At an age when most kids, if they could be weaned away from their playstations, would still be sticking to the 3 chord trick or perfecting long and intricate but oh so dull'n'widdly guitar solos, Deep City are already ascending the next level.

First springing to notice while in Year 11 in deepest damp St Ives, Deep City's first aural assault on the ears of the public came at R*E*P*E*A*T's Young Performers' gigs at The Portland Arms. Their development was astounding; within weeks they began to add some moodily dark atmospheric samples and darkpop depths to their guitar tunes, combining their love of 80s/90s synth sounds with a 21st century pop sensibility.

Having only played a handful of gigs outside of their school hall, they were quickly offered the chance to record in the cramped confines of R*E*P*E*A*T's Big Badger Music Shack. The results were so startling that it was obvious that they needed to be rescued from Soundcloud Purgatory. Hence the inclusion of the hauntingly melodic 'Where Are We' on 'You Flexi Things Vol 1', due for release by R*E*P*E*A*T on Record Store Day 2016.

With wider exposure on the horizon and the world at their feet, we thought it was time to Deep City to explain the theories that drive them, and where they hope to head to...

Deep City – who, what and why?

- A group of teens creating guitar/synth/indie/pop music in Alex's bedroom. We made a band because we were all great friends that happened to like the same music so why not?

Who are your heroes, musical, cultural, sporting, political, other?

- David Bowie, The 1975, Michael Jackson, Brian Eno, Bear Grylls and the kazoo kid.

Describe your sound to a deaf alien.

-We can't; he's deaf and we don't speak sign language. We’re sure he would love it though.

When I first saw you, you were really 'just' a guitar band; was it a deliberate decisions to use the laptop, samples etc?

-Well when we started making some songs they were all made from a computer and were synth based, so it made sense to turn our live sound into something more by adding atmospheres and synth leads. We think it adds more feeling to the music and gives it a 80's/90's synth sound which we grew up listening to and were inspired by.

People have talked of the death of live music at small venues; do you find an interest in what you're doing from those of a similar age to you?

-Live music at small venues isn't dead, if anything it's the most alive aspect of music! It gives upcoming bands more places to play at to get themselves recognised, there is at least one small venue in every town/city making it more accessible to advertise your music all around the UK while not many towns/cities have arenas and stadiums. And not to mention how big you'd have to be to play there in the first place...

What can you tell us about Where Are We, the track on the flexi?

-It's one of our calmest songs, it's driven by synth and guitar melodies and has a happy dreamy feel.

 

Be honest, had you ever heard of a flexi before being put on one? What do you hope it might achieve for you?

-Nope but it's a good cheap format for musicians to put their music out on, vinyls have become very popular again in the past few years and for there to be something on the same format but more affordable to manufacture is very good for small independent bands getting out there. It can also lead to more music opportunities like releasing a 7" single or a 12" LP.

What is the Deep City live experience like?

-You'll have to come and find out for yourself ;)

How do you think you stand out amongst the plethora of indie rock bands?

-I'd like to think we stand out a bit from the scene, but that's because most indie rock bands nowadays focus around fast guitar driven melodies while our music revolves around synths and samples as well as guitar parts which can widen our musical opportunities. Also our songs have a four to the floor feel, so we could say our music is good to dance to.

How can our readers get hold of your music? Why should they bother?

-All our recorded music gets uploaded to soundcloud and we will be soon releasing some videos onto YouTube for our music. Why shouldn’t they bother, you might miss an opportunity to find something you like!

If you could support any band (past / present), who would it be and why?

-Rat Boy as that’s sh*ts and giggles, The 1975, Tame Impala, High Tyde and Michael Jackson. Also Kool and the Gang, cause that would be funky.

What's your favourite flexible thing?!

-A Flexi disc obviously

What are your hopes for Deep City?

-For people to like our music and for us to carry on releasing bangers that we and everyone can groove to.

What's best, chips or cream buns?

-Chips in a bun to make a chip butty.

https://soundcloud.com/deepcitylove

https://www.facebook.com/drivetheory