Q&A: From Mermaids to Midwestern Cowboys, Oceanographer’s Sound Lives Between Worlds
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY SHEVON GREENE ☆
Photo by Hannah Marie Belisle
MINNEAPOLIS-BASED BAND OCEANOGRAPHER — is carving a space all on their own with a sound they call “dream folk:” a unique blend of nostalgic guitar lines and intimate storytelling. Fronted by songwriter and rhythm guitarist Val Lowry-Ortega, the group also includes lead guitarist Jim Deyoung, bassist Jackson Peters, and drummer Nick Zuck. Together, they craft songs that feel like whispered secrets from a dream—emotionally real, rooted in Midwestern grit, and topped with underwater nostalgia.
Their debut EP Deep Sea Diver, out today and engineered by Matthew Castore of Soft Cult Studios, delves into the complications of queer love and loss through lyrics filled with metaphors, ambient textures, and ghostly Midwestern visuals. Influenced by artists like Faye Webster, Big Thief, and The Sundays, the band draws on each member’s distinct musical background to create songs that feel vulnerable and sonically layered. From the ethereal melancholy of “Moonlight” to the character-driven storytelling of “Midwestern Cowboy,” Oceanographer brings a theatrical, cinematic touch to the DIY folk scene.
Luna got to hear from the band about their evolving sound, visual inspirations, and the creative trust that binds them. Read on to dive beneath the surface.
Photo by Hannah Marie Belisle
LUNA: How did you come to define your sound with the label “dream folk,” and what does it mean to you?
LOWRY-ORTEGA: It’s kind of a blend of dream pop—like ‘90s dream pop, Cocteau Twins, the Sundays, even Jeff Buckley—and folk. Especially in the way I write lyrics and phrases, it leans more into the folk genre. That’s how the mash-up came about.
ZUCK: The rhythm section has a background in a lot of different styles of music, so when Val throws out an idea, we can switch gears pretty quickly from genre to genre.
LOWRY-ORTEGA: Yeah, there’s jazz, emo—there’s a lot going on.
LUNA: It’s super unique. I don’t often hear jazz and emo mixed in. Your EP is titled Deep Sea Diver. What inspired the title, and how does it reflect the themes or emotions in the music?
LOWRY-ORTEGA: Funny story—I had a very vivid dream about mermaids and a diver character. It really shook me, and I liked the idea of a deep sea diver—how it relates to love and getting to know someone deeply. There’s a lot of ocean imagery—oysters, seashells—especially around sexual relationships. I love artists like Björk who write about sex in ways that aren’t performative, but spiritual. The idea of diving deep into something emotionally or spiritually—it's exciting, and that became a theme for the EP.
LUNA: I love that you don't shy away from those topics, especially from that perspective. How do cowboy twang, seal sounds, and emo drums come into play?
LOWRY-ORTEGA: We’re evolving. The EP lineup has changed, and our current group includes more jazz elements. I love old cowboy music—my dad raised me on it—and my mom is from Venezuela, so I also grew up around a lot of Latin music. It all blends together when I write. I don’t start with a genre in mind—it just pours out and we define it later. But yeah, we’ve got emo, folk, country, jazz—it’s a big soup.
LUNA: That’s awesome. Let’s talk about the Midwest. I noticed that Midwestern landscapes and experiences influence your music. How does your environment shape your songwriting?
LOWRY-ORTEGA: I’m from Worthington, Minnesota—the most diverse city in the state per capita. I grew up around a lot of cultures. I’m a second-gen immigrant, and I’ve always seen beauty in that. I think a lot of artists try to erase their Midwestern roots, but I feel the opposite. I want to uplift working class folks, blue-collar communities, and the people you grow up with. That shaped my creativity—I had to make my own fun, which led to songwriting, animation, art. Had I grown up somewhere else, I don’t know if I’d have explored those outlets as much.
LUNA: Yes, and the Midwest is often so whitewashed in media. It’s great that you're helping change that narrative.
LOWRY-ORTEGA: Absolutely. Folk music comes from all cultures. It’s in the blood of Latino people, too. I want to change the way people view the genre and where it comes from.
LUNA: “Midwestern Cowboy” is one of the tracks in your upcoming EP, and the title is so intriguing. What’s the story behind it?
LOWRY-ORTEGA: Some songs I write from experience, others are fictional. “Midwestern Cowboy” is a character piece. I imagined this heartbroken country girl, left behind by a wandering cowboy. I’m nonbinary and queer, and I love the idea of stepping into different characters. This one was inspired by that. The EP overall is about lost love—love you can’t quite grasp anymore. It fits that theme well.
ZUCK: We have another song, “Citrus Fruit,” that isn’t on the EP, but I try to take the galloping feel of the train beat—common in country music—and work some elements into the song’s 6/8 groove.
LUNA: Your lyrics are described as transparent and powerful. What’s your writing process like?
LOWRY-ORTEGA: I try to be direct. I don’t want lyrics to be tripped up by pretension. Sometimes lyrics come to me in the shower—just a phrase or line. I’ll sit on the carpet in my sunroom and build from there. I like songs that open with an idea, wander off, and then return to it—like a movie cut scene. Sometimes the whole thing pours out, sometimes it takes a year of reworking.
LUNA: The EP is described as a story of queer love and loss. How do personal experiences shape your music, and what do you want listeners to take away?
LOWRY-ORTEGA: I want young queer people to hear my songs and feel seen. Queerness is joyful, but it can also be confusing and painful—especially in small towns or traditional families. One song, “Moonlight,” was inspired by a homoerotic friendship I had in high school before I even knew I was queer. It was toxic, but also pivotal. I didn’t understand it until I wrote about it. That’s what I hope others can take from it—finding the words for something they didn’t know how to say.
LUNA: That kind of emotional honesty is so important. Let’s talk about working with Soft Cult Studios. What was the recording process like?
LOWRY-ORTEGA: It had challenges. Our band lineup shifted a lot. One session had someone show up two hours late, laid down out-of-time drums—it was rough. I got discouraged and questioned whether to keep going. But I’d promised myself I’d release something, even if it wasn’t perfect. I used to intern at Soft Cult, so I tried engineering it myself. After months of trial and error, I passed it off. But now we’ve got a great lineup, and I’m excited to record again in June.
LUNA: That sounds like an important turning point. So, “midwest gothic”—how do you interpret that genre label?
LOWRY-ORTEGA: I read this short story collection by an author named Bonnie Jo Campbell, and she described her work as midwest gothic. It was about rural life, with this eerie, half-dead energy. One story involved a grotesque scene with a pig—very unsettling. That aesthetic resonated with me. In small towns, there are people stuck—not always by choice, but because of money, trauma, whatever. That quiet, ghostly tension really inspired me.
Photo by Hannah Marie Belisle
LUNA: If you could create a visual art piece or short film inspired by your EP, what would it be?
LOWRY-ORTEGA: I recently made a stop-motion animation for “Deep Sea Diver.” I’ve been trying to reconnect with what I loved as a kid—”Monster High” stop-motion videos, claymations. If I had an unlimited budget, I’d make something “Coraline”-style, or like “ParaNorman.” Puppets of the band playing, a creepy Tim Burton vibe. That would be the dream.
ZUCK: I think a comedic flashback-style short film would be funny—like how the sitcom “How I Met Your Mother” does flashbacks.
LUNA: As a band, how do you collaborate on songwriting? Any rituals?
LOWRY-ORTEGA: I usually bring in a loose blueprint. It's like a clay sculpture with just the skull, and then everyone builds on it. Our song “Shell” is a good example. We worked on it for 40 minutes straight, tweaking rhythms, changing chords, restructuring parts. It’s very collaborative—we’re honest when something isn’t working.
PETERS: I’m the newest member and was given the freedom to make up my own parts. The songs evolve with the group, which is really cool.
LUNA: Love that creative trust. Final question: any plans after the EP release?
LOWRY-ORTEGA: We have a release show in St. Paul at Can Can Wonderland with Crush Scene and Bathtub Cig. I love both bands. We’re also playing some other local shows throughout the summer. In June, we’ll be recording either another EP or maybe a full-length to release in the fall.
