Interview: Dead Writers
Recently in a cosy London pub, we sat down to discuss all things Dead Writers with their frontman and founding member, Paul Shine. We first came across the band after watching them open for Hannah Wicklund at The Deaf Institute, Manchester last November. During our chat, we got into the details of who the band really are, their current tracks, their creative process, and their planned releases.
First, Paul gave the story behind the band’s name:
“I just found myself in my room looking for a new book to read, and then I looked at my book collection and had this thought to myself […] I have a lot of books by dead people!” It wasn’t just this poignant moment that made Dead Writers the perfect name for the band; “I guess that the love of language has always been a part of the music, of the lyrics, and the personality of the band.”
Love of literature and language is certainly clear in their top track, Lisa. The song uses Dostoyevsky’s Notes from the Underground’s protagonist as a muse, echoing and reframing her story.
Paul listed plenty of authors and poets he admires – Oscar Wilde, Edgar Allan Poe, Emily Dickinson – and there was a similarity between them all: they’ve each explored the transient, fleeting nature of life. This is a key element to Paul’s songwriting and a subject that parallels what he loves best about music making.
“There's a sense of playfulness around it, some sort of like, innocence and rapture,”; “You don't get to be the thinking adult. You get to be the playful child. And I think that there is beauty in that […] to challenge our sense of mortality.”
Their name, Dead Writers, is not only fitting for its “romantic, mysterious kind of edge” but for its philosophy and existentialism, because – as Paul enthused - it is “a middle finger to our mortality to create stuff”.
At present, the band have only two songs available to stream, Paul gave us the backstory on why.
“Well, we've actually […] released more material before,” but these tracks no longer make the cut: their recording was very DIY. Paul’s unsure about whether they’d ever be rerecorded – “maybe, maybe not” – “I guess we evolved pretty quickly.”
The two tracks out currently reflect who Dead Writers feel they are, and those older ones gave an untrue, outdated version of the band they’d like to move away from. The project began in 2017, but, with the disruptions of everyday life and the former difficulties of assembling a group with a shared vision, the band is still finding itself.
As an emerging act, it’d be easy for the band to lose themselves with constant comparison to established artists or recreate an existing sound. Paul explains how he avoids this pitfall:
“Our music is rich enough in influence and doesn't have very obvious influences all the time. Some of the influences you can hear, and we wear them on our sleeve, ‘yeah, we love The Cure.’ You'll hear a bit of The Cure. We love Queen. If you like Queen, you'll probably like some of this stuff. […] But what I'm trying to say is that we try to find a sense of individuality with every creative decision. So, what makes us different? That intention.”
Paul stresses the importance of intention, of the band’s “intention to find [their] own voice”. Their musical influences appear as “little brushstrokes” like the faraway, resonating vocals in ‘Among Spirits’ which are reminiscent of a Joy Division track.
Breaking down Paul’s songwriting process, it becomes clear it is all about capturing and expressing emotion for him.
“If I can put across an emotion where [listeners] can find themselves, and if we can do that as a band, that's when the real connection happens. That's pretty much the only reason I'm involved in this business.” Dead Writers’ music “is for whoever listens to feel accompanied in their sadness.”
“I go for voices, I find Patty Smith very soothing.” - Paul broke down the artists he reaches for when he needs musical accompaniment for his emotion - “I find Nina Simone very comforting. Jeff Buckley. If I want to get out of the hole and feel a bit more empowered, I'd go for Janice Joplin […] but I like sensitive writers, songwriters or musicians. Chet Baker.” The Dead Writers hope to find themselves in a list such as this; to be the soundtrack to human experience and sentiment.
Finally, we discussed what listeners can expect from the band’s upcoming album. Dead Writers are planning to up the romance:
“[the album] will deal with romance, as in talking about romantic issues, maybe sweeter songs, but also romance, with the other side of it. It will have heartbreak as well.”
Paul believes it will be “a development from the current stuff.” The frontman didn’t get specific but did promise that
“it will probably have a kind of dark edge to it, as in it will be sensitive, melodic music that deals with some of the darkness of the human being. It will be honest, and it will have some sadness, and it will have some survival, and hopefully some joy and some inspiration for those who listen to it. I'm aware that these are very vague concepts, but that's how I think about music.”
The vague, abstract nature of Paul’s responses only increased my curiosity, however, and I have high expectations for their current projects.
Dead Writers, inspired by literary greats and musical icons, exploring romance and philosophy, and painting over it with their own unique perspective, have created their idiosyncratic sound that holds a lot of potential.
‘Lisa’ and ‘Among Spritis’ by Dead Writers are available to stream now. Stay tuned for news about the band’s debut album.
