After coming together in lockdown, The Deep Blue will be bringing their gorgeous harmony-heavy indie-folk to The Bodega this month, with support from local artists Express Office Portico and Jemma Johnson. We caught up with them ahead of the show...
The Deep Blue came together in lockdown. How did that happen? What’s your origin story?
Georgia and I (Niamh) are obsessed with three-part harmony and we wrote a set of indie-pop/folk tunes during lockdown dreaming of singing them on festival stages with three powerful lead singers. We searched for a female drummer for months and eventually found our wonderful drummer Sophie. Having heard Katie’s stunning voice in a singing workshop a couple of years earlier, we gave her a phone call when lockdown lifted, she came round to Georgia’s garden for a rehearsal & The Deep Blue was born! It sounds cheesy but the first time we sang together in harmony made me smile so hard my cheeks hurt.
For those who may not have heard your music before, how would you describe your sound?
Our sound is harmony-heavy indie-folk. Our songs range from indie bops to interweaving melodic folk. The three-part harmony is what binds our genres together.
Your harmonies are a core part of your music, how long did it take to perfect them? Was it challenging to get them spot on or did you find you had natural chemistry as vocalists and it came together easily?
We chose Katie to be the third singer as we loved the initial blend of our voices (this can be tricky to achieve with three singers with different accents, musical backgrounds and styles of singing!) but we spend time on our harmonies. We love singing together and finding the right level of harmony mush in our arrangements. As our gigs grow larger, we still plan to do our smaller intimate gigs for our mailing list crew which is just three voices and guitar. No microphones, just harmony singing in venues with good acoustics!
Who are your main musical influences and how do you feel they have shaped you as a band?
I would say our main influences are Fleetwood Mac, Joni Mitchell, the songs we grew up with. We all come from different musical backgrounds (folk, jazz, classical) but we like writing songs that make us feel happy when we sing them on stage, so naturally the spirit of the music we listened to in our youth works its way in.
Your latest single Somebody’s Daughter is beautiful and I’ve seen you say it’s a very special song to you. Could you tell us the story behind how the song came together?
Somebody’s Daughter is our response to the ongoing border crisis. We feel alarmed by the current discourse around asylum seekers which is often dehumanising. With our song and music video, we tried to combat the facelessness of the people attempting to seek refuge in the UK, when the government has not provided safe and legal routes for them. Rejecting the ‘us and them’ narrative and moving towards deeper empathy and compassion. The injustice of it is horrifying. This song is our personal response to try and navigate the polarising and inhuman media narrative around borders and asylum seekers. Forty percent of global refugees are children. That’s 43.3 million children. Watching someone’s childhood be ripped away and reduced to a statistic is hard to stomach. All of these young children are somebody’s child.
You also released your sophomore EP Sugarcoat last year. Which tracks from the EP are you most excited to perform live on your upcoming tour?
Performing How About It live is an absolute thrill! Sophie does an amazing drum solo at the end and the crowd goes wild. Every. Time.
Speaking of the tour, you’re headlining The Bodega in Nottingham this month. Have you ever been to Nottingham before? What are you expecting from the show?
Yes! We can’t wait to make our Bodega debut! The only other time we’ve played in Nottingham was at a Sofar Nottingham show last year and we absolutely loved it. The audience were really welcoming and engaged so we’re hoping for the same from the Bodega crowd.
You’ve got two brilliant local artists supporting you – Express Office Portico and Jemma Johnson – how do you feel they will complement your own set?
We do indeed! We met Jemma at Y Not Festival and have been listening to her tunes ever since, so delighted to have her opening the show. Express Office Portico were put forward for support and we really liked their sound so we’re chuffed they’re completing the bill - buzzing to perform alongside them!
Which other cities are you visiting on this tour and which ones are you most excited for?
We are doing twelve cities on this tour! Glasgow, Newcastle, Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield, York, Shrewsbury, Birmingham, Bristol, London & our hometown of Manchester! It’s our longest run yet and we’re counting down the days until we kick things off in Glasgow on 10 February!
What’s next for you guys? What have you got coming up after the tour?
After this tour we are planning to release our next EP! We’ve just sent it off for mastering and we’re looking forward to having those tunes out in the world. Festival season starts in May and we’ve got six amazing festivals booked in so far so catch us in a field near you this summer!
The Deep Blue will perform at The Bodega on 21 February 2024
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