Deep Sea Peach Tree Talks New Line Up and Upcoming Album
We caught up with Deep Sea Peach Tree this month on the Lower East Side in New York City to chat about what we can expect from their new sound.
Words, Igee Okafor
Photography, James Chororos
There’s always time to get acquainted with promising euphonious acts and for Deep Sea Peach Tree, a three year old band based out of New York City, that time is now. The band, birthed towards the very end of 2015 is now grooming to finish their second full length album later this year.
While it hasn't always been easy for the band through lineup changes and creative alignments, founder and lead singer, Kristof Denis tells us they’re feeling stronger and more confident with their current formula than they’ve ever felt before. So much so that the band has acquired a total of over 500,000 Spotify streams to date.
We caught up with the band earlier this month on the Lower East Side in New York City to chat about the chemistry of the group, the thrilling experience of performing live, and what we can expect from their new sound since their first album, Vaguely Navy.
Kristof Denis
On: Guitar/Vocals
Andrew Dell Isola (Deli)
On: Bass
Wiley Watson
On: Guitar/Programming
On The Forming Of Deep Sea Peach Tree:
Kristof: I was in this band in high school called, “We Ride Bikes” with my buddy Adam. I played guitar, and he played bass. We played music similar to what Deep Sea Peach Tree is doing now, so I guess we just changed names. We went to college together, Adam and I. That’s where we met John our bassist. We were a three-piece for a while playing all over New York - mostly at colleges. We did one show in L.A, and then I went through a lot at school with mental illness, and drugs. I ended up having to leave school and, I asked the original founding members of the band, Adam and John if they’d be okay with taking a semester off to really give the band a full time go. They said no so I chose to keep going without them.
I contacted Wiley who I’d known forever, and it seemed like the perfect fit. We went to the same surf camp as little kids and didn’t even know it until we met later in Miami where I moved to with my family for five years. I grew up in New York though so, it really was meant to be.
After going through a number of drummers, we started trying out other people and that’s when we met Andrew Deli. He responded to one of our Instagram inquiries asking people to tryout. We tried him out on drums, we jammed for a little bit. I thought “okay, this could work” but it might be a bit rough and then he picked up the bass and it was like “fuck yea”. So it just kind of became the three of us. We work with a drummer who works with a bunch of other bands too but as far as the band goes, we consider it to be the three of us. We write music together and the new music is more collaborative. We’ve really settled into a nice group.
I came up with Deep Sea Peach Tree when I was in high school but it was the name of a song on the first EP that I recorded during. I came up with it because I was in a college class at that point, and we were learning about the deep ocean and the ideas seemed so crazy to me. The deep sea in my eyes represents the unknown mysteries of the universe. Just things that are incomprehensible and magical so to speak without sounding corny - hard to find, obscure, dark. We know less about the deep sea than we do about outer space. It was just really interesting and I was sitting in class thinking “Deep Sea…”. I’m into rhyming, so I was thinking how do I make this work? I like peaches, and “tree” just sort of worked with the rhyme so that was it.
On their first album, ‘Vaguely Navy’:
Kristof: I wrote most of those songs in high school then I wrote a few in college and recorded it during. I still enjoy performing them. I approached the situation just writing a bunch of songs. I think they go well with each other because they’re all coming from the same place. The songs are all similar enough that they work. There’s some intention and some unintentional things that work. There are 10 songs on it and seven of which I wrote in my bedroom in high school playing around. The rest were done with John and Adam at Skidmore. My favorite song is Vaguely Navy. I named the song after it thinking it would be the one everyone liked. I mean, people like it but I think it’s better live than it is recorded. I had a lot of fun writing the song because it’s different from all the other ones in the way it’s structured. It’s symmetrical so in my mind, it’s easy to go through. There’s the intro, there’s the jammy part, the slower part and then it goes through this peak solo and then it goes back into the jammy - and then the slow - and then intro. It’s such a fun song. A lot of melodies.”
Andrew: I’m all about the ‘Village Market’. It’s definitely the most fun for me to play. It has got a lot of energy and a lot of nice down time.
On Whether Or Not They Want To Be Signed To A Label:
Kristof: Yes of course, if the deal is good. If we became popular enough independently, I would have no problem with that either. It would just be a lot easier and less stressful to have a label behind us.
