth and headed down to our home town on the South Coast, Walpole, until all this blows over. We have been trying to write as much as possible to keep ourselves busy and keep active with our music, we have also been doing daily creative writing exercises to just keep the creativity flowing and not get into a rut. We are very grateful that we are both bunkered down together so we can still keep playing and writing the same way we usually do. We know it’s been hard on a lot of bands not being able to rehearse.

How are you keeping up appearances for Oceanique recently?

Internet engagement has definitely increased as there are so many people isolated in their houses. We have been involved in a few online gigs which have been really great and the closest we’ve gotten to playing a ‘real gig’ in over a month. We also started up a little video series on our YouTube channel called ‘Singing Songs in our Mums Garden’ where we release a stripped back acoustic videos of some of our new songs.

How did you come up with the name ‘Oceanique’?

Our mum actually used to run a little gift shop in Walpole called Oceanique when we were growing up, so when we were stuck for a band name mum suggested it and then it just kind of stuck. We love the name, in a way it perfectly fits our sound.

Tell us a little bit about your experiences so far at North Metropolitan TAFE, and whether you have any plans for when you finish your studies.

TAFE has been really great, we have learnt so much over the years and all of the lectures have inspired us and helped us out a lot with all our questions and they are always keen to be involved with our music, a few of them have actually played on our recent singles.

Our plan for next year is to release an EP and gig as much as possible. We are going to hop in our van and tour across WA and eventually over east.

What gives you inspiration for your music? Is there anything you particularly like writing about?

There’s something inspiring about growing up in a small town on the South Coast, we always find when we come down here we end up with a new song. We hope to take the listener on a journey with our writing, we find our songs are nostalgic and we often write about past experiences.
What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given?

“Never give up and keep doing what makes you happy”

We have heard this from so many people and musicians over the years and we are true believers in doing something that you love, and when you find your passion don’t give up on it, anything is possible with hard work.

What has been your favourite music experience so far?

Touring the release of our second single ‘Grandmothers Shelf’ has definitely been the best experience so far. We played alongside some really inspiring musicians, Tracey Barnett and Tanya Ransom. Some of the shows were the best gigs we have ever played, down South crowds are very appreciative of live music which warms our hearts.

Checkout Oceanique below!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oceaniquemusic/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oceaniquemusic/

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0zVH316UeO0FYA7tfbLJ1Q

Website: http://oceaniquemusic.com

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUeWQe0_IcH6s9LsVZscZGA

Article written by Dani Foote

Thursday 27 August marked the finish of the ‘3 Wise Gigs’ series The Good Shepherd Bar Leederville, and it was a perfect end to what was 3 nights of 15 amazing CIT bands, amazing tunes and great crowds.

The Good Shepherd was a great host over the week, offering the perfect intimate venue for showcasing new, diverse sounds. We would like to thank everyone for their support!

Missed out on these events or want to watch these excellent CIT bands again?
Our next event is Tuesday 22 September at The Bird, Northbridge. It’s shaping up to be a fun, exciting event that you definitely don’t want to miss. SAVE THE DATE!