Oceanator

The stage moniker of Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Elise Okusami, Oceanator emerged in 2016 with a sound that combines heavy grunge, fuzzed-out indie rock, and deeply personal lyrics with synth-laced, incisive pop hooks. She released her debut album, Things I Never Said, in 2020, with the Bartees Strange co-produced Nothing's Ever Fine arriving two years later. She worked with Turnstile producer Will Yip on her assured third effort, 2024's Everything Is Love and Death. The Maryland native took to music early, forming her first band in fourth grade and playing regionally and releasing music with her brother and a mutual friend. After high school, she attended Vassar College in New York where she studied history and music and was a star rugby player. After graduating she moved to New York City and became immersed in the punk and underground scene, playing with multiple bands -- six, at one point -- while holding down a full-time job. In 2016 she began operating under the name Oceanator and released an eponymous EP. A second EP, Lows, arrived in 2018 on Tiny Engines and helped further establish Okusami as a leading light in the N.Y.C. D.I.Y. scene. After the dissolution of Tiny Engines she started her own label, Plastic Miracles, and in 2020 issued her debut album, the apocalyptic Things I Never Said. Two years later, Okusami released her sophomore effort, Nothing's Ever Fine. Co-produced by Bartees Strange, the 11-track set included the propulsive, power pop-leaning single "Bad Brain Daze." For her third long-player, Everything Is Love and Death, Okusami teamed up with Grammy-nominated producer Will Yip (Turnstile, Title Fight). Released in 2024, the LP focused on Okusami's core themes of apocalypse and love while providing a more muscular, pop-driven sonic foundation. ~ James Christopher Monger