by Adam Tait

Tags: Death At Sea

Gigwise Session: Death At Sea, 'Drag'

'We just want to make guitar music cool again,' say Liverpool newcomers

 

Gigwise Session: Death At Sea, 'Drag'

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Riding a wave of positive vibes from their debut AA-side and live shows, Liverpool lads Death At Sea are on the up and up - and they've done it in remarkably quick time.

"We actually only started playing together as this band at the start of January," says guitarist/vocalist Ralph Kinsella. "It's been pretty quick."

Having known each other for a few years, writing music together without much success, the boys took a break from music. When they returned to it at the start of 2012 they found an exciting new chemistry existed between them.

"It all just came together really quickly," explains Sam Peterson. "There's a lot of synergy within the band, it was all really organic."

Perhaps it's Death At Sea's musical mission that's the source of their cohesion. They have just one interest - to make guitar music cool again.

"I don't know if our music's a reaction to what was going on in Liverpool, or lack of what was going on, at the time. There wasn't much coming out of Liverpool at the time. There are some great bands there at the moment, but we just wanted guitar music back in."

Watch Death At Sea perform future indie anthem, 'Drag' below

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"I think guitars were really uncool in Liverpool for a while," says Ralph. "There was a real big indie-electro thing going on for a while, which wasn't great, not naming names."

"Guitars and distortion were kind of not allowed," adds Sam.

Death At Sea have set themselves apart by embracing inspiration from eras when guitar music was at its zenith.

"I think we're just not afraid to go back to when the music we love was popular, the 80s and 90s period of guitar music. We're really not afraid to revisit that.

"We get a lot of people saying 'you sound like this band or that band'. We never mean to do that, but at the same time we're happy to inspiration from them rather than just looking at what's selling at the moment in modern music."

As with any new band, however, comparison are bound to be made, some of them more welcome than others.

"If I could pick who we're compared to, I'd probably go for The Pixies, from a guitar perspective, The Pixies or Smashing Pumpkins,” says Sam.

"I'd go for Elvis, if I had the choice," Ralph adds, "just for the sex appeal."

The band's current tour, in support of Heim, has taken them around the UK and to Germany, marking a high point in Death At Sea's fledgling career.

"This whole tour has been amazing, and last night in Manchester in particular. Something just clicked and it was the first time we really felt 'yes, this is something that's really working now'".

But long drives and sleeping in vans have worn the band out in ways they didn't expect.

"We thought we'd just get pissed every night and handle the van journeys like that, but we just couldn’t. We were pretty naive about that I guess. We've had to learn about that bit of touring the hard way."

Death At Sea aren’t resting on their laurels though, revealing future plans to work with Hundred Reasons and Muse stars.

"After the tour we're going to record, we want to get an EP out. We're really fortunate because we've got a few people who want to work with us. Larry [Hibbitt] from Hundred Reason wants to work with us, and we're going to record with Chris [Wolstenholme] from Muse."

The boys have also got their eyes on a headline tour of their own, having supported Haim at sold-out shows like Berlin.

"I'm really looking up to the Haim girls at the moment," admits Sam. "I'd love to have someone try and tout me a ticket to Death At Sea as I walk in to play a sold-out show. That'd be pretty cool."

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