Conversing with Oceans first began in 2016 as a solo project of songwriter Alex Bondarev, looking from his rock past to explore new sounds and musical landscapes. Today, they are a fully evolved indie rock band, consisting of Bondarev on lead vocals and guitar, Christopher Ragone on lead guitars, John Endico on bass, and Daniel Castro on drums. While maintaining their characteristic tonal exploration, ambient textures, and lyrical introspection, CWO’s debut LP “WILD / DREAMS” is a dedicated rock album at heart, displaying what these four musicians are capable of together.

Bondarev’s narrative begins in Grozny, formerly of Russia, when the unrest of war led him and his family to immigrate first to India, and then to the Bronx. Having music as his anchor from an early age and as a self-taught musician, he started his first band (A Moment’s Worth) with his best friends from grammar school. Current bassist John Endico was also a part of that band and lead guitarist Chris Ragone was a founding member. AMW’s brand of optimistic rock resonated with audiences as they made front page news of New York Press, won the first College Battle of the Bands (alumni include Mike Posner & Local Natives), and received the Elfenworks Social Justice Award for their song “Dedicate.” Following the award, Alex and Elfenworks began their official partnership, working together to spread a message of hope.

Conversing with Oceans is as an even more authentic version of Bondarev’s voice, combining a devotion to melody with his characteristically introspective lyrical style. Collaborating with the team behind the Grammy-nominated “A Color Map of the Sun” (Pretty Lights), he spent the majority of the band’s first year in the studio honing new songs, while steadily growing their audience at some of NYC’s most trusted venues (Rockwood Music Hall, Webster Hall & The Bitter End). CWO's first single "The Gold Rush" led to a one-on-one showcase with Randy Jackson at SXSW and quickly followed with a global distribution deal with Sony's The Orchard. The debut EP "PAST. PRESENT. FUTURE." premiered on Atwood Magazine and featured a collaboration with the Grammy-nominated John Forté, who co-wrote and produced Fugees’ groundbreaking LP The Score. Their follow-up EP “Indie Films" landed them a homepage feature on iTunes and Apple Music, and was followed by Trilogy, the third EP with producer-engineer Tim O'Sullivan (Childish Gambino, Anderson .Paak), which climbed to the top of the Hypem popular charts. 

The debut full-length album “WILD / DREAMS” was tracked largely between Brooklyn’s Studio G with Matt Labozza, which were instrumental with their first two releases, and Bondarev’s own home studio. CWO recruited the recently Grammy-nominated Nate Fox (Chance the Rapper / Francis and the Lights) to mix the album and give it the blistering dynamic flair for which he’s known. It features The Dangerous Summer’s AJ Perdomo on “Arizona”. Thematically, it explores the concept of dreams—their significance, tensions, evolution, and ultimately, their realization. 

“WILD / DREAMS” is available everywhere now via The Orchard. They celebrated its release with a headlining show at The Mercury Lounge in NYC.