With their debut single ‘The Art Of Pointscoring‘ out now, Hull’s Deadset look to have a bright future ahead of them. We caught up with vocalist Sam Mellors to find out a little more about the band.
Give us a potted history of Deadset
So, Deadset started at the beginning of 2022 as mine and James’ previous band was coming to an end. We sat around scratching our heads for a while and that quickly got boring so we decided to go into James’ home studio and start working on some demos with no real direction of what we wanted to do with them, and it wasn’t until May or June of last year when we recruited Adam and Rio that we actually believed it was going to be a band.
We then eventually got into a practice space in our home town of Hull in which everything quickly clicked and fell into place. I think for me anyway, it was not the sound I was necessarily expecting but something fresh and exciting. From there It has pretty much gone from strength to strength. We’ve filled some of our favourite local venues and are working with some great people behind the scenes on the future so, up the Deadset!
Who inspired you to start making music
I’ve been trying to figure this out for years, haha, but probably my uncle. He was in a group called Baby Mammoth and went all over doing that back in the 90s. I think it was going to his house and going in his studio where I first realised that anyone could pick up an instrument and make music and you could travel while doing it.
And the one or maybe two records that inspired you artistically
I think the record that really stood out for me growing up was probably the first time I heard Abbey Road in my Grandad’s car. That really stands out. Strangely, though, it was the song
Octopus’ Garden I remember hearing before anything else and thinking ‘this is wild’, maybe because I was about 6 years old. As well as that I was brought up with a lot of 80s rock music so I probably have most of those records to thank.
If you’re trying to explain who you sound like to someone that’s never heard you, what do you say
I think our sound has a new wave / Joy Division feel, with some elements of Fontaines DC and
2000s indie thrown in there as well.
Tell us about your new single
So the single, The Art of Pointscoring, is our first single and we worked with a great producer called Fed over in Sheffield and released it with a good friend Dom Smith who runs Mandemolish Records. I think the song is the story, unfortunately, of the way a lot of relationships go in the age of social media, whether that be friendships or partners, and the way things can go sour and toxic so quickly that only on reflection do you realise how terrible and twisted the situation you were in actually was.
Where can we get hold of it
It’s available now on every good streaming platform that knows about good music!
Tell us how you write
We don’t really have a set way or routine of writing because I think that would kill the energy for
us. So, we’ll all get in a room and jam something and if someone hears something they like we’ll
try it out but if it doesn’t work after a few times we’ll move on to the next thing. Adam, Rio and
James write the music and when we’re all happy with that I will scuttle off into some cupboard
somewhere and write the words.
Tell us about your live show
Coming up we’re booked to do a few more shows in our hometown then towards the end of the
year we aim to get out on the road.
What can we expect from you in the near future
We’re back in the studio soon to record the next singles and hopefully we’ll be able to let you
know more soon.
Tell us your favourite records that are rocking your headphones / tour bus / stereo
Sam: Recently we’ve all really been digging the latest Fontaines DC record, and I’ve been listening to a lot of the Scott albums by Scott Walker.
James: I’m currently listening to Deafheaven, Hong Express and Magnitude.
Adam: Currently it’s Fat White Family, Boy Harsher and New Order.
Rio: I’m listening to Bodega (Shiny New Model EP), Idles (Crawler) and The Police (Ghost In The
Machine)
Find out more via the band here
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