Oceans Of Angels -The Gift
Reviewed by Duzzy Clayton
Oceans of Angels, which is the mastermind of Sheldon Horvatic is out with the project’s debut album called The Gift
Produced by a well-known producer Mathew Fink, The Gift is an amazing piece of music filled with 6 tracks all written, recorded, and produced perfectly
Upon first listening to the EP, I am amazed at the quality of each song, but I then think to myself what else was I expecting when you have Matthew Fink as your producer who in my opinion is one of the best South Africa has produced
Sheldon’s songwriting has gone from strength to strength, die-hard fans would remember their previous single released ‘Still on Fire’ which appears on the EP but I must say I used to think that was a great piece of music but I am now blown away by 5 other songs that surpass that single if that is is even possible because it is a great single
The Albums self-titled track The Gift is one of my favorite tracks off the album, it has a very cool catchy intro with just the right amount of deep songwriting and emotion to pull at my heartstrings, and is a song I can relate to.
I can honestly say the whole EP is great from start to finish but my favorite songs that stand out for me are Shattered Soldier (previously released), Carnival and Still on Fire, but I do recommend you find time to listen to the EP from start to finish and just go on the journey Sheldon and Oceans Of Angels takes you on
Sheldon explains “I wrote this body of work from my heart and it’s about the roller-coaster of love and life. It is true to me, and I hope it resonates with other people too. The Gift includes the previously released singles ‘Shattered Soldier’ and ‘Still On Fire’. The EP speaks of heartache and difficulties, but my main message is the title track, ‘The Gift’ which is about putting your own emotions behind the importance of somebody else’s. I wrote this with the thought of loving someone so much that you leave the situation instead of ever hurting them, I don’t think people do this enough – if we truly love somebody, it’s about them not us. A huge thank you to Matthew Fink for working on this EP with me, it wouldn’t have been possible without him.”
I would recommend and can picture myself listening to this EP while driving in my car or when I want to be real and deep with my thoughts or if I just want to listen to a great piece of music.
Being a radio DJ I have already played the two previously released tracks but I am looking forward to introducing the other tracks on the EP to my listeners because I have a feeling it is going to do very well not only on my show but on stations all around the world, Each song is just so beautifully written and arranged and radio-friendly that I will be surprised if any stations don’t want to play this
Sheldon has provided a quote on each song on the inspiration of each track which I will post now, Sheldon explains the following:
Loaded Gun is a song I wrote about self-reflection; it speaks about personal issues that end up hurting other people. Sometimes we must fix ourselves and nobody can help with that, unfortunately. The song is an apology.
Shattered Soldier is a song I wrote and released as my debut single early in 2022, but it is still the closest song to me. I wrote the song about giving your all and feeling rejected by someone and from there I tried to work on myself and I realized that my struggles are mostly caused by myself. I wrote the rest of the EP based on the emotion of Shattered Soldier and I tried to embrace all the emotions that brought that up within myself. Shattered Soldier was me feeling sorry for myself, but the EP sort of turned into more of an apology, especially in the tracks ‘Loaded Gun’ and ‘The Gift’.
The title track The Gift is probably the most meaningful song personally I’ve written to date. It’s based on loving someone so much that you choose to not damage them by removing yourself from the situation even though that hurts you. Loving someone so much that it isn’t about you.
Carnival is about growing up, but still feeling like a child at heart when it comes to hurt and the need to feel loved. Strength comes from within us, and I guess that’s always the battle.
I wrote Still On Fire about the internal battle of exterior love. Tormenting and driving yourself crazy, based on the hopes a relationship will fulfill you, but never does. The lyrics cry out for a love hoping that ‘We are still on fire’, but realistically it’s more about the demons we create within ourselves. I imagine nobody can love you until you love yourself.
I wrote Only An Echo about loving and opening yourself up to someone knowing you are giving them power over your heart and accepting it may hurt in the end. It’s about the gamble of love, I guess.
Listen to my interview with Sheldon from Oceans Of Angels HERE
I would like to congratulate Oceans Of Angels and everyone else who worked on this debut EP, the result is a great piece of honest, inspirational, and emotional piece of music and I cannot wait to see what the future holds next
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