Opal Ocean are a brilliantly peculiar band. The Melbourne-based duo, comprised of Alex Champ and Nadav Tabak, combine high-octane Spanish guitar techniques and dynamic performances to create something truly unique. A video of the pair busking their track ‘J.A.M.’ on the streets of Melbourne went viral, and they haven’t stopped since, gearing up to tour the UK this spring and releasing there upcoming album, Temple of the Stars, on February 27. I asked Opal Ocean ten questions to decipher the minds behind such a singular style of music.
THE ARGUS FAR FIVE
How would you describe the sound of Opal Ocean?
Nadav:
Opal Ocean is powerful acoustic guitars driven by Spanish-influenced technique, fused with strong rock melodies and progressive sound design. It’s percussive, cinematic, and high-energy acoustic guitars pushed into territories they don’t usually go.
Alex:
For me, Opal Ocean is about exploring the nylon string guitar in a context it does not usually belong in. We take an instrument associated with flamenco or classical music and push it into progressive, cinematic and sometimes heavy territory. It is acoustic music that does not behave like acoustic music.
What are your biggest non-musical influences?
Nadav:
Food, without a doubt. We genuinely structure our days around it: what’s for lunch, what’s for dinner. It actually affects our songwriting more than you’d think. If we’ve had a great meal, or we’re looking forward to one, it can shape the mood of a session… or even cut it short! So yes, food definitely plays a role in the Opal Ocean creative process.
Alex:
Food is definitely one. We genuinely structure our days around it, and it absolutely affects the mood of a writing session. But for me personally, visual art is huge. I am an oil painter, and I draw a lot from surrealism and classical academic painters like Salvador Dalí, Alex Grey, Bouguereau and Caravaggio. I think visually first. I try to translate images into sound.
If you had to cover any song (that you haven’t already) and put a Opal Ocean spin on it, which would you choose?
Nadav:
Probably a Tool track — maybe something off 10,000 Days like ‘The Pot’. There’s so much rhythmic depth and atmosphere in that music. Translating that onto two acoustic guitars would be a fun challenge.
Alex:
I would love to take something completely unexpected, maybe even an EDM track like ‘Sandstorm’, and reinterpret it on two acoustic guitars. Taking electronic music and making it feel organic and percussive would be a really fun challenge.
What is your earliest memory of music?
Nadav:
My mum playing guitar at home. She’s a musician, and there was always a guitar around the house. That’s probably my earliest memory — hearing it in a really natural, everyday setting.
Alex:
I remember my dad playing a nearly hundred-year-old Gibson L4 and playing ‘Is There Anybody Out There?’ by Pink Floyd. I thought it was the coolest thing in the world. He told me that if I ever became a better guitarist than him, he would give me that guitar. Years later, he did. I still have it. I will never sell it.
What does 2026 have in store for Opal Ocean?
Nadav:
The biggest thing is the release of our new album at the end of February 2026, alongside our winter tour. Beyond that, we’ll be releasing guitar tabs, playthrough videos, and hopefully more music videos to really expand the world around the album.
Alex:
The big focus is the album Temple of the Stars and our UK and European tour. We are hitting multiple countries, including Greece for the first time. It is a full-on run, and I am excited to finally bring this new material to the stage. After that, I will take a short break before we start shaping whatever comes next.
THE OPAL OCEAN FIVE
Your LPs are very conceptual — whether about the ocean, mythology, or space. How does anchoring a release to one big theme help your songwriting?
Nadav:
Interestingly, it often works the other way around. The music tends to form its own identity first. We focus on musical cohesion, and only toward the end do we step back and ask, “What’s the overarching vibe here?”
For example, Lost Fables felt like a collection of individual stories and little musical tales. The Hadal Zone carried a darker, mysterious energy, almost like descending into ocean depths. With our new album Temple of the Stars, the concept of space came quite early, partly inspired by the futuristic tones we were getting from our Neural DSP effects. The sound naturally led us toward that theme.
Alex:
Because we are instrumental, we do not have lyrics guiding the narrative. We build atmosphere instead. Themes like deep oceans or outer space give us a visual framework. The sounds then follow that world. On Temple of the Stars, we leaned into synth-like, sci-fi textures to evoke something cosmic. But ultimately it is abstract. We suggest a world, and the listener fills in the rest.
A video of you busking went viral, gathering tens of millions of views. What was that like?
Nadav:
It was incredible, but also daunting. We didn’t have management or a team at the time, so we had to navigate it ourselves and figure out how to make the most of it. In hindsight, we probably underestimated the value of having support behind us, but overall, it was an amazing experience and we’d happily welcome another viral moment like that.
Alex:
It was exciting and overwhelming. There is no rulebook for going viral. Over time, we realised how random it is. You can spend thousands on a music video and nothing happens, or someone films you on a phone and it explodes overnight. When it happens, you have to pivot fast and use the exposure. But you cannot chase it.
If you could choose any musician to sing over your tracks, who would it be?
Nadav:
There are so many incredible vocalists, but it would be fascinating to work with Maynard James Keenan or James Hetfield. Both have such distinct, powerful voices. James has been exploring more acoustic territory in recent years, which could be a really interesting blend with our sound.
Alex:
Our music is instrumental, so any vocalist would have to understand the rhythmic and dynamic complexity. I would go with Serj Tankian. He has that dramatic, unpredictable quality that would fit our sound.
What is the best guitar solo in the history of music?
Nadav:
That’s impossible to answer! (Although maybe one of ours off Temple of the Stars like ‘Soul Wanderer… joking!)
In all seriousness, every great guitarist brings their own unique style and personality. That’s what makes guitar solos so powerful – they’re a reflection of the player.
Alex:
That depends on the mood. Some days you want shredding, some days you want pure melody. Today I would say the solo in ‘Nothing Else Matters’ by Metallica. It is perfectly written. No wasted notes, just melody and emotion.
Which track from your upcoming LP are you most excited to perform live?
Nadav:
There are two. ‘Stargazer’ feels really fun and flowing. I’m excited to bring that energy to a crowd.
But I’m especially curious about ‘Graviton Part 2’. It’s quite different from anything we’ve done before stylistically, so I’m really interested to see how audiences react to it live.
Alex:
‘Meteor’ is going to be explosive live. It is tight, heavy and powerful through a big system.
‘Soul Wanderer’ is another highlight. It is tuned extremely low for us and leans into a synth-like, almost trance atmosphere. It barely sounds like a guitar.
And Temple of the Stars itself feels special. It floats more than it grooves and grew out of an improvisation inspired by an old evacuation siren tone.
Check out their latest music video here:
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