Album Focus: Opia

Opia launch their debut album, Eon, on Friday, February 26, at Amplifier with support from This Other Eden, Graphic Characters and Giant Dwarf. Travis Johnson checks in with vocalist/guitarist, Mike Bok.

You've been around since 2007, but Eon marks your first LP. What has the reaction to album been?

People are taking really well to the album, it's getting a great response so far, which we couldn’t be happier about. We’ve been pleasantly surprised with the amount of national, and international

pre-sales, along with the support from Perth, of course. We’re also getting some really positive industry feed back rolling in, radio are getting behind it which is really nice!

What made Still Standing pop as a potential single?

From the get-go, Still Standing had a really interesting spark to it, we all felt there was a lot of great moments, and energy in the song that just keeps it lively. It's got this really cool groove that just pushes it along, there’s also a lot in it musically, we really experimented and used a lot of cool sounds, lyrically I love the message and melodies in the track,

it all just sort of 'presented' itself. And finally, the arrangement which is a bit unconventional, and moves really well.

How did you come to work with Johnny Ma on the video?

Johnny has been a good friend for a long time since the early Opia days, he filmed, produced and directed the first Opia music video for Recharge, we became good mates from then. He has also produced the music videos for One Minute Ago and Signs. He has a great approach to music videos, and delivers. Watching him work is awesome, especially with Still Standing, he filmed the band performance element smoothly rolling around on a mini Segway the whole night!

How are you marking the release of Eon?

We have a few shows coming up to launch EON, which we are quite excited about. We’ll be heading to Brisbane on March 11 to headline the El-Grande Festival at the New Globe Theatre, followed by another headline show in Sydney on March 12 at The Bald Faced Stag. Then back to Perth at Metro Freo on March 19 supporting US rockers, Buckcherry. Then Melbourne and Adelaide in April, dates and details for those coming really soon!

Originally published in X-Press Magazine