Oceans (Esprit D'Air album)

Oceans is the second studio album by London-based British-Japanese rock band Esprit D'Air. It was released on 18 February 2022, through the band's own Starstorm Records with a distribution partnership with AWAL and Plastic Head Distribution. Work on the album began in 2018, but was halted due to the theft of producer and singer Kai's laptop and backups in 2019, which delayed new singles and the album releases.[5]

Oceans
Studio album by
Esprit D'Air
Released18 February 2022
Recorded2018–2021
Genre
Length76:00
LabelStarstorm
ProducerKai
Esprit D'Air chronology
Constellations
(2017)		 Oceans
(2022)
Singles from Oceans
  1. "Calling You"
    Released: 11 May 2018
  2. "Serafine"
    Released: 31 August 2018
  3. "Amethyst"
    Released: 19 February 2019
  4. "Leviathan"
    Released: 4 December 2020
  5. "Kurenai"
    Released: 19 March 2021
  6. "Nebulae"
    Released: 30 April 2021
  7. "Glaciers"
    Released: 11 June 2021
  8. "Guiding Light (Reimagined)"
    Released: 23 July 2021
  9. "Tsunami"
    Released: 4 September 2021
  10. "Sōhō Raia"
    Released: 15 October 2021
  11. "Deai (Orchestra Mix)"
    Released: 26 November 2021
  12. "The Abyss"
    Released: 11 February 2022
  13. "Dead Zone"
    Released: 11 March 2022
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Metal Digest60/100[1]
Metal Planet Music[2]
MetalTalk[3]
Powerplay10/10[4]

Esprit D'Air completed the album in late in 2021 after successfully crowdfunding the album.[6] Oceans is a very genre-fluid album containing various metal and rock genres with elements of electronics and piano. It was produced entirely by Kai with collaborations from session musicians and featured artists including Ben Christo from the Sisters of Mercy and Ryo Kinoshita from Crystal Lake, and Japanese vocaloid artist UmiKazeTaiyou.[7]

Composition

Critics have identified the style to be genre-fluid with various tracks ranging from djent and electronicore to power metal and post-rock. The use of digital synthesizer is prevalent in most tracks, much like their debut album Constellations.[8]

Singles

Esprit D'Air released multiple singles from the album including their most popular song 'Leviathan', which premiered on Loudwire,[9] as well as songs such as "The Abyss" featuring Ryo Kinoshita from Crystal Lake, and "Dead Zone" featuring Ben Christo from The Sisters of Mercy.

Reception

Critical

The release of 'Leviathan' garnered some praise from peers with The Sisters of Mercy's Ben Christo stating of the song, "It's a really unique blend of djent, industrial, electro, goth, emo, metal and much more. I love the dramatics and cinematic quality it has, with haunting, melancholy colors swooping betwixt the cruel, relentless jaws of the machine."[10] Michael Falcore of The Birthday Massacre stated that 'Leviathan' is a "wonderful song, feels like a modern day opera with heavy guitars set on fire! Melancholic and haunting, the vocals cut deep. A truly inspired song."[11]

About the track, 'Dead Zone', Richard Shaw, the guitarist of Cradle of Filth stated, "Catchy and atmospheric, with incredible vocals and an otherworldly guitar solo. What a song!".[12]

PowerPlay Magazine gave Oceans a 10/10 review, and a live review, citing that "In the 25 years that I've been publishing Powerplay and of the thousands of bands that I've seen play live, this rated as one of the most crushingly intense shows that I've ever experienced".[4]

Radio coverage

Both 'Calling You' and 'Amethyst' were played on BBC Radio's F.N.A.T. show.[13][14]

'Leviathan' was played on BBC Radio 1's Future Alternative show with Nels Hylton and Kerrang! Radio's Fresh Blood with Alex Baker. About 'Leviathan', Nels Hylton states, "Gargantuan, taking electronic-sounding elements and just layering it over some of the best guitar riffs I’ve heard in a minute.", whilst Alex Baker states, "Showcases how these guys have the ability to mix up so many flavors. It's proggy, cinematic, it's synthy, it's a bit DragonForce-y at times, a bit metal-y, but all the time, it's bloody great."[15][16]

Ollie Winiberg (BBC Radio 1) also stated, "One of the most phenomenal guitar players I have seen in years, going by the name of Esprit D'Air." on his Heavy Hooks podcast.[17]

'The Abyss' was played on TotalRock and Midlands Metalheads Radio.

Commercial

Despite not being on a major record label and releasing independently, "Oceans" peaked at number 8 on the UK Rock and Metal Albums Chart, and number 5 on the UK Independent Albums Chart and has re-entered and stayed in the Official Charts for several weeks in 2022. It was their first album to reach the UK charts.[18][19]

Tour dates

Esprit D'Air announced an extensive string of 34 tour dates to perform songs from the Oceans album, including an album launch party at the O2 Academy Islington, London.[20]

List of concerts, showing date, city, country, venue
Date City Country Venue
British Isles
20 February 2022 London England O2 Academy Islington
30 July 2022 London The Underworld
31 July 2022 Newcastle upon Tyne The Cluny 2
1 August 2022 Glasgow Scotland The Garage (G2)
2 August 2022 Manchester England Rebellion
17 February 2023 Cardiff Wales The Globe
19 February 2023 York England The Fulford Arms
20 February 2023 Newcastle upon Tyne The Cluny
21 February 2023 Edinburgh Scotland La Belle Angèle
22 February 2023 Manchester England Manchester Academy 3
23 February 2023 Birmingham O2 Academy3 Birmingham
25 February 2023 London The Black Heart (Patreon-only show)
Europe
8 October 2023 Kraków Poland Klub Zaścianek
10 October 2023 Budapest Hungary Dürer Kert
12 October 2023 Barcelona Spain La Nau
British Isles
12 February 2024 Bournemouth England The Old Fire Station
13 February 2024 Exeter England Exeter Phoenix
14 February 2024 Bristol England Thekla
16 February 2024 Swansea Wales Hangar 18
18 February 2024 Wolverhampton England KK's Steel Mill
19 February 2024 Sheffield England Corporation
20 February 2024 Manchester England Manchester Academy 3
21 February 2024 Liverpool England O2 Academy Liverpool
23 February 2024 Dublin Ireland The Grand Social
24 February 2024 Belfast Northern Ireland Oh Yeah Music Centre
26 February 2024 Leeds England The Warehouse
27 February 2024 Glasgow Scotland The Garage
28 February 2024 Newcastle upon Tyne England Northumbria University Students' Union
29 February 2024 Nottingham England Rescue Rooms
2 March 2024 London England The Garage
Europe
29 March 2024 Heerlen Netherlands Poppodium Nieuwe Nor
30 March 2024 Hamburg Germany Headcrash
31 March 2024 Cologne Germany MTC
1 April 2024 Antwerp Belgium Kavka Oudaan

Track listing
Oceans track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Into the Oceans"1:45
2."Tsunami (津波)"2:49
3."Leviathan"4:49
4."Ocean's Call"2:55
5."The Abyss" (featuring Ryo Kinoshita)3:22
6."Dead Zone" (featuring Ben Christo)3:44
7."Nebulae"2:58
8."Amethyst" (album version)4:24
9."Sōhō Raia (双方ライアー)"3:58
10."Sazanami (漣)"4:28
11."Guiding Light (Reimagined)"3:45
12."Calling You"3:12
13."Distant Waves"2:12
14."Glaciers"5:52
15."Moonlight Tides"2:09
16."Deai (出逢い)" (orchestra mix)5:50
17."Leviathan" (Heavygrinder Remix)4:16
18."Kurenai (紅)"4:16
19."Serafine"5:24
20."Leviathan" (Shirobon Remix)3:51

