BY: JOEY REAMS
The pandemic took many things away from us, especially in the music industry. First and foremost, the pandemic took concerts away from us. Then it started to affect the bands that we love so much. Eventually, the music industry began to adapt and figure out how to make all of this work. Some took to streaming concerts while others took on more creative approaches, such as personal concerts via Zoom.
While all of this was happening, the innocent bystander couldn’t help but feel sympathetic towards these trying bands. Most music lovers tried their best to support their favorite bands by attending their virtual concerts or buying merchandise. While these bands did what they could to survive, it seemed like an outrageous idea to start a new band during this time.
Not for Deep Stunn. This Bristol two-piece rock duo, consisting of George Noonan and Fin Dawes, formed while both in University and while the Pandemic was in full swing. Both of them have played in bands together, but it wasn’t until they started playing exclusively with each other when they had the idea to start a band just the two of them. They influence as many different genres as possible, including Massive Attack and Rage Against the Machine.
“We love listening to new and exciting music and trying to incorporate it into our own creations to push our sound out of its comfort zone,” The band said to us in an exclusive interview. “We love the concept of being a genre-bending band so that we can try and appeal to as many people as we can.”
Deep Stunn Getting Started
At the start of the band’s journey, they had the idea of trying not to restrict themselves to one sound, and since then, they’ve always stuck to that ideology. Although the band only has around 100 followers on their social media accounts, that doesn’t stop them from being a “conductor of high voltage bangers.” Still, starting a band during a pandemic is no easy task.
“We’ve always had the difficulty of rehearsing and writing but always somehow managed to get around it,” said the band. “We’ve used the magical powers of the internet to transfer and share files between the two of us to write some great music. FaceTime and zoom aren’t really cut out for music. A piece of software called “soundtrap” came in handy to bounce ideas off each other! A few of our songs got started that way!!”
As mentioned, bands took many different routes to maintain their popularity or elevate their status, including YouTube. Deep Stunn decided this would be the best way for them to share their music with the world. Making money wasn’t as important as getting their name recognized (or finishing their studies), which is a few reasons why they aren’t on Spotify yet.
“Obviously, there were no gigs available to play at the start of our project, so we thought we would bring the gig to everyone who wanted to watch,” said the band. “We started filming us playing in our rooms and edited it all together to create a digital set, which then we cut into separate songs and started releasing on YouTube and all the other social media.”
Moving Forward Past the Pandemic
When starting a band seems almost impossible, especially with the never-ending restrictions surrounding COVID-19, especially with traveling, Deep Stunn never quit. Instead, they went all in and began posting content online, hoping someone would notice. Despite the slow start, this is not only a testament to their dedication; it’s an indication of how bands may have to promote themselves when traditional routes are unavailable.
“We are constantly writing and creating new music, so there is always something on the horizon,” said the band. “We’re pushing hard to get some amazing tunes polished off so we can release them to the world; we just need to finish our studies first!”
The band has released their first episode of ‘The DEEP STUNN Show’ on Friday, July 16. Instead of finding a releasing an EP independently, the band decided to rely heavily on Youtube. Because what else did people do during the pandemic? Watch random videos on YouTube.
Another aspect they’ve had to deal with is that the world is slowly opening up. The band is starting to think about how they can integrate back into the standard life of a musician, with tours, album releases, and other aspects that make being a musician worth it. Unfortunately for them, the United Kingdom is currently experiencing a third spike in cases, making this transition a bit more difficult.
“We love playing shows as well and are super excited to get out and show everyone our music. However, we will make sure we keep releasing content online for everyone who may not be able to make it to a live date!”
Luckily for fans, Deep Stunn just announced a new concert! Deep Stunn will be headlining at Thunderbolt Bristol on August 7th, courtesy of Output Promotions. Hunny Buzz will be supporting them. You can find more information about the concert here.
The setlist is as follows:
Prologue
Spiders
Interlude One
Downtown
Interlude Two
Hooked On U
You can check out the band’s YouTube page here, while you can also find their FaceBook here.