On Their Connection to Deep Sea Peach Tree:
Wiley: When I first joined, I was playing bass, and I was just doing it. I wanted to move to New York from Miami to pursue music in general and I think when I really felt more of a connection to the band was when Kristof and I started working on one of our songs, ‘Xanzibar’. It was the first song I had written with someone and actually put out and it was received really well. Finishing the song with Andrew and Kristof was really inspiring for me and it was something that I really enjoyed doing.
Andrew: I moved out to New York two years ago from Boston. I was bored of Boston and the music scene wasn’t really for me there. There was a lot of heavy metal and trap music and it really wasn't my scene so I moved to New York, and for a year, I just hung around and tried to figure out something to do. I moved here for music to find like minded people to work with. Exactly a year in, I met these beautiful boys. My best friend had found them through Spotify and he’d been playing them for close to two months everyday. We went to a show and I contacted them on instagram. From the first time that we played a show together, I knew that it was meant to be.
Kristof: It was effortless to hang out and play music with them. It didn’t feel like we were forcing it or trying to do anything else.
On Performing Live:
Kristof: At first, I hated performing live. In the early days, I didn’t even sing, I was just the guitarist. I’m a super anxious person. I just get really insecure and paranoid if people are looking at me and judging me but now, it’s weird. I love it for the same reason. I’m overcoming that feeling on stage by confronting any sort of insecurity or fear and just going head on with loud music and going crazy. I see it as an opportunity to let loose.
On Lessons They’ve Learned Playing With Each Other:
Andrew: I grew up in a small town and I didn’t really have that many people to play music with. I had select few friends but coming here and being in a band with these guys has taught me how to work with people. How to express your feelings and be able to work with others in a collaborative form.
Kristof: Up until the point of this particular lineup, I will say I was very reluctant to collaborate. In the past, if I wanted something to happen, it would happen. If I did not want it to, it would not. Maybe I’m getting older and less immature, but it’s easier to share the work.
On first experiences with music:
Andrew: I started playing music as a kid. My dad was a musician in the 80s. He inspired me to play and taught me how to when I was a kid. I was terrible at sports, very uncoordinated, and lazy. So music became my thing. It made me feel good, it’s a way to express feelings and get it out there.
Kristof: My dad is a drummer and he was in a band when he was younger. There was always music equipment around the house to play with while growing up. I took piano lessons, guitar lessons, and then I stopped playing guitar for a while and got into surfing. I didn't really play music after that, it wasn't what I was into at that time and then my friends invited me to be in that band I was talking about, ‘We Ride Bikes’ in high school. I joined and it reignited my interest in music. I realized it was what I wanted to do. Up until that point, I hadn’t been in a band.
Wylie: I played guitar when I was really little. My god mother got me my first guitar when I was around 5. Playing the guitar and music was always a part of my life but it wasn’t anything that I took seriously because I was swimming competitively for a long time. Once I stopped that [swimming] after college, I moved back to Miami trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life and I just felt that the only other thing I knew how to do was music so I really decided to put everything I had into it.
Kristof: It’s the only thing I’ve been able to stick with and not give up on.
On What To Expect From The Upcoming Album:
Kristof: We hope to get it out by September or October. Listeners can expect a mix of our newer content like ‘Xanzibar’ and ‘Glockcoma’ in addition to some overdue older style like ‘Vaguely Navy’. Wiley and Andrew weren’t on the last full album at all so definitely looking forward to the new ears and opinions. We just want people to have a new go-to song and album they can chill out to and feel good with.
Andrew: It’s groovy, creamy, and saucy with the right amount of ‘zazz’ to keep you coming back for more. A real ‘limb-jiggler’. Like a sip of hot tea on a winters day, smooth and flavorful, but hot to the touch.
On the pressures of releasing New Music:
Kristof: We’ve had some songs we wanted to release as singles but other new songs started to come out of nowhere and we decided to go with those [new songs] because they just fell into place. Usually though, it’s whichever songs stand out and slap us in the face with a vibe. I get really excited, then really nervous and usually end up cursing at critics to myself in my bedroom. Ultimately though, I love it and I basically live for writing and releasing music out in the world.
Wylie: I don't feel nervous releasing new music because I feel very confident and excited working with Deli and Kristof. I know what we put out is dope. Critics don't bother me because everyone has their own opinion on music. If they don't like it, okay. If they like it, cool.
Andrew: I feel like the singles shