Since arriving on the Australian music scene in 2015 with the release of their Terra EP, Opal Ocean, the Australia-based duo of Alex Champ & Nadav Tabak have continued to impress music fans not only here but around the world with their energetic shows and exciting recordings. In 2020 they gave us their latest album The Hadal Zone, which saw the guys stretching their ambitions and showing just how far they’ve come artistically with their music. Now in 2023, they deliver Fish Food, an extended play showcasing six brilliant interpretations of other artist’s songs. What we are most excited about however, is Opal Ocean’s return to the Melbourne Guitar Show on Sunday March 5 on the Mezzanine Stage.
Australian Musician editor caught up with Nadav and Alex to chat about what they’ve been up to since we last spoke, their new guitars, the Fish Food EP and of course, their appearance at the Melbourne Guitar Show.
MORE ABOUT OPAL OCEAN
After tantalizing listeners with a taste of what they were capable of in 2015 with the release of their Terra EP, the Australia-based duo of Alex Champ & Nadav Tabak continued to chart their own unique & extraordinary journey towards success. With the incredible response to their lead single “J.A.M.” going viral and racking up an astounding thirty-million hits across their various social media platforms online, it was instantly clear that Alex & Nadav were on to something special with their music as Opal Ocean, and they immediately set forth to craft a professional career & legacy that they could proudly call their own.
Through their intricate technique and intensely mesmerizing, psychedelically-tinged spin on the acoustic sound, Opal Ocean unleashed a monumental set of captivating songs for their full-length debut record Lost Fables in 2016, which would go on to establish their name across the globe as they toured through Canada, New Zealand, and Europe. From significant highlights & achievements along the way like their crowd-funded single “Mexicana,” being featured at festivals, doing interviews, receiving critical acclaim from all corners of the map, and the release of their second album The Hadal Zone in 2020 – Opal Ocean surged throughout the scene with music that spoke volumes on behalf of their chemistry & authenticity. It wasn’t only the fans at home in Australia anymore – it wasn’t even only the fans they’d gained from their tireless tours around the world – the industry itself began to take notice too; the legendary Jordan Rudess of Dream Theater lent his time & talent to support them on “Polycephaly” from The Hadal Zone.
Opal Ocean has been thriving as hard as ever, playing the Formula 1 race in Abu Dhabi’s Grand Prix in 2021, securing their first official endorsement from Godin Guitars of Canada, and preparing a set-list of supremely exciting songs to be released in 2022.
A stunning set of five covers unlike any other, played as only this expressively dynamic duo ever could – the Fish Food EP arrives this year with a lineup of songs that has Opal Ocean exploring the music of Joe Satriani, the White Stripes, System Of A Down, Infected Mushroom, and Pink Floyd – the latter of which will be the inspiration & original authors behind their lead-single “Time” complete with a spectacularly scenic video shot in collaboration with Open Shutter Media to support their artistically gripping variation. and full plans to tour through Europe this summer in support of the Fish Food EP with stops in musical hotspots like Spain, Germany, France, Switzerland, and Malta to headline the Earth Garden Festival in 2022 – they are fully equipped and ready to make this the most memorable chapter of their career to-date. Join them as they bring their music straight across the map & back again with the release of the Fish Food EP this year to make 2022 equally unforgettable, for every one of you.
Opal Ocean proudly plays GODIN guitars, learn more about Alex and Nadav’s guitars here.
It is almost impossible to fathom that not even a decade ago, both Alex & Nadav were busking unknown on the city streets, as opposed to playing to the massive audiences they play for now all over the globe, as an verifiable force at the forefront of the instrumental music-scene.
Check out Opal Ocean’s rig rundown video here:
Opal Ocean play The Melbourne Guitar Show on Sunday March 5 on the Mezzanine Stage at 2pm.