Ocean

"Ocean" was released by Goldfrapp, an English group, as a single on March 10, 2017 and also on the album called Silver Eye on March 31, 2017. On May 21, 2018, a remix of the single was released which features Dave Gahan on vocals.

Lyrics

My Take

I implore anyone to listen to the original version of this song and the remix with Dave's vocals added in back-to-back. It is quite the experience! Alison Goldfrapp's vocals sound very breathy and beautifully haunting. Combined with the synths, it has an overall cool and soothing vibe to it as a result. In this remix, though, Dave's vocals add a warmth and body to it that takes it to a new level, like taking minty coolness and wrapping it in a toasty warm blanket. Even though Dave can do a light and breathy voice, himself, he chooses to sing with full power and resonance here, and the result from the two voices blended together is nothing short of majestic. The slightly sad-sounding synth melody is, of course, the work of the Goldfrapp's other half, Will Gregory, but it is very reminiscent of Depeche Mode songs like "The Things You Said" or "Blasphemous Rumours." But wow...I must say that the blend of Dave's voice with ethereal-sounding female singers like in this song, "Where I Wait," and "Tomorrow," sounds so good. I would love for him to do more collaborations with female artists in general!

Music Video

The video alternates between scenes of horses, Dave singing, Alison singing, and a man and woman on a beach who are both shrouded in veils and cloaks. The man is sometimes shown on his own, the woman is sometimes shown on her own, and sometimes they are together.

My Take

This is one of those videos that simple verbal narration cannot do it justice. There is no chronological story to tell or concrete plot; it can best be described as romantic and nature-centric visuals meant to stimulate the senses and evoke emotions through the physical movements and appearance of the characters, settings, lighting, and colors. There seems to be an element of fantasy, as well, and symbolism seems to abound here, but I have not been able to decipher all of it. Cloaks, veils, and shrouds in both dark and light colors are employed a lot, both to costume the characters as well as the settings around them. The horses contribute to the overall light nature theme but I can't say that I fully understand what they represent. The lyrics speak of seeing the "dark" and hearing "their hooves" as if to paint horses (and/or their riders if there are any) in a foreboding light, though I don't get that sense at all from the portrayal of the horses in this video- they look rather friendly and playful throughout. Finally, I wonder what role Dave's character is meant to play in this video. He is shown by himself in a bare, white room occasionally singing and sometimes doing what looks like an interpretive dance with his hands which...man, is the guy just naturally gifted with an expressive body or what? Anyway, his character seems to have this magical, otherworldly quality about him almost as if he's meant to portray a shaman or something...Here's a stretch, but perhaps he is playing a magical wizard who can see everything through the eyes of other creatures- in this case, horses, and through them, he can see the shrouded couple featured here and is trying to remotely cast a spell on them. That's simply the fantasy reader/writer/video gamer in me reading too much into it and making stuff up, really...I think this video can be interpreted in so many different ways!