Stealing Oceans: New Nashville Music Videos!

Led by hip hop artist Brian Thompson, Stealing Oceans is a project that flips traditional rap on its head.  Thompson enlists an entire band to create new melodies for his lyrics, including bass (Pat Graves), drums (David Martin), keys (Kipp Wylde), guitar (Sam Woods) and even a mean saxophone player (we’re looking at you Ryan Swinehart). 

Innovative in the music industry, as well as with genre bending songs, Stealing Oceans is uniquely and fiercely independent in today’s music business landscape.  One way these guys break the mold is assigning multiple jobs for the members of the band.  Saxophonist Ryan Swinehart works as band manager, producer and sax player, while front man Brian Thompson leads the creative direction.

Speaking of creative direction, Thompson is a master at blending his different skills to produce a fun and original sound.  Although Thompson writes like a hip hop artist, Stealing Oceans was nominated at the Nashville Industry Music Awards for “Best Funk/Reggae/Fusion Band”.  That’s evidence of the collection of influences these guys borrow from, as their songs vary from acoustic and heartfelt to synthy and bumpin’.

This is big in the world of self-made, independent artists.  If you want to make it in the digital world, you must be able to wear a few different hats.  Similar to the way Stealing Oceans juggles musical genres, they have also mastered juggling industry know-how with performance.

“Labels”

The most recent single release from this group is “Labels”.  With clever lyrics, a soulful backup artist, and that sweet, sweet sax bringing on the chorus, “Labels” is a creative collection of vibes.  The whole song is one giant rebellion against the status quo, both in the music industry and life.  It’s like, why do we hold on to simple ways of thinking when human beings are far more complex?

To keep up with this innovator, go check out the Stealing Oceans website and Facebook!