London dark-synth duo Death Drive have a fabulous debut single out called Love Me, I was so impressed that I asked Carine and Danny to answer a few questions for my blog. Please read on:
Please give us a brief background about the band?
Carine: Danny and I met up last year in central London for a pint and it was the start of Death Drive.
Danny: We live in London, coming via Paris (Carine) and Sao Paulo (myself). Both of us played in multiple bands, toured, released stuff. Carine is kind of a prodigy, singing in front of crowds since she was a child.
During lockdown, it took me a while to do anything useful until I began working on new music. I spent like an eternity looking for a singer until I met Carine, and that music I started a while back began morphing into the songs we have now.
How did you get your name? Were there any names you rejected?
Carine: It's all Danny, I'm bad with names. Names we rejected? All mine xD
Danny: Oh god, I’m the worst with names… Death Drive’s the name of an EP from one of my favourite modern artists, Debby Friday, but also sounds cool (I think!) and has multiple meanings.
How would you describe your music?
Carine: EBM, Post Punk, Dark Wave
Danny: Synthpop with heavy beats and a lot of bass! Dark, evil, sad. It has conflicting feelings, sad and furious at the same time, playful, which reflects our personalities I guess!
Tell us about your creative process, who writes the songs and where do you record?
Carine: I’m doing the vocals and write the lyrics
Danny: I usually start very minimal with a basic beat and bass, or a sample. Then together we shape the songs according to Carine’s vocal lines and the story she wants to tell.
What are your musical influences?
Carine: Boy Harsher, Patriarchy, Depeche Mode, The Cure.
Danny: Debby Friday, comic books, HEALTH, Suicide, Boy Harsher, Film Noir.
Please tell us about your latest work?
Danny: ‘Love Me’ is one of the first tracks we wrote together, it’s been brewing for a while. It’s co-produced and mixed with Jack Milwaukee from M!R!M, who I’ve known for like forever and it’s a brilliant guy to work with. There will be a couple of remixes following up this track, by our friends BUG and Looking Glass Alice.
We also have been writing like crazy recently, so there’s plenty more to come.
Carine: We can’t stop writing songs!
Do you play live shows, if so, what do they involve?
Carine: Danny and I are playing live in London on the 27th of June at The Sebright Arms, with PC World, Santacruz and Night In Athens to celebrate Love Me’s release.
What can we expect from you next?
Carine: For the rest of 2024, more singles and remixes followed by live performances and DJ Sets.
Which track would you like to nominate for the Spotify Sidetrack Jukebox and why?
Danny: ‘Words Unspoken’ by Night In Athens. It’s fresh, great and from a fellow London artist we really like.
On that note, would also like to give a shout out to PC World, Transmigration, Nixer, M!R!M, BUG and Looking Glass Alice.
Finally, where is the best place for people to connect with you?
Bandcamp: deathdriveldn.bandcamp.com
Instagram: @deathdriveldn
TikTok: @deathdrive.ldn
Facebook: facebook.com/deathdriveldn
‘Love Me’ is out now via Gasolina Recordings.