Personnel

Production
  • Kai – lead vocals, guitar, bass, drums, piano, synthesizer, production, programming, recording engineer, art direction and typography
  • Paul Visser – mixing and mastering engineer (all tracks except 1, 12, 13, 15, 17, 19 and 20)

Session musicians
  • Ryoma Takahashi – co-producer and writer (tracks 2 and 14)
  • Yusuke Okamoto – co-producer and writer (track 4)
  • UmiKazeTaiyou – co-producer and writer (track 9)
  • Takeshi Tokunaga – co-producer and writer (track 10), bass (tracks 3, 10 and 14)
  • Yoshisuke Suga – writer (track 16)
  • Tatsuya Nashimoto – producer (track 16)
  • Jan-Vincent Velazco – drums (track 14 and 18)
  • Sougo Akiyoshi – drums (track 7 and 8)
  • Ryo Kinoshita – additional vocals and lyrics (track 5)
  • Ben Christo – additional vocals and lyrics (track 6)

Artwork
  • Lewis-Jon Somerscales – disc and inlay innerpage artwork
  • Alex Kie – photographer

Remixers
  • Heavygrinder – remix engineer (track 17)
  • Shirobon – remix engineer (track 20)

Charts
Chart performance for Oceans
Chart (2022–2023) Peak
position
Scottish Albums (OCC)[21] 19
UK Album Downloads (OCC)[22] 5
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[19] 12
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[18] 8

References
  1. Helen Elizabeth Wilson (14 March 2022). "Esprit D'Air – 'Oceans'".
  2. Paul Monkhouse (25 February 2022). "Album Review : *Esprit D'Air – 'Oceans'". United Kingdom.
  3. "Esprit D'Air / Oceans is something to celebrate and admire". 14 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  4. Mark Hoaksey (October 2022). "Powered Up: Esprit D'Air". Powerplay Rock & Metal Magazine: Issue 256, Page 67. United Kingdom.
  5. Kahmel Farahani (14 February 2022). "Esprit D'Air / Oceans is something to celebrate and admire". MetalTalk. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  6. "Esprit D'Air launched crowdfunding for second album "Oceans". AVO Magazine. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  7. "Esprit D'Air to collaborate with members of The Sisters of Mercy and Crystal Lake in new album Oceans". MetalTalk. 6 January 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  8. "Conquering The Oceans With Esprit D'Air". Heavy Magazine. 17 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  9. Chad Childers (3 December 2020). "Japanese Metal Band Esprit D'Air Seek Resilience Through Connection in 'Leviathan' Video". Loudwire. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  10. Chad Childers (3 December 2020). "Esprit D'Air Seek Resilience in 'Leviathan' Video". Noise Creep.
  11. Dave Bruce (6 February 2021). "ESPRIT D'AIR releases their 10th Anniversary Live Album". AMNplify.
  12. "Esprit D'Air Releases New Single + Lyric Video "Dead Zone" ft. Ben Christo (The Sisters of Mercy) Taken From New Album 'Oceans'". Rock Your Lyrics. 14 March 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  13. Clayton, John; McGinty, Sean (11 May 2018). "F.N.A.T.". F.N.A.T. BBC. BBC Radio Lancashire. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  14. Clayton, John; McGinty, Sean (22 February 2019). "F.N.A.T.". F.N.A.T. BBC. BBC Radio Lancashire. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  15. Baker, Alex (16 December 2020). "Kerrang! Radio: Fresh Blood". Fresh Blood. Kiss Network. Kerrang! Radio. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  16. Hylton, Nels (22 November 2022). "Radio 1's Future Alternative". Fresh Blood. BBC. BBC Radio 1. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  17. Ollie Winiberg (3 November 2021). "Misstiq". Spotify (Podcast). Music Gateway.
  18. "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  19. "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  20. "Esprit D'Air announce UK tour dates and reaches #13 in the UK Official Charts". Esprit D'Air. 26 February 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  21. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  22. "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
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