“Incredibly exciting” – Jack Saunders, BBC Radio 1 ‘Next Wave’
“One of London’s most exciting new acts” – NME
“Deep Deep Water pair cushioned synths with steely lyricism” – The 405
Deep Deep Water, the blissfully atmospheric London-based four-piece, have returned with their second single ‘Something in the Water’. In their short time together they’ve amassed support from the likes of NME, The 405, BBC Radio 1, BBC 6 Music, BBC Introducing and Radio X as well as securing placement on some of the country’s most prestigious festival line-ups such as All Points East, Glastonbury and Bluedot festivals.
As their name suggests the quartet focus on the depth and haunting unknown of what lies beneath. Beneath ourselves, our friendships and society as a whole. It’s an experiment in exploration of self and our surroundings. And like the ocean the band use their brand of dub-inflected pop in a way that is both beautiful in its elegance and foreboding in its intensity.
As with their debut track ‘Freedom’, ‘Something in the Water’ is produced by Richard Norris, recorded at Real World and released on Aphrodite, a new label by Greco-Roman cofounder Alexander Waldron. It perfectly encapsulates their technical, melodic and sophisticated sound.
“‘Something in the Water’ is about change” the band tells us. “Something is making you act differently, strangely, in a way you can’t explain. It is change out of your control, you are rendered powerless. But it is not pessimistic. It is what it is. The song also touches on drug use becoming more prominent, more necessary – something really is in the water and you are no longer in control. Something in the Water is cyclical. Something in the Water is a chant. Something in the Water is multi-layered.”
Deep Deep Water have a deeper understanding of each other than most of their contemporaries. Having been close since childhood their songwriting styles have progressed independently and as a combined collective. They each bring something of their separate musical disciplines to the table, each create and produce in their own right, and they treat their extensive writing and recording sessions as an impassioned, heated democracy. For them, art is birthed from their personal struggles, but also from their ability to overcome them as a team.
Drawing musical inspiration from the smoky delivery of Portishead and the ethereal sheen of Warpaint, Deep Deep Water locked themselves away for much of 2018 in the throes of free, shapeless improvisation, understanding the vitality of self-expression in the modern age. And this tireless rehearsal schedule has paid off with stunning debut recordings and spectacular shows across the country.
Expect Sheals’ trademark acrobatics behind the drums, Steen’s deft synthesis, Bowmaker’s languid guitar lines, and a versatile, powerhouse vocal from Cohen.
