Danny Ocean gets on a tropical vibe for ‘Babylon Club'
'We're called Babylon Club, and I think it's very much in honour of them,' he said of his fans in an interview ahead of this week's release of his album. 'And it's also like this utopian place on the beach where you arrive, that space in your life where you realize that not everything is work and that life is beautiful too, that you have to live it and that life is one.'
The inspiration of the beach, tropics and Caribbean comes from taking time to heal the soul, to be with your loved ones and leave obligations for a while. The cover with Ocean in front of a palm leaf and blue water suits him very well with the song 'Crayola,' in which he creates a tropical vibe by diving fully into salsa. 'I'm from the Caribbean too. In the end I love merengue, I love Afro, I love everything that is tropi sounds,' he said. Creating the sounds of 'Babylon Club' meant international teamups and a trip to Ocean's song vault.
For 'Priti,' the album's first single, he travelled to Panama to work with Sech in his native country. 'He received me with all the love in the world. We went out to get to know his country, we had a good time,' he said. 'Then we became very close friends, which is the nice thing about collaborating, that sometimes you go out meeting a colleague and leave as a friend of this person.'
Louis BPM, his guest on 'Sunshine,' is a fresh voice of urban music in Venezuela, originally from the Pinto Salinas neighbourhood of Caracas. 'I had been listening to him for a while, and I liked it a lot. I really liked his voice, I really liked how he writes his reality,' said Ocean.
He said he feels the need to share more urban music created in Venezuela. 'It is very difficult to come from a place where there is no industry and where there is no education. It's difficult to go out and compete abroad, but that's where we are,' he said. 'We are all set to push our culture outside and make ourselves known.' Mexico City was where Ocean and Kenia Os collaborated on 'AyMami,' a song he previously recorded but never released.
'I did 'AyMami' about eight years ago and suddenly last year I stumbled upon the demo again. I heard it, I said wow!' he said. 'She has a very good vibe... She works a lot and is doing something all the time, and that is a great plus in this industry.' The beach inspired other songs, including the flamenco-ish 'Corazón,' which was born while Ocean was sitting with friends in Miami playing a guitar he likes. 'Arena,' about a crush at first sight on a Venezuelan beach, features Puerto Rican star Arcángel while 'Anoche', with the Spanish singer Aitana, also transport listeners to the shore.
The album is accompanied by a short film, created with videos of five of his songs, which begins with 'Priti.' It features performances by Venezuelan María Gabriela de Faría and her husband Christian McGaffney and portrays people years after they have emigrated, when they are working hard.
'I'm like her little angel who appears in various circumstances and tells her to escape, she's going to the beach ... a beach that in the end is Babylon Club,' he said. 'I'm not saying stop working or anything like that, but get away, give yourself some time for yourself, you deserve it and remember that life is beautiful too.' Ocean, 33, identifies with De Faría's character and believes that the same thing happens to many immigrants.
Associated Press
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Danny Ocean gets on a tropical vibe for ‘Babylon Club'
Danny Ocean wants to take his fans to a tropical paradise where they can relax and feel good about the music of his album 'Babylon Club.' The album is a way to expand the world of Babylon beyond just the name or his fan club and his 'Babylon Girl' battle cry, which began when his hit 'Me Rehúso' launched the Venezuelan urban artist to global fame. 'We're called Babylon Club, and I think it's very much in honour of them,' he said of his fans in an interview ahead of this week's release of his album. 'And it's also like this utopian place on the beach where you arrive, that space in your life where you realize that not everything is work and that life is beautiful too, that you have to live it and that life is one.' The inspiration of the beach, tropics and Caribbean comes from taking time to heal the soul, to be with your loved ones and leave obligations for a while. The cover with Ocean in front of a palm leaf and blue water suits him very well with the song 'Crayola,' in which he creates a tropical vibe by diving fully into salsa. 'I'm from the Caribbean too. In the end I love merengue, I love Afro, I love everything that is tropi sounds,' he said. Creating the sounds of 'Babylon Club' meant international teamups and a trip to Ocean's song vault. For 'Priti,' the album's first single, he travelled to Panama to work with Sech in his native country. 'He received me with all the love in the world. We went out to get to know his country, we had a good time,' he said. 'Then we became very close friends, which is the nice thing about collaborating, that sometimes you go out meeting a colleague and leave as a friend of this person.' Louis BPM, his guest on 'Sunshine,' is a fresh voice of urban music in Venezuela, originally from the Pinto Salinas neighbourhood of Caracas. 'I had been listening to him for a while, and I liked it a lot. I really liked his voice, I really liked how he writes his reality,' said Ocean. He said he feels the need to share more urban music created in Venezuela. 'It is very difficult to come from a place where there is no industry and where there is no education. It's difficult to go out and compete abroad, but that's where we are,' he said. 'We are all set to push our culture outside and make ourselves known.' Mexico City was where Ocean and Kenia Os collaborated on 'AyMami,' a song he previously recorded but never released. 'I did 'AyMami' about eight years ago and suddenly last year I stumbled upon the demo again. I heard it, I said wow!' he said. 'She has a very good vibe... She works a lot and is doing something all the time, and that is a great plus in this industry.' The beach inspired other songs, including the flamenco-ish 'Corazón,' which was born while Ocean was sitting with friends in Miami playing a guitar he likes. 'Arena,' about a crush at first sight on a Venezuelan beach, features Puerto Rican star Arcángel while 'Anoche', with the Spanish singer Aitana, also transport listeners to the shore. The album is accompanied by a short film, created with videos of five of his songs, which begins with 'Priti.' It features performances by Venezuelan María Gabriela de Faría and her husband Christian McGaffney and portrays people years after they have emigrated, when they are working hard. 'I'm like her little angel who appears in various circumstances and tells her to escape, she's going to the beach ... a beach that in the end is Babylon Club,' he said. 'I'm not saying stop working or anything like that, but get away, give yourself some time for yourself, you deserve it and remember that life is beautiful too.' Ocean, 33, identifies with De Faría's character and believes that the same thing happens to many immigrants. Associated Press
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Jaws remains a masterclass in suspense filmmaking and the birth of the modern blockbuster, all with richly rendered characters. But what's most surprising is, even 50 years later, it's still deeply unnerving. A true classic - and should remain a film each generation discovers at a young age when they're ready for something scary. Dangerous Animals (2025) Written by Nick Lepard and directed by Sean Byrne, Dangerous Animals may have had its premiere at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, but this is no highbrow art film. The film follows Hassie Harrison's Zephyr, an American surfer kidnapped by a shark-obsessed psychopath Bruce Tucker, played by Jai Courtney, who holds her captive aboard his trawler for ritualistic shark-feeding sessions. The movie may be the latest shark-based horror flick in a long line to deliver nautical scares, but many are calling it the best in years. Combining the fear of sharks with the demented mind of a serial killer, Dangerous Animals, now in cinemas, delivers a truly new experience to the subgenre. The Shallows (2016) Less is more. Rarely is that more clear than in director Jaume Collet-Serra's The Shallows. There are only two main characters to be found here – one is a medical student named Nancy Adams (Blake Lively), who goes out surfing and is stranded on a rock 180 metres from shore, and the other is a great white shark. In the film's pulse-pounding 86-minute runtime, Adams must find a way back to safety. Jaws 2 (1978) While it's often dismissed because of the greatness of its predecessor, Jaws 2 deserves a second look. Sure, it may not reach the heights of the first, but it's a cracking horror film in its own right – revealing the monster far earlier and upping the body count. Ultimately, Jaws 2 is more comparable to Halloween or Friday the 13th, only the shark is the slasher picking off the core characters one by one instead of Jason or Michael Myers. Give it a shot, and you'll find it's one of the most underrated fright flicks of the 1970s. Deep Blue Sea (1999) The sci-fi horror directed by Finnish filmmaker Renny Harlin, who previously directed Die Hard 2 and Cliffhanger may not be realistic, but it delivers the goods. Set in an isolated underwater research facility, the film follows a group of scientists who are genetically engineering mako sharks to find a cure for Alzheimer's disease. Things go horribly wrong when the sharks attain intelligence and turn on the scientists. Renowned for its fast-paced action, suspenseful atmosphere and surprising plot twists, Deep Blue Sea features a strong cast that includes Thomas Jane, Saffron Burrows, LL Cool J and Samuel L Jackson. The film has become a cult favourite for its mixture of CGI and animatronic effects, which were provided by Stan Winston Studios that previously worked on Jurassic Park and Aliens. The Reef (2010) Australian survival horror film The Reef is written, directed and produced by Andrew Traucki. The filmmaker specialises in survival thrillers, but this remains his best. Inspired by real-life events, the film follows five friends whose boat capsizes on the way to Indonesia after striking a coral reef, forcing them into shark-infested waters as they attempt a perilous swim to safety. The Reef is another stellar example of a shark attack film that delivers scares without a massive budget. Filmed on location in Queensland, the movie uses actual great white shark footage mixed with on-set scenes. If there is one true hidden gem to be discovered from this list, it's The Reef. Its sequel, however, is more of a mixed bag.
