Formula Indie Sessions _ Interview with Deep Sea Camels
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Steve Hurst – Lead Guitar
Iain Howe – Rhythm guitar and vocals
Stephen Wigmore – Keys and Vocals Mike Dobson – Bass Guitar and Lead Vocals Justin Meyer – Drums
Fiona Carter – Support Vocals
Interview is with Mike Dobson
1. What is your earliest memory connected to music?
Speaking purely for myself, it was bringing The Planets Suite into Infant School for show-and-tell and, somehow, talking the whole class into listening to part of it. I was about seven.
No great epiphany — I just remember the room feeling different when the music started. That feeling stayed with me.
2. How did your passion for creating music begin?
I can’t speak for everyone else, but for me it probably began with all the 1970s detective shows I was obsessed with — The Saint, The Protectors, The Avengers.
They all had these huge, over-produced theme tunes, and I’d make up exaggerated versions of them in my head about everyday things like the dog having fleas or hating French homework.
That was the first time I realised you could tell stories through music — even stupid ones.
3. What’s the story behind your current music project?
Deep Sea Camels started as a “let’s write a few songs” idea, and then we realised we were forming something with its own identity. Over time the band has grown — most recently with Stephen joining full-time on keys — and this phase feels like a natural evolution of that identity.
Right now we’re pushing ourselves further: sharper songwriting, clearer artistic intent, and arrangements that feel more immediate and more us. You’ll especially hear the keys taking a much more prominent role in our new single Same Rules Apply.
We’re also more intentional about building the world around the music — not just releasing tracks, but creating something listeners can step into.
4. How would you describe your sound to someone who’s never heard you?
Indie rock with guts and melody.
There’s a line back to the classic alternative world — post-punk, new wave, 90s indie — but we’re not trying to sound retro. Our sound has expanded as the band has grown, especially with keys becoming a bigger part of the palette.
Think:
• Post-punk edge (The Stranglers)
• New-wave melodic sharpness (Elvis Costello)
• Modern indie intensity (Interpol, early Arcade Fire)
Big choruses, narrative lyrics, rhythm guitar as the spine, bass driving the whole engine, and keys lifting everything into colour.
5. What’s one thing you’ve learned that completely changed the way you make music?
That someone has to take responsibility for the song.
Ideas can come from anywhere, but at some point a single person needs to say, “This is the version we’re committing to.”
Once I stopped trying to please everyone in the room, the songs got clearer and more honest.
6. What tools, instruments, or software are essential in your creative process?
A guitar, Logic, and a rhythm guitarist (Iain) who can take a sketch and make it feel alive.
Working with great producers on both sides of the Atlantic has also opened doors — they hear opportunities we’d miss when we’re buried inside the song.
7. Which indie artist or song are you loving right now?
Father John Misty’s Pure Comedy still blows me away — the scale, the wit, the cynicism handled with real craft.
Steve’s been deep into the latest releases from The Besnard Lakes and Geese, both of which have influenced a lot of our recent conversations about production, textures, and songwriting direction.
We’re pretty picky about what we listen to — there’s a lot of music out there saying nothing about anything — but there’s some brilliant work being made right now.
We keep two playlists on Spotify:
• Behind the Camels — our influences
• What We’re Listening To Now — 100+ recent releases we rate highly
8. How have your personal experiences influenced your music and artistic vision?
Most of our songs come from lived experience — relationships, politics, work, family, the absurdity of how the world actually operates.
I’m not interested in being cryptic for the sake of it. I’d rather write something real, sharp, and recognisable, even if it’s uncomfortable.
9. What emotions or messages do you hope listeners take from your work?
Connection and recognition.
We don’t sugar-coat things — the world’s too weird and fragile for that — but we try to cut through the noise with something melodic, human, and energising.
If someone hears a line and thinks, “Thank God someone else sees this madness,” then we’ve done our job.
10. What’s the most important lesson music has taught you so far?
That honesty — even when it’s uncomfortable or imperfect — always lands better than cleverness for its own sake.
People know when you mean it.
11. What is a dream venue or festival you’d love to perform at?
Rock City in Nottingham.
We’ve loved that venue for years and even wrote a song about it. The atmosphere, the history — it would feel like the universe coming full circle.
12. If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who would it be and why?
David Bowie, without hesitation.
He reinvented himself with a boldness and fearlessness that still feels unmatched.
I once heard him say that songwriting isn’t a committee process — someone has to stick their neck out. That always stayed with me.
Being in a room with that level of artistic instinct, even for a day, would’ve been life-changing I’m sure.
13. Where can listeners follow and support your music?
Spotify, Bandcamp, Instagram, YouTube — all under Deep Sea Camels.
We build everything ourselves and we’re growing a proper community around the music.
14. Looking toward the future, what’s your dream for the next chapter of your musical journey?
To grow a genuine tribe — not passive followers, but people who show up, talk to us, and share the music because it matters to them.
We want to play to bigger crowds, record at a higher level, and keep pushing the sound forward without losing the heart of it.
15. What do you hope listeners will discover about you along the way?
That we mean what we play. And we write songs with a bit of substance and weight.
We know the songs are strong, we know the band can deliver — but more than that, we want people to hear music with guts, purpose, and realness.
