The Dead Bottomleys fuse punk, ska, reggae, and psychedelic rock into a vibrant, genre-blurring sound. With sharp lyrics and danceable grooves, their debut album Sink and Tarnish showcases raw energy and eclectic creativity.
1. Your
sound has been described as a mix of Buzzcocks, Dr. Feelgood, The Specials, and
The Chameleons. How did you develop such a unique blend of influences?
It comes from the whole band really; everyone brings their own identity to the
songs. In fact, we originally started off as a straight punk band. It
transpired in the end that our sound developed incorporating different
influences adding different colours and textures to the songs making it broader
and more accessible. I would say we are more of a rock band now; you can hear
punk, rock, metal, rhythm & blues, reggae, ska, psych, and pop in there.
2. Worthing has been called the "cultural epicentre" in your bio.
How has the town shaped your music and creative process?
Well, first that reference is very much a tongue in cheek observation from us!
In all seriousness Worthing is a very artistic and vibrant place. There are
lots of very talented artists here and there seems that more platforms are
being built for them by some great people to help them showcase that. Were only
10 miles up from Brighton, a big city on the coast which has a thriving
artistic culture, which seems to be filtering through. The town itself has
partly influenced some of our songs, there are a couple of them on the album,
but you need to listen to it first to know what they are!
3. Your debut album, Sink and Tarnish, combines barbed, poetic lyricism with
danceable hooks. What themes or stories inspired the album?
All of our songs pretty much deal with life's struggles and things going
generally pear-shaped! This isn't a concept album per se, but the songs do have
a strong link thematically. There is a track on the album called Albert, which
tells the tale of Albert Pierrepoint, the British pub landlord who was also a
hangman and his father and uncle were well known hangmen before him. Albert was
known of carrying out the executions of 56 convicted Nazi war criminals after
the second world war including the notorious 'Beast of Belsen' Josef Kramer,
and Irma Grese (whom Albert talks about in the song). It's one of the best
songs we have ever done, and it goes down well at gigs. It's great to be
writing about different subjects and we have a few others like that which
haven't been recorded yet. Maybe the next album!
4. Psychedelic rock and ska/reggae are distinct genres. How do you approach
merging these styles while keeping your sound cohesive?
I think it's about the nuances, the songs are no more than three minutes, but
we like to think there is enough in there to keep people interested. An example
is 'Turn it Up Loud' which is on the album; it’s mostly written in the time
signature of 4/4 but it's when you get to the bridge after the second chorus is
where we speed it up a little and go into a 6/8 for a few bars before dropping
down into 4/4 again for the middle eight. It's a pretty wild change and I liken
it to cycling up a steep hill and then coming down the slope on the other side.
It's not quite Emerson Lake and Palmer but it's enough. It's the same with the
reggae and ska parts; it just varies it up not to mention audiences love it and
for us it's great fun to play.
5. Who are the primary songwriters in the band, and what’s your process for
creating new tracks?
Mark and Andy mostly, but we all contribute to songwriting. When we started the
band in 2019, we were playing lots of Mark’s older songs from his previous
bands. There are a few on the new album which have been reworked by the band,
we also have lots of newer material now to play with.
6. The lyrics in your songs have been compared to Ian Dury and the
Blockheads. What role do storytelling and poetry play in your music?
Oh, massively important! It doesn’t matter how simple or complex the tune may
be. Having really strong lyrical content is essential if you want to connect
with people and the power of words is one the strongest ways of delivering a
song.
7. How has your live performance evolved, and what can fans expect when they
see The Dead Bottomleys on stage?
Loud, heavy, raucous but also very melodic with a lot of feel! There is also a
good deal of dry humour and fun at our gigs and contrary to most of our songs
suggest, were not a band who takes ourselves too seriously!
8. As a band playing venues along the South Coast, what’s been your most
memorable gig so far and why?
There have been a few. We enjoyed playing the Worthing Rotary Carnival a couple
of times which was an outdoor event in the town. We would like to play more
outdoor gigs, especially festivals which would be good fun. The other gigs we
love doing are at The Duke of Wellington in neighbouring Shoreham. It is a
hallowed venue for live music and quite a few well-known bands have played
there on their way up. The ‘Welly’ has great audiences who just love live
music.
9. With ska and reggae influences, rhythm and groove seem to play a big part
in your music. How do you approach crafting songs that make people want to
dance?
In a way it's coming from the punk angle. Ska and reggae, especially the
British Two-Tone movement with bands like The Specials, Madness, Special AKA
and The Selector are big influences. It's the same with Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff
etc you can have a song which can convey a serious message but you can dance to
it and have a good time and as a band it's a great groove to play!
10. What’s the story behind the band name, “The Dead Bottomleys”? Does it
have a special significance or origin?
The name is inspired by The Dead Kennedys, it's kind of word-play on that.
11. Are there any challenges or advantages to being an independent band in
today’s music landscape, especially in a genre as eclectic as yours?
It depends what you want to get from it really. It's for us a hobby, we don't
have any intention of making a living from it, we just love playing and being
creative and hopefully get some nice gigs along the way. We do take it
seriously enough to get our music out there to be heard. Whether you’re making
music for living or not, it's important to share it, it all matters. The
challenges for us are finding the right venues and promoters who are interested
in what you do. We are very grateful and lucky to know quite a few people who
are willing to give us a chance and we hope this album will open up some more
avenues on that front.
12. What’s next for The Dead Bottomleys? Are you planning any tours, music
videos, or new releases that fans should look forward to?
We have some gigs coming up in February and we will be playing more throughout
the year to promote the new album. In that time, we are continuing to write new
songs and hopefully next year we are planning to go back into the studio to
record the next album.
Chris Robelou (@thedeadbottomleys_19) • Instagram photos and videos
Post a Comment