IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Sea Girls
Sea Girls, formed in 2015 and hailing from London, highlights the talent and charisma of Henry Camamile (lead vocals, guitar), Rory Young (lead guitar, vocals), Andrew Dawson (bass, vocals), and Oli Khan (drums). They self-released their first single, “Call Me Out,” on June 1, 2017 as a sneak peek of their debut EP sharing the same title (via Almanac Recordings). Since then, they have put out three more EPs, Heavenly War (Jan 2018), Adored (Jun 2018), and Under Exit Lights (Mar 2020). Most recently, August 14, 2020 marked the release of their much-anticipated debut record, Open Up Your Head, via Polydor Records (vinyl, CD, and cassette available). In addition to selling out a handful of venues in London such as OMEARA and Roundhouse, they have performed at festivals including Reading & Leeds. Last year on December 10, they hit the stage at NYC’s Mercury Lounge, with support from Brooklyn-based band Between Giants. As of now, Sea Girls are set to embark on a massive (rescheduled) tour all over the UK and Europe next spring.
Putting a quick pause on music, Oli kindly shared some of his time to chat about the process behind creating Open Up Your Head, places to eat in NYC and London, and his favorite superheroes.
What’s the story behind the formation of Sea Girls?
The short version is that we all met at school. We all naturally gravitated towards each other as people who like music, and formed various bands. Most of them were pretty terrible, and none of them quite landed on the eventually Sea Girls lineup. We definitely flirted with it, and there a few instances of 3 of us being in a band together. Once we left school, there was one band that was Henry and Oli and another that was Andrew, Rory and Oli. After a few years of flailing and playing to small crowds, both of our drummers left and we had the mad idea to join forces finally. We quickly realised there was something different happening this time and stepped everything up a gear.
What was the first instrument you started making music with?
I actually started playing bass first. When I was 12, some of my friends decided to start a band and because I didn’t know an instrument already, I was designated the bass player. I think the first song we did was “TNT” by AC/DC which is basically one note the whole way through (I smashed it). I played bass for years right up until we started Sea Girls. We needed a drummer and I thought I’d give it a go, and seems to be working out for now.
Which song (released or unreleased) are you most proud of?
It’s definitely something that changes a lot. I flick between “Forever” and “Transplant.” I think “Transplant” just edges it today. It feels like everyone on their A-game doing what they do best. The song tells a story and, to me at least, the music reflects that and moves everything on at the right time in the right way. It’s also got a chorus you can belt out which is always a plus.
You recently released your debut record, Open Up Your Head, on August 14, 2020. What was the process of writing, recording, and producing it?
The songs were written over a period of 3 years leading up to it. I think with all of our songs, we try and capture genuine human emotion and articulate all the messiness that comes with being a ‘sad post-teen’ as Henry once described it. I don’t think there was ever a point when we were like “We’ve finished writing it!” We just kept on writing and trying to come up with the best songs we could. Some songs like “Forever” we always knew would be central to the album, and there were a handful of songs we liked but needed teasing out a lot more. The bulk of the album was recorded at Snap Studios in North London. Before we started recording the album, we always recorded as quickly as humanely possible, but we then found ourselves with a lot of time and a lot of equipment to play around with. Taking the time to develop songs and discover new sounds definitely gave us the freedom to elevate everything we were doing. The album was produced by Larry Hibbett; he’s worked with us on every song since our first EP and he’s definitely a key component in the evolution of our sound. It was a pleasure to grow with him and explore different musical ideas we hadn’t felt confident doing at the start of our career. The songs we ended up with spanned our time as a band as well as bringing a slow shift in our sound that’s evident for anyone who’s been with us since the start!
While on the road, what are some of your essential tour items?
This isn’t going to be very rock and roll, but some good toiletries are a must! Gotta moisturise, you know? Some good noise-cancelling headphones are essential, as nice as everyone else is sometimes you just have to shut the world out and put a great album on to lose yourself to. I also have a Nintendo Switch that I always bring with me; it definitely makes the long drives a bit more bearable. Playing Mario Kart in hotel rooms is pretty great, too.
Which artists are currently on your music radar?
I’ve been really loving the new Holly Humberstone and Troye Sivan EPs. Holly is clearly going to be massive, and there’s some great instantly likeable songs on there. I’m very late to the party, but I’ve been loving Dominic Fike at the moment too—it’s great to see guitars being played so creatively and being so popular.
What’s your favorite food and/or restaurant in London? Any places in NYC?
I’m a sucker for pizza and I live in East London where there’s a lot of great pizza around. There’s a place called Yard Sale in Hackney East London, which is great. When we came to New York in December, we went to Carmine’s in Times Square. I’m sure that’s a really touristy thing to do, but it was crazy and we loved the ridiculously big plates of pasta because we don’t have anything like that in England! We also went to Katz’s Deli as it was right by where we played; I still regret not buying a huge jar of the pickles to take home.
If there were a drink with the name “Sea Girls,” what would it consist of?
I guess it would probably something like a Long Island Iced Tea. A drink that tastes quite sweet but is hiding something more sinister. They are pretty trashy though, so it would be a classy version of that. Fancy ice cubes or exotic syrups to liven it up maybe?
Who’s your favorite superhero character, and why?
I actually watched a lot of Marvel films over lockdown so I feel fairly qualified to answer this. Black Panther is great for obvious reasons, and that movie is still amazing every time I watch it. I also recently watched Into the Spider-Verse which I thought was incredible, such an amazing take on a fairly overdone superhero. I guess I’ll go with Spider-Man, but specifically the Miles Morales version.
What’s a question you have wanted to get asked in an interview, and what’s the response to it?
This one! And my response is thank you so much for finally asking it—I’ve been waiting a long time for this.
A huge thank you to Oli and Sea Girls for their time and thought to respond to the questions, and to Erika for coordinating!
Stay updated with Sea Girls by following them on Twitter (@sonicseagirls) and Instagram (@sonicseagirls), and liking them on Facebook (/sonicseagirls)!