Dark Ocean Colors

Dark Ocean Colors is made up of Scott Hunt and Mark Mikel from Toledo, Ohio ?" two longtime friends and collaborators who have worked on many projects (including The Pillbugs and The Sprags) as a writing/recording duo. The self-titled CD offers 10 new songs that focus on pop songwriting as well as psychedelic sonic textures in a rock and roll landscape featuring rich production and unusual blend of vocals and various instruments (guitars, piano, drums, Mellotron, violins, brass, tape loops, sitar, Moog, electric harpsichord, flute, backward sounds and feedback). "It was not an easy album to make by any stretch," says Mikel. "We were working with old analog gear and a tape machine held together by rubber bands. We made it a lot harder on ourselves by constantly looking for the wrong way to begin a track. For example, maybe we'd begin with a backing vocal part, which is usually one of the last things you'd add to a song. We'd take these odd avenues to get to the end destination. If we didn't break rules or take our methods into bizarre territory, we felt we couldn't achieve that moment of surprise. We're always trying to surprise ourselves." Studio experimentation is only part of the magic of Dark Ocean Colors. Anyone listening with even only half an ear will notice infectious hook after infectious hook. "Songwriting is how we came together. We were always fans of each other's songs," says Mikel.