Ocean Alley offer an alternate look at their ‘Touch Back Down’ video with charity NFT

Ocean Alley have announced their debut foray into the world of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), teaming up with the eco-friendly Serenade platform to release an “an alternate visual experience” for their latest single, ‘Touch Back Down’.

The NFT will feature underwater footage shot for the song’s accompanying video, but not utilised in the final clip. The band have made it available for $2, will all proceeds from sales routed to the charities supported by Ocean Alley’s community branch, A Day For The Beaches. There are three currently listed: One Eighty, Red Dust and the Cerebral Palsy Alliance.

In a press statement, the band said: “Our interest in NFTs started from wanting to give our fans a form of collectable merchandise that was completely different to anything we’d released before. As musicians, we are constantly in search of creating something new and unique. With the way that art is being facilitated online in this new digital space of NFTs, going down that road was a no brainer.

“We feel this is the start of something special and hope that everyone can have the opportunity to enjoy exciting, new material from Ocean Alley now and in the future.”

‘Touch Back Down’ was initially shared as a single last month, marking their first new song to follow their second album, 2020’s ‘Lonely Diamond’. Upon its release, the band explained that the single came to life in a last-minute writing session the band had in Byron Bay, which they were only able to organise when this year’s Bluesfest was cancelled a day out from its kick-off.

Watch the video for ‘Touch Back Down’ below:

Frontman Baden Donegal also noted that ‘Touch Back Down’ offers “a pretty good insight into the feel we’re going for in terms of our next record,” explaining how “the more records we write, the more we can explore our sound and style, which is why they are ever-changing.”

Fans will have a chance to see ‘Touch Back Down’ performed live when Ocean Alley embark on an 11-date national tour in January. The run will kick off with a sold-out show in Fremantle on January 21, before rolling through Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide.

Psychedelic Porn Crumpets and Dulcie will open for Ocean Alley at all 11 shows, with tickets for the few that are yet to sell out are available now from the band’s website.

‘Lonely Diamond’ was released independently in June of 2020, and was flanked by the singles ‘Hot Chicken’, ‘Way Down’ and ‘Tombstone’ (the latter two of which made it onto triple j’s Hottest 100 for the year). The band promoted it with a making-of web-series titled Constructing The Diamond, and followed it up last September with a live-in-studio concert film.

NME gave ‘Lonely Diamond’ a four-star review upon release, with writer Ali Shutler calling it “ambitious [and] progressive but most importantly, fun” and “a monster of a record that manages to inspire excitement at every one of its dizzying turns.”