Last month Perth dwelling outfit, Dead Sea dropped their punchy, yet introspective debut release Antimatter. The single made huge waves across the Aussie music scene with it’s eclectic array of electrified hooks, evocative lyricism and unforgettable grit.
“Dead Sea’s debut single Antimatter summons the fuzz-laden joy of grunge and takes it to the anthemic realm of truly unforgettable hooks and brutally cathartic lyricism.”
After making the perfect introduction with Antimatter, the boys from Dead Sea sat down to chat their biggest influences, the inspiration for their unforgettable new track, and what the future looks like for the up and coming band.
“Searingly intense and catchy, their debut EP Self Aware is both ferocious and intelligent – a caustic bliss of riffs, hooks and rhythms.”
1. So tell us about yourselves! How did you guys meet and decide to start making music together!
I already knew Sam through school and surfing! After that, we started jamming together and I reached out to him looking to put a band together for the songs I’d been writing. At the time Sam was also playing in the melodic hardcore band Idle Eyes, and would sometimes bring their guitarist James around to hang out and see what we were getting up to.
After a while, James started filling in on bass at our jams, and we soon realised we had an interesting chemistry from our different musical influences melding together. Not long after, that we started gigging around town, and now here we are!
2. As individuals what in your life inspires you most in your music?
A lot of what inspires me in the music we make is my own personal beliefs and philosophies. I see the world as having a dark underside that people willingly blind themselves to because it makes them uncomfortable. The self-directed negativity and criticism in our music is a reflection of me grappling and processing my own issues and life experiences.
Music is the language we use to get what’s inside ourselves to the outside world. The three of us use the music we make as a way to channel these frustrations in the most cathartic way possible.
3. Who are the biggest influences in your music?
I take inspiration from a variety of different genres of music. The alternative rock of the 90s is a big influence, with bands like The Pixies, Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins and Radiohead. I also take inspiration from the themes, lyrical content and incredible composition of bands like Pink Floyd and The Doors.
James and Sam come from a different musical background and their love of newer alternative bands like Basement, Title Fight, Brand New. Pianos Become the Teeth is one of the bands that have definitely had in impact on how the three of us write together as a group.
4. Tell us about the new song, how did it come about and where did you draw your influence from?
The song came together after I heard James toying with a simple chord progression at jam one day. I liked the quirky, slightly off feeling that one of the chords had. After playing around with it for a few days, the basic structure of the song just sort of came out of me.
Once I had the base, we started working on it in our rehearsal space and after a few jams the three of us had fleshed it out into a full song. The subject matter of the song is about being in a state of insomnia induced psychosis, where you don’t know if you’re awake or dreaming. You wander through life without a connection to anything, seeing things as a dark, mirrored version of themselves in your own head.
5. So you recorded the last single at Underground Recording Studios, how did that come about. How did it feel to be working with Mark McEwen and Brody Simpson?
Sam and James had recorded there previously with Idle Eyes, and it was their first and only recommendation when we were shopping around for studios. Mark and Brody have worked with some crazy talent including Roger Waters, Drapht and Karnivool – they are some of the best musicians and producers around and are ridiculously knowledgeable in the recording field.
Working with them was an incredible experience and we learned a great deal while we were there. They have an amazing ability to see the potential of any given song and do everything possible to bring the best performance out of you. They consistently went above and beyond to make sure we had the best possible quality for all of the tracks – there were more than a few 14+ hour long days that we spent during the making of the EP.
6. What are your plans for the future musically? Any new releases or tours in the pipeline?
We’re getting real close to a few release shows now!
The first show launching Antimatter is on the 30th of November at Hellhole alongside Black Stone from the Sun.
We’ll have a music video for the song dropping soon too, keep an eye out for that one. There’ll be another single coming early next year, and after that, the whole EP will be released. There’ll be some shows over east coming too!
Listen to Antimatter below!
