Interview with Lev Kerzhner (vocal) of Oceans On Orion and Pete Devine of Pete’s Rock News and Views (http://petesrocknewsandviews.com)
PD: What type of artist are you?
LK: We’re a band. We’re musicians who love video production.
PD: Tell us the brief history of yourself.
LK: Oceans on Orion is an interesting mix of old and new. Sergei and myself are fairly well known in our local scene and beyond. We started around 2018 with a more traditional metal sound, releasing an EP recorded live called “As Summer Dies” under the name Hartsbane, soon after we rebranded and took on a more modern sound, look and feel.
In many ways our sound is similar to our personality. An unusual mixture of 80’s golden era style vocal harmonies and songwriting coupled with modern riffing and core inspired breaks & C-parts.
PD: Who are your musical and non-musical influences?
LK: In the non-metal world, I’m a big fan of Sting. I think he’s a brilliant lyricist and musician and I’ve spent quite a bit of time digging into his work. Musically we’re influenced by the likes of 30 Seconds to Mars, Cyhra, Bad Omens, Pierce the Veil and many many others.
PD: What are your dreams and goals?
LK: Anything space related really. I’ve been with avionics and the space industry for as long as I can remember myself. Musically speaking, I’d love to be able to tour more.
PD: Who writes your songs, what are they about?
LK: That’s usually on me. I write about things that leave an impression. Our latest single, “Start from nothing” for example, is a frank’n’song of two concepts. Simultaneously a call to arms, wake up call, kick in the face, as well as a lament to how perceived success can make people unrecognisable.
PD: How do you promote your band and shows?
LK: Over the past year we’ve built a ‘routine’ of video production. Every few months we release a new single + video from our upcoming album. This provides plenty of content for our various social media channels. In between, our brilliant guitarist Sergei is a prolific VLOG editor, cutting the shenanigans on set into clips that are pure entertainment and offer a glimpse to our “behind the scenes”. It also helps that our bassist, Guy Schwartz and drummer, Aviram Zeevy are some of the funniest people I’ve ever met.
PD: What do you think about downloading music online?
LK: With the demise of the physical medium, the days of music as a commodity are long gone. Today it’s a marketing tool to bring people to your shows or gain their support through platforms like Patreon. ( Or onlyfans -ehem *Guy Schwarts XD )
PD: What song do you wish you’d written and why?
LK: Despite the massive metal repertoire that comes in, I’m going to have to go with Sting – Fortress around your Heart. The way he uses the fortress as a metaphor, to describe the results of his actions in their relationship, poetically owning up to the mistakes made, while divulging nothing of what actually really happened in the real relationship that inspired the song.. “Let me build a bridge, for I cannot fill this chasm. Let me set the battlements on fire.” It’s brilliant. And I learned a lot about songwriting from the deep analysis of his work and structures.
PD: Have you got a favourite ‘techie’ thing that you use in your music?
LK: I love using back vocals as lead. I think in some ways it’s a musical theater thing, where the chorus “Asks” and the lead “answers”. This kind of trading of the lead vocals with members of the band happens a ton, especially live. Giving me much needed breathers mid song in what is a vocally challenging set.
PD: What is your proudest moment in music?
LK: Hard to pick one. A few months ago I performed at a big rock festival in Estonia before Devin Townsend and his band was really into what we were doing. Was a pretty glorious moment.
PD: So, what are you working on at the moment?
LK: Actually I’m going through a break up. So at the moment I’m 5 songs deep into the next Oceans on Orion album. Which is a strange place to be given that our debut album only comes out January 2023. On the other hand, writing is thinking is therapy. It’s how I process things. In some ways, it’s like a cat. If it sits on you, you let it sit and you pet it while you can. XD
PD: What music have you available online and where can we buy it from?
LK: Our music is available on all the streaming platforms out there. Our videos are all over Youtube. Best way to keep up to date is to follow us, or myself on Instagram or other social media platforms.
LK: Thank you for the questions! It’s been very entertaining. 🙂
Oceans On Orion links:
Band/Artist location – Tel Aviv Israel
Website – Facebook – You Tube – Soundcloud –
Instagram – Apple – Spotify – Amazon – Deezer –
Check our page for Oceans On Orion
