Photo: Press
Folk duo The Sea and I are destined for big things. Hailed as 'a masterful display of musical musicness with a creamy musical filling' by no less than Mumford & Sons' Ted Dwane, they find themselves staring into a horizon full of promise. We caught up with the pair Irwin Sparkes and Paul Frith to find out more about their sound, their hopes for the future and their unique live performances.
Having met typically in a small Brooklyn bar just over a year ago, the two friends got chatting before discovering they were pretty much neighbours in London - defining their meeting as 'serendipitous'. "Oh, here we go" were the thoughts of Irwin upon finding out Paul was writing his own songs, as well as producing. Luckily, Irwin was intently looking for a producer, and so deemed it fate. And as a bonus, he soon found out that Paul's songs were really quite good also.
However the deciding on their band name was a totally different story.Partly inspired by Ernest Hemingway's 'The Old Man And The Sea', Irwin says: "I think there's a real draw to the sea for anyone involved in writing - it's so pregnant with the possibility of life, death, mystery. Not to mention sharks too."
Building a reputation for their live shows, we asked them why they didn't just do a more straightforward performance?
"We don't like the idea that you should ever have to tell your audience how to behave - that's their decision," said Paul.
Their use of grandiose locations, from churches to theatres, are picked to influence attendees. Relying on the psychology of people’s innate inclination within these buildings is to be more attentive, which the band feed off. Paul continued: "By making a performance less of a gig and more of a concert with the use of choirs, brass bands, strings etc, you are subconsciously asking people to take note and listen."
From personal space invading guests to out of tune instruments, their past experiences good and bad have all shaped the way they perform today. As Irwin reveals: "When we've played club nights there's been some discontinuity for the people who've come to get lashed and watch rock bands and then get us. This led to our wanting to create a controlled environment."
With such a broad use of instruments, from brass band to choir, we asked whether they thought modern musicians shy away from using such sounds?
"I don't think people are scared of using these sounds, but I suspect it is more the opportunity doesn't present itself and the logistics are quite intimidating" Paul said. "We have been incredibly fortunate that some amazing people and groups have offered to play with us - I still find it quite overwhelming."
Content with still being at the beginning of their journey of discovering their defined genre category, Irwin reveals this was consciously discussed, way before recording: "We wanted to make the kind of music that we wanted to listen to. We didn't want to second-guess trends. We'll let you know how that works out..."
The Sea & I are set to release their debut 6-track EP on 15 July. On that same day, the band will play a speical launch gig at London's St Pancras, Old Church.
