"Dark, aggressive, and eighties" - In Conversation with Deadset

Gathered around a table in the dim-lit Dive Hu5, Deadset – comprised of Sam Mellors, James Massey, Adam Arnold, and Rio Campbell – anticipate the release of their first single ‘The Art of Pointscoring’. Discussing who they are and what it is like being in a band with your friends…

The Influences

The comment “dark, aggressive, and eighties”, made by the band’s guitarist James, stands out as the overall aesthetic of the quartet. With specific influences from Fontaines D.C. and Joy Division in their heavy post-punk stylistic choices. Deadset makes it clear: “We’re not Fontaines though, we are influenced heavily by seventies and eighties post-punk, the sound is Joy Division and New Order-inspired base heavy post-punk.”

The Name

What’s in a name? James recalls how it came about during one of their writing sessions. Sam said the phrase “deadset” during one of their writing sessions as James and Sam’s other band, Girl Afraid, had just ended, and this quartet was “deadset on being something better”.

The Origins

Recalling how they met – Sam and James through their previous band Girl Afraid, and Rio and Adam joining to create Deadset through mutual connections – the members highlight the importance of the Hull music scene in establishing a place and audience within the city.

Creating an audience for a new band can be a complex process, but Deadset were lucky enough to have backing from independent Hull venues, such as The Polar Bear, as well as being familiar faces in the area. “We go to these venues anyways for socialising, it has kinda helped us build an audience,” Adam notes. James continues by saying, “You learn your craft and make your mistakes, it’s quite easy to do on your doorstep…”

Adam and Rio comment that working in one of Hull’s best coffee and dive bars, (Dive HU5), also has its perks as the members can plant Deadset’s name into customers’ minds allowing their audience to grow organically. Rio notes: “We talk to all the customers, and they bring their mates, and they actually like it cause they go to music events anyway.” Deadset exemplifies the importance of word-of-mouth promotion when it comes to gaining attention for an up-and-coming band.

Reminiscing back to their favourite gig memory at Dive back in March 2023, where Iggy Pop’s song ‘Nightclubbing’ played as the band took the stage, a collective song choice made, allowing their “heads to kick into gear” and to “set the scene”, the unit recalls how they wanted to capture their goth aesthetic through decorating the floor of the stage with roses. Laughing between each other, the band remembers how they “went out for a cigarette and came back and the crowd had nicked them all”. An evident sense of humour resonates through the conversation.

Deadset are first and foremost friends before and above anything else. There’s a familial bond connection with importance placed on honesty and openness. The members use the project and this friendship as a sense of escapism as “life in Hull is really monotonous” states Adam. “The band is the only thing I can find in Hull that’s kinda got any creative output.”

Writing music that resonates with wider audiences as well as artists’ passions and interests appears as something of vital importance too. While writing music and jamming, the members continuously take into consideration each other’s influences as well as not being afraid to criticise if something does not fit or does not feel right. “Everyone’s allowed to do what they want without being criticised,” adds Adam. This notion appears to be a solidified rule in the Deadset practice room. “Nobody stops each other from playing how they wanna play,” Adam continues as James quickly interrupts to recall a moment shared between the two over a text message previously in the week. “When I sent you that riff through the other day you went, I like that bass part, but I’m gonna write another one, cause I think I write better ones!”

The Future

Questions turn towards discovering who Deadset is as a core and what they are trying to achieve in the music scene to more of a specific focus on their new and debut single, “The Art of Pointscoring”. Referring to the promotional videos posted on social media and the music video: a bright hot pink background can be seen while the band is dressed in black and leather whilst holding flowers. Rio comments that the promo is an “easy watch, you don’t want your first video being a long-winded concept!”

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