Ocean Sleeper have wasted no time in making their mark on the Australian heavy music landscape.

Please list all of your band members and their roles in the band.

Karl Spiessl - Vocals

Ionei Heckenberg - Guitar/Vocals

Stan Liagourdis - Guitar

Jarred Robson - Drums

For starters, what bands were you guys a part of prior to Ocean Sleeper? How long has the band been around?

The members have been a part of a couple of local bands, Myself (ionei) & Jarred were in & out of bands during high school. Stan & Karl were in a local band I produced & the writing/working chemistry was great so we decided why not start something together. 

What’s the origin of that name and have you changed the band’s name before?

We wrote a big list of possible names & Ocean Sleeper came out on top. Basically just stuck two words together so we were the first thing that came up when searched on the internet. 

Who writes your songs? What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs and do you think these topics will change over time?

For our first release we all wrote the songs together as a group, but for our upcoming record we took a slightly different approach with both myself & Stan writing the majority of the songs then review and edit them together with everyone. Jarred then would go over the songs, We made adjustments accordingly prior to flying out for our album. Jarred & I went through all the drum parts together to make sure everything was as he would play. 

The last writing process was Karl and I writing all the lyrics, melodies and screams etc. majority of the lyrics we wrote at home were scrapped and started re writing on the flight to America and through while we were recording. Karl spent a lot of the time writing lyrics while we were tracking guitars and drums. Karl & I spent a lot of time locked in a windowless room writing pages of nothing, then checking in to see how we we’re doing, the whole situation was incredibly stressful for us both, but the stress pushed us to write the best we ever have.  

What bands are currently inspiring the music that you’re making?

We draw inspiration from a bunch of artists, lately we’ve all been listening to a bunch of new wave brit pop, rap (Post Malone’s new album is lit) 

What do you do to prepare for a show? Any flexing, exercises, etc …

Generally not much hahaha, maybe have a drink or two & just try & relax before jumping on stage. I’ve ruined my back once on stage to the point of not really being able to walk, so maybe it’s time i look into stretching hahaha!

What has been the biggest highlight of the band’s career so far?

A combination of our last few sold out home shows & Unify Gathering 2017. Seeing people run towards the stage at the start of our set at Unify was a highlight none of us will ever forget. 

Also, a recent tour we did with our pals in Dream On Dreamer, we’ve all been massive fans for ages & they’re definitely an influence on our sound, so watching them every night was amazing. 

If you could tour with any bands, past or present, who would they be and why?

It’d be insane to tour with BMTH or Architects, also, Metallica coz Metallica. 

Is there anything else you would like to add?

We are just excited for everyone to hear our new album early next year! Keep an eye out!