As with many others who write and blog and generally in the biz of - however minimally - being able to cobble together a few half readable words, we receive hundreds of new tracks to hear every week. Some may get passed over immediately (those with accompanying information of the artist delivering 'mega heavy death metal', or being a 'former X Factor contestant', for example). Others get passed through on a green light. And in a smaller, but ultimately more rewarding, if more time-consuming, category, are the few who not only get written about but warrant repeated hearings, long past the writing stage.
Dead Ceremony fall into the latter group. Coming our way by the usual press release route, they were given the once-over and passed with flying colours. But then, something took hold and back we kept returning to this new track, 'Losing You'.
This isn't their debut, by the way. The four from Tunbridge Wells in Kent, had known each other since schooldays, and both vocalist / keyboards player Christopher Stewart and drummer David Trevillion had played in Tom Williams & The Boat. During the course of last year, they put out a debut track 'Trophy' as Dead Ceremony, followed by 'Heartbeat'. Of the former, there now seems to be no online trace, and you'll need to hunt for the second, suffice to say that it managed to attract the attention of BBC Radio 1 and BBC 6 Music through the combination of Stewart's affecting lyrics with the band's rather dark, deep electro production.
Whereas 'Heartbreak' we will admit, was not one to really wow our senses, with 'Losing You' there is something that gets under your skin; whether that be the multi-layering of electronic sounds coupled with the organic Nord keyboard notes going on, the stirring vocals of Stewart, the repeated ambiguous lyric line of, "Light head / Cold sweat / Find the vein / And deliver," or a combination of the lot, we can't really say, just that put together this makes for one stirringly emotive track.
The lyrics, Chris reveals, were inspired by The Antlers work 'Hospice'. "That album was all I listened to in my first year at uni back in 2009-10. It's about a man falling in love with a cancer patient, watching her die and then dealing with the loss. I read that it was a metaphor for a terrible break-up the songwriter had gone through. For me, the important bit of 'Losing You' is the chorus line: "I'm losing you". Everyone has lost someone, in some way, at some point. It's a relatable tragedy, I suppose. It's been interesting to hear what people think it is about, though. The main assumptions are that it's about a girl - despite the song being entirely gender non-specific - or that it's about taking drugs and getting high. But I don't mind this, as I want my lyrics to retain a sense of ambiguity."
Dead Ceremony play a one-off show at The Forum in Tunbridge Wells on December 11. "We have only played 6 or 7 live shows so far, but we will play further afield next year. We are finally happy and confident with our set. It's taken us over a year to get to that point, but we feel ready now."
Dead Ceremony are: Christopher Stewart (vocals / keyboards), David Trevillion (production / drums), Neil Allen (guitar) and Harry Pearce (synths / bass).
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