UGLYM3N

3 more days to go, and YAMAHA ASIAN BEAT GRAND FINALS in Sunway Lagoon, will be rolling out the carpet to welcome 6 finalist bands from around Asia + 2 Malaysian bands: Ocean of Fire and Poetic Kingdom.

Ocean of Fire is the champion of Malaysia and they are going into this final with their sleek, catchy, groovy, progressive, funky, latino, heavy, jazzy number Ctrl + Alt + Del.

We paid a visit to their practice session about 6 hours ago (10.30pm) in Penang, and they were doing well and have improved tremendously.

To share with everyone here more about Ocean of Fire, and also supporting them in the coming Finals, Uglymen.net is exclusively bringing you this special posting: All About The Oceans! Support local musicians, support good music, support Ocean of Fire!

Profile
Ocean of Fire was formed towards the end of 2003, playing their own brand of instrumental music with influences from musicians such as Dream Theater, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani and Andromeda. Throughout the years, the band has progressed through different forms of music and even had vocals at one point. Currently, the band comprises of Kelvyn (band leader) and Chiat on guitars, Jonathan Chen on bass and Jonathan Scully on the drums. With their experiences in different forms of music, they have decided to piece all of their influences together and play a remarkable style of rock fusion. Here they are, we bring you Ocean of Fire.

Members’ Bio

Kelvyn Yeang

Kelvyn is the leader of the band. A gifted guitarist who simply loves playing music, he was in Hearts on Fire before forming Ocean of Fire with Chiat. Primarily influenced by Yngwie Malmsteen, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai and progressive rock/metal outfits such as Angra, Andromeda and Dream Theater, he has now also taken an interest in jazz and its musicians such as Pat Metheny. Kelvyn Yeang currently teaches guitar in Areca Academy of Performing Arts.

Chen Chuin Chiat

Co-founder of Ocean of Fire and schoolmate to Kelvyn, Chiat and Kelvyn decided to form up a band playing their very own brand of instrumental music in 2003. Taking on the role of rhythm guitars and harmonised guitar sections, his influences cover a wide range of bands and solo artists; Dream Theater, Angra, Children of Bodom, Mr. Big, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani and George Lynch. Recently, along with Kelvyn, he has also taken an interest in jazz music. Chiat is a writer for the magazines essenze, frezh and In Penang.

Jonathan Scully

Known for his ability to improvise and incorporate jazz and rock touches to the drums, Scully joined Ocean of Fire in early 2006 when the band decided that they need a drummer more suiting to their current style of music. His influences vary between rock, metal and jazz with renowned drummers such as Mike Portnoy, Dave Weckl and Mike Mengini. He is currently studying drums under Jasmi (Jeep Jazz Trio) and sound engineering at Hits Recording Studios while helping out with drum enthusiasts in Areca Academy of Performing Arts.

Jonathan Chen

Jon is the latest member of Ocean of Fire, joining near the middle of 2006 following recommendations from Scully whom he had worked with while playing at Bagan for Rozz and the Jazz Trio. Although his roots were in jazz, he fitted into the band perfectly, adding in a jazzish flavour to the band’s music and style of play while being versatile when it comes to the rock and metal feel. BBQ, as he is known to the band due to his car’s number plate, is a journalist for The Sun and also teaches bass in Areca Academy of Performing Arts.

Competition Song
The song is based on blues-rock with jazz elements being added into it and was written in such a way that we try to fuse many different styles of music into the song: rock, jazz, blues, funk and even a little bit of pop. It is probably the only song in Ocean of Fire that strays from the pure rock roots. Ladies and gentlemen, please put your hands together for Ocean of Fire with their song Ctrl-Alt-Del.

p/s: After the competition on Saturday 10-March-2007, uglymen.net will be the first source to publish the result of the Asian Grand Final Yamaha Asian Beat Band Competition 2007, proudly organized by Yamaha Music Malaysia at Sunway Lagoon.