Unda Da Sea - Deep Sea Arcade

According to Mr Tim Morrissey, head honcho of The John Steel Singers and recent tour mate (read: partner in debauchery), Deep Sea Arcade collectively possess “the largest penises in Australia”. Unfortunately (or otherwise), a Darlinghurst cafe didn't seem the best place to substantiate the claim, although Nic McKenzie, DSA’s frontman, probably wouldn't have minded too much. Possessor of a friendly face, a floppy fringe shading keen eyes, Nic is “absolutely rock bottom broke at the moment”. He has a tendency to erupt into an endearing cackle when something piques his fancy and dreams of “rolling down rolling hills” – preferably in New Zealand, a nation near the top of his ‘to visit’ hitlist.

DSA is the pop-rock baby of McKenzie and school friend and bass player Nick Weaver, the pair sharing music writing duties while the former arduously polishes the lyrics himself. Drawing on a shared love for groups such as The Smiths, The Kinks, and The Beatles as well as assorted nineties Brit-pop, the pair are certainly adept at effective hook construction. Theirs is a pop music of watery, reverb-soaked daydreams, its surface buoyancy undercut by lyrics with a tendency to dwell on the twisted longings of the unconscious.

“I spend a lot of time on lyrics,” says McKenzie, “I’m a perfectionist when it comes to that … I try and make them about something ambiguous so that you can bring your own experience to them. I think that that’s actually how you communicate with people, that’s how you make something an interesting piece of work to experience, not just a self-indulgent write-it-for-yourself … Often I write about stories and how I’m feeling as well … I certainly don’t just write about my experience, I bring my experience to what I’m writing about.”

Less interested in pouring his battered soul onto a tape recorder than lending slices of reality an edge that is slightly creepy, manic and grinning, McKenzie’s method seems to be working. Singles ‘Crouch End’, ‘Don’t Be Sorry’ and ‘Lonely In Your Arms’ have received widespread radio airplay, their wholesome musical vibe recalling for many the easy-going sound of sixties surf bands. McKenzie however is bemused by the comparison: “to be completely honest, I haven’t ever been a big fan of surf music. People say that surf music comes out in our sound, but I guess it’s just an accident. That’s the honest truth. I’m not aiming to write surf music. It just so happens that some of the songs have that vibe.”

Perhaps it’s just a by-product of the DSA Writing and Recording Standard Operating Procedure, in which McKenzie and Weaver immediately demo newly minted songs before re-tracking and mixing as necessary under the watchful eye of producer Simon Berkleman (of Philadelphia Grand Jury). Of utmost import is the desire to maintain the home-recorded quality of the demos, which will be showcased on the band’s forthcoming eight track mini-album, slated for release in March.

“For the mini-album we’re absolutely embracing DIY”, says McKenzie. “It feels like a good thing to do, having some way of bridging the singles that we’ve released but keeping that flavour and vibe. For the album [we’ll] step up the production quality, [but] it would be a shame not to release that kind of DIY home recorded thing as a whole entity as well … We wanted to capture that rawness. Demo-itis exists because you come up with a lyric, you record it and there’s a naturalness and a vibe that you just can’t recreate. That’s the thing that we want, we want to have a mini-album that is our own masterpiece and then license it and put it out.”

Indeed, McKenzie is committed to keeping DSA a truly indie band for as long as is practical, self-funding and licensing the band’s recordings to ensure any revenue returns to the group. “[It’s] off our own bat which feels good” he remarks. “It’s hard to do that with an album because it’s like twelve songs and you actually need to have a budget, but for a mini-album you can do it on a shoe-string budget.”

Not that remaining independent is by any means easy, all band members keeping their day jobs (McKenzie works as a freelance film editor, making the DSA video clips himself) to support their music. “For so many bands, that is a real struggle … That’s the shit thing about being in an indie band in Australia. I mean, we’re not out to make money, but it’s difficult, and not many people want to talk about it … the cost of it is never ending, you’re always having to pay some kind of overhead … It’s not about the money, it’s just about being able to keep on going. If you could break even for ever than that would be cool, but the reality is that it’s difficult even doing that.”

The main thing however is to focus on what’s important: the debauchery. Although DSA has toured extensively over the last eighteen months – supporting Cloud Control, Hungry Kids of Hungary and Blue Juice among others – McKenzie drools uncontrollably at the prospect of the band’s upcoming tour with Surf City, the Sydney show at Oxford Art Factory promising to be a unique experience.

“We’ve been working a lot on our live show, it’s become kind of a bit of an obsession for me… I saw Jinja Safari at Peat’s Ridge and was blown away by their live show. When I saw their show, it just felt like the energy never lagged. That’s something that I want, having a live show that never lags, is just full of flavour and has different atmospheric things … creating this sort of ambience that’s relentless that can be experienced from beginning to end. "That’s the thing that I’ve got in my head, that’s driving me, and making me want to do it."

First published in The Brag, Issue 397, January 31st 2011

Deep Sea Arcade are supporting Surf City at the Oxford Arts Factory this coming Friday the 11th.

Happy Happy Fun Times:  Evil Bee!; Best Eerily Compelling Mind And Space Traversing Fictional Exploration of Consciousness Eva; Summer Cooling Drink of Yumness.