Interview: Out At Sea Release The Brand New Single “Maybe You Know Better”!

Upcoming London-based Indie-pop quartet Out At Sea recently caught the attention of music enthusiasts through their debut EP ‘Lie A Little’, which received high recognition amongst fans & critics alike.

Now, this gifted group look set to catch the attention of listeners once again with the brand new single “Maybe You Know Better” & have kindly spoken to Fierce & Fabulous Revolution about their latest release. Check out what they had to say below.

Hey Out At Sea, thank you for this interview. Can you start by telling the readers a little bit about yourself?

Hey folks! We are a London-based Indie-Pop band made up of 4 lads: Matt (vocals/guitar/bass), Mark (vocals/guitar/bass), Nick (keys) and Ben (drums). Individually hailing from different parts of the UK (Warrington, Isle of Man and Bournemouth to be precise), we met whilst training as actors at drama school. We’re 3 parts Liverpool, 1 part Man United, love all things 80s synth pop and 90s/00s alt-rock, and are subject to a craft IPA.

How did the idea to form this group first come together?

The band originated when Matt visited Mark working onboard a ship in late 2019, and this was where our first single was written. We all shared the same passion for the same bands and artists, so we decided to make some music of our own, and fully formed as a 4-piece at the start of 2020 – possibly the worst (or maybe the best) timing to start a band!!

How would you describe your musical style to someone unfamiliar with your music?

We like to see our music as a mash-together of 80s synth music, 90s/00s altrock, and pop from the last decade. Matt and Mark are our two main song-writers and both possess different writing styles, so we’re always exploring and developing sonically which keeps it really exciting. Our inspirations range from Talking Heads, The 1975, Arctic Monkeys and McFly, which have really helped shape the music we create.

You have just released the brand new single “Maybe You Know Better”. How did the idea to create this song come together?

The song started being written by Mark in the first lockdown, when we had only been a 4-piece for a few months. He had this thought about feeling stuck in that state of constant comparison, and questioning if anyone really knew what they were (and are) doing, despite how it may seem online. With the lack of human interaction last year, it meant you had to basically live your life through your phone and social media. It brought about this yearning desire to be constantly right and wanting to educate and be educated, which was amazing, but quite terrifying at times with the fear of being ‘cancelled’.

How would you compare the creative process behind this song to your previous releases?

The process was actually quite similar creatively as the majority of our time as a band has been spent in lockdown! Mark and Matt spent the first lockdown together, and wrote a massive bank of tunes from which several of our singles last year and our debut EP Lie A Little came from – soin a weird way, we are grateful for the time it gave us to write. “Maybe You Know Better” came from that same period, and with the help of voice notes, Logic, zoom calls and wetransfer, it turned into a fully formed track!

Mark has been produced and mixed all of our tracks so far at his mini home studio. We tend to work from an initial verse/chorus demo from Matt or Mark, and then layer on our parts as we work through it.

Did you always plan to release “Maybe You Know Better” as a single?

Initially it wasn’t scheduled for a release as it didn’t sit on the EP, and we had already planned our 2021 releases. However, we had a gap due to lockdown and some recording sessions having to move as a result, so we thought it would be the perfect track to drop as we near a year since the first lockdown…

What does the song personally mean to you?

As a band, it is one of our personal favourites. We were really inspired by some of Flyte and Lianne La Havas’ recent releases musically, and the lyrics we felt really honestly portrayed the reality and fear of not being able to know everything instantly. It has this almost nostalgic ‘throwback’ feel to it which makes the song quite reflective for all four of us.

If listeners could take one thing away from this song, what would you like it to be?

We’d love for people to take away that it is ok that you may slip up or not know everything, just as long as you seek to be better. The world is crazy right now, and we want this track to almost be a comfort blanket for listeners. Be patient, be honest, seek to educate yourself, and remember that social media is not a mirror to reality.

What advice would you offer to someone looking to pursue a career within the music industry?

One of our main pieces of advice that we’ve already learnt is to not dismiss any ideas, and to record everything you do, even if you think it’s not particularly great. You never know what may come from an accidental slip on a guitar, or a pitchy vocal! The wildest of ideas are usually the best. The most commonly used phrase in our whatsapp is “I think I may have lost the plot here but…” – and that thought tends to be class.

Finally, is there a message that you would like to share with the readers of Fierce & Fabulous Revolution?

Thank-you for reading about us, we really appreciate it as a small independent band, and thanks to Jess for giving us this opportunity. We hope you like the new tune as much as we do! Make sure you support other small indie artists as it has been such a tough time for this industryover the last year, and something like buying merch, pre-saving a tune, following a band on social media, can really help them. Go follow us to see what we’re up to at @outatseaband. Look after yourselves, we are nearly through this pandemic!

You can check out “Maybe You Know Better” on Spotify below.