The music on Oceanarium is entirely instrumental, densely orchestrated, and has a wide variety of instruments, including cello, trumpet, bass clarinet, flute, saxophone, hammered dulcimer, banjo, ukulele, mandolin, violin, oboe, xylophone, and trombone, in addition to the usual keyboards, guitars, bass, and drums. Although many musical styles are included, the end result probably fits nicely under the label "symphonic prog."
Oceanarium is the second album in a planned three-level seven-album series. The first album Heliotians was released in 2014, and the third album Lunarians will hopefully be released in 2018 or 2019. Those two albums had/will have hand-painted artwork and hand-written lyrics and/or notes for each of the roughly 300 copies (each containing a vinyl LP and CD). Oceanarium, on the other hand, will be released as a regular 80-minute CD and double vinyl album. Oceanarium is on the middle tier of the three-tiered seven-album series and contains some ideas also found in the two albums beneath it (the previously mentioned Heliotians and Lunarians), but most of them are probably hard to recognize, and unlike those two albums, Oceanarium is densely and carefully orchestrated and is entirely instrumental.
Here are the 8 tracks that will be on "Oceanarium":
1. "A Numbered Rat, a High Ledge, and a Maze of Horizons" [11:32]
2. "Drifting Inner Skyline Space" [8:28]
3. "The Blunt Sun and the Hardened Moon" [15:25]
4. "Finding a Valley in a Gray Area on a Map" [3:24]
5. "Finding a Shipwreck in a Valley in an Ocean" [6:20]
6. "Tropical Detective Squadron" [14:10]
7. "Marooned and Torn Asunder" [8:06]
8. "Water to Glass / The Ultimate Solution" [12:31]
Musicians:
Dave Berggren: electric guitar (6), compositional contributions (6)
Dan Britton: keyboards, guitars, other instruments (1-8)
Neil Brown: trumpet (8)
Steve Churchill: oboe (1,7)
Brett d'Anon: bass, guitars (1-8)
Brian Falkowski: saxophone (3), flute (4,5), clarinet (8)
Patrick Gaffney: compositional contributions (1,6)
Denis Malloy: bass clarinet (1, 2, 3, 8)
Corey Sansolo: trombone (1)
Natalie Spehar: cello (2, 4, 5, 8)
Zack Stachowski: violin (4, 5)
Christopher West: compositional contributions (6,7)
Alex Bennett: Cover art (pfloyd on PA!)