What made you decide that music is a thing for you?
We all grew up listening to lots of different types of music and were influenced by loads of great artists such as Ellie with Radiohead and Jake with Rush. Jack grew up listening to bands such as Nirvana and Zara was and still is, obsessed with Sabbath. We all had a passion to become musicians, so we went to University to study music in Manchester, which is where we met.
Introduce us all to the members of Deadwing.
Ellie is the vocalist, Jake is the drummer, Zara is the backing vocalist/keys player and Jack is the bass player. Ellie and Jake formed the band in their second year of university. Jake knew Jack from playing with him in a different band previously, so they reached out to him to play bass. Zara started off as a fan but once we all moved in together she couldn’t escape, especially once we knew she could sing and play keys! Our recorded tracks have lots of vocal layers, and Zara helps bring that to life onstage as well as playing some awesome synth.
Name me your 3 favourite Albums.
At the minute, our three favourite albums as a band would have to be:
Karnivool – Sound Awake
Black Sabbath – Master of Reality
Elder – Innate Passage
What was the first song you played together as a band?
The first song we ever played together as a band was May. Ellie and Jake wrote the tune and brought the idea to the rest of the band. It’s the first song and music video we released as a band, so it holds a special place in our hearts.
The music industry is the hardest industry in the world to progress in. How do you feel you are doing?
Yeah, it is a tricky industry to progress in and it is a full-time job trying to make it somewhere as a band. However, we stay true to ourselves throughout the process and remember that we all want the same thing, which is to write and play our own music, and hopefully, other people can enjoy our songs and relate to them. As long as we can ensure we are doing this solely because we love music, we’ll be fine.
I’m seeing a lot of debate about women not feeling safe at music gigs, any thoughts on what we need to do to help?
- Educate men on the topic
- Educate people who work in the industry on the topic and all work together to make women feel safer
- Look out for women at gigs, whether you’re a band performing or a gig goer
- A great charity to support is Safe Gigs For Women
As you develop as an artist and develop using socials, in what ways do you get new ears on your music? Any tips?
It’s constantly a work in progress, some things have worked and some things haven’t. We’re still trying to navigate it and see what works for us. Our main tip would be to make sure that what you are putting out is something you are proud of and is of good quality, such as the music you release and the photos you put on social media. Also, a big thing for us is gigging. Last year, we gigged in lots of different places across the UK. We played with bands such as Marisa and The Moths, Scruffy Bear and Anchor Lane. It was great to meet loads of new people and gain more listeners that way.
Tell us Two truths and a lie about you.
- Ellie usually can’t remember the lyrics until she starts singing the song
- When he’s really drunk, Jack likes to try and pay bartenders with Tobacco
- Jake loves playing on house kits
What’s your thought on Spotify’s monopoly on the music industry?
Ellie: I personally think Spotify is a necessary evil. Without it so many people wouldn’t find loads of new music. There is the issue of unfair payment but with some artists farming streams I don’t think there really is a way of making the pay any better without putting Spotify out of business.
Do you subscribe to any conspiracy theories?
Jake: Birds aren’t real.
What was the worst experience on stage?
We once had a gig in Sheffield. It was one of our earliest gigs as a band so we were pretty weird and awkward. After trying to encourage people to get closer to the stage, a bunch of them left…not our proudest moment…the show must go on though!
Tell us something about you / each member that you think people would be surprised about?
We aren’t as grumpy as we look from the photos.
I hear you have new music, what can you tell us about it?
Yes, we do! We have a new single out called Sunset Room. We put a lot of effort into it and we’re super proud of the outcome. It’s the first single that will be released off of our upcoming EP. (We can’t tell you the name yet!). The artwork was designed by Thomas Gasperlmair, who also designed the artwork for our single, The Faceless. He’s a great person to work with and has fully captured what the song is about. The music video was really fun to record. We did it with Matchbox Productions, who are really easy to work with and they always come up with cool ideas. They hit the nail on the head with what we envisioned the music video to be like.
Talk me through the thought process of the new tune.
Sunset Room initially came from a riff that Dragos showed us. We jammed it as a band and from that, Ellie took the recordings of the jam, cut it up and arranged it into a song, and wrote lyrics and a vocal melody. After that we played it together and polished things up a bit until we were happy.
What was the recording process like?
Sunset Room was recorded at Airtight studios in Chorlton, Manchester. We’ve got a great relationship with Seadna, who produced the song, and we’re always really happy with the quality of his work.
We love the feeling and the sound of playing live, so Jack, Jake and Dragoş recorded their parts live with no click track. It sounds and feels more natural for us. Ellie and Zara record their vocals once the instrumental parts are out of the way.
Seadna also has great food recommendations. We’ve had many kebabs in that studio!
What was the biggest learning curve in writing the new tune?
Honestly, we don’t really think there was one. This is the first tune that has come together naturally. The first time we played the song is more or less identical to the final recording. That might sound like a huge red flag, but for us the whole process felt completely organic.
Would you change anything now it’s finished?
More cowbell!
Is there anything else you would like to share with the world?
We’ve got a really exciting year ahead for us as a band after working hard behind the scenes for a while. There’s going to be loads of new music coming out that showcases a lot more experimentation and progression as a group, so we’re super excited to share that with you all. We’ve also got some exciting gigs coming up, particularly one with Marisa and The Moths and Saints Among Us at Factory in Manchester on February 18th.
📸 Credit: Liam Maxwell
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