Shortly after the release of Exivious' debut album in 2009, I wanted to change our musical direction in a very drastic manner. I felt there wasn't much left to say for me as a guitar player and composer in the context of instrumental fusion inspired music. So the plan was to go for a more song driven approach and add a singer to our lineup.
I spent weeks, scouring every corner of the internet, trying to find a suitable singer. Eventually I found a young girl by the name of Noora. She just started composing her own music for which she played the piano and sang. I immediately fell in love with her voice. So I contacted her and we started talking. As it turned out, she actually knew about Exivious and liked what we were doing. What are the odds?
As time went by, plans changed and we decided for Exivious to stay true to its instrumental roots. But Noora and I kept in touch and developed a strong friendship and musical connection. We always knew we wanted to work together at some point, it was simply a matter of time.
In a sense, Our Oceans is the realization of the alternate musical path I had in mind for Exivious.