And the New Drummer for The Ocean is…

Earlier this week Ocean drummer Luc Hess and guitarist Jonathan Nido announced they’d be leaving the band after their current European tour. Robin Staps has and always will be the main creative center of the band so no major tears were shed, but both guys are incredible musicians and brought a lot to the table.

So who will be replacing those guys going forward? We still don’t know who The Ocean will tap for second guitar, but they just announced via their Facebook page that Paul Seidel from War From a Harlots Mouth (oh God how it pains me to type that with no apostrophe) will be the new guy behind the kit:

A divorce usually hurts, but it always also opens up new horizons. We are happy to announce that Paul Seidel will be the new drummer in The Ocean. Paul is currently playing in War From A Harlot’s Mouth, who are going on indefinite hiatus at the end of the year, as well as in Dioramic and Wassbass. He also gives drum lessons in Berlin and knows from the experience with his own bands what it’s like to tour America, Europe and Australia. To get a taste of Paul’s drumming, watch this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaX1KWPtHLg

This clip only represents a small fraction of Paul repertoire and abilities. Comments Robin Staps:
“We have only had 3 rehearsals with Paul so far, but it has clicked from the beginning both on a musical and personal level. I would have never thought that I could find another drummer who plays at the same level as Luc, but now I am sure that Paul will not only follow in Luc’s footsteps, but also stray from the path and bring new, exciting things to the table. I always knew that Paul was a machine who wouldn’t struggle with fast stuff like in ‘Disequilibrated’ or ‘The Wish In Dreams’, but watching him enjoy playing some of the slow and calm songs with so much feeling and energy really made me aware of how awesome and versatile a drummer he really is. Paul was the only drummer we auditioned, and after we did, there was no desire to try out anyone else.”

Comments Paul Seidel:
“I’m very pleased to officially announce, that i’ll be joining forces with THE OCEAN. I am glad, both musically and on a personal scale, to walk new paths and broaden my horizon. My personal approach has always been to overcome genre boundaries as well as stereotypes, to swim against the current and to play or enjoy music apart from conventional habits. THE OCEAN have ever since implemented a conceptual urge in the context of progressive music and have never been afraid to dare to experiment.
Therefore i am more than looking forward to getting creative and contribute my part to the art of THE OCEAN.”

It is to date unclear who will take Jona’s place. There are several options but nothing has been decided yet… so there is currently a vacancy (winky, winky) ;)

So there ya go. We’re big fans of Paul’s work in War From a Harlots Mouth (there we go again with that lack of apostrophe!) and we’re sure he’ll fill in more than capably. Here’s their most recent album Voyeur in full: