Interview: Getting to Know Sound of Strangers
After years of honing their craft by performing classic songs from the symphonic rock catalogue, Sound Of Strangers released their debut album “Crossing Borders” in 2023, and re-issued the album via OOB Records in 2026. The seven-song salute to five decades of symphonic and progressive rock was mixed and mastered by Jeffrey Revet (Stream Of Passion, After Forever). In this interview, we get to know them a little better.
1. Hello! Thank you for taking the time to chat to us. First things first, tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got started.
Hi, thanks for having us! This is Oscar speaking, the drummer for Sound Of Strangers. Our band started out some 10 years ago playing covers of classic progressive and symphonic rock songs. But after a few years some original songs started to grow, which led to the release of our debut album Crossing Borders in 2023. Around that time the band also went through some lineup changes. I joined shortly before the recordings, and after the release we found our current keyboardist Ron and vocalist Raymond.
2. Someone comes to you and asks you to sum up what kind of music you play – what do you tell them?
We play adventurous, melody-driven progressive rock. I’d say we’re influenced by everyone from Rush and Marillion to The Pineapple Thief.
3. What’s currently keeping you busy? A new album/EP/single release? A new video? Playing live, or planning ahead?
All of the above, really. We presented our single “Shooting Stars” this past June, and right now we’re mixing our second full-length album. A two-track live single titled “Live At NPF 2025” is out on October 7th, exclusively on Bandcamp. We’re also looking into opportunities to play live, and will be announcing some show dates soon.
4. What is about this current period that is particularly exciting for you?
It’s always a lot of fun to release new music, especially since this will be the first album with our current lineup. We’ve all invested a lot in these songs and they came out great, so we’re very excited to share them with the world.
5. Tell me about the work that has gone into making it a reality and what it means to you.
Writing these new songs has really become a group effort, with everyone contributing on various levels. Recordings went slower than we hoped at first, but after signing with OOB Records in early 2026 we got up to speed. It means a great deal to us to finally put these songs out, because they perfectly represent what we’re about at this time.
6. Making music and being creative can be a very positive experience and can be very good for the mind. In what way has making music had a positive impact on your mental health?
Fortunately, I’ve never had to deal with any serious mental health issues, but I’d say making music gives me a purpose and helps me to stay focused, in stead of chasing my tail or doing nothing at all.
7. It can also be incredibly challenging, more so in the modern times. What have been some challenging aspects of making music and how have you overcome them?
Getting people to notice you and your music is always difficult, and we don’t play music that is necessarily commercially interesting either. In that respect we’re very happy that we got in touch with OOB Records. Label owner Kathy Keller knows very well how to put music like ours out there.
8. How do you handle the online aspects of being in a band? Having to put out content constantly, promoting across several different social media platforms, and having your success measured in likes and follows?
We don’t really feel pressure to indulge in random content creation. We’re present on different platforms, so that anyone interested can find us and learn what we’re about. And whenever we’re working or have something to share related to our music, we make it known and try to aim our message in the right direction.
9. How do you make this part of things enjoyable, and fulfilling, for yourself?
Well, we like being creative in a visual sense, so you might see some videos or other imagery appearing over the coming months.
10. Speaking directly to listeners – what would you ask they do to help support you?
Listen to our music and share it with your friends, buy our new album when it comes out, and come see us when we play live.
11. Outside of music, what do you like to do to relax?
I like being at home doing day-to-day stuff, or sometimes going to concerts where I’m not playing myself!
12. Where can people find you?
You can find us on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, and obviously on all the known streaming platforms. Also, we send out a digital newsletter whenever we have something substantial to report. Those who’d like to receive that can reach out via email or PM/DM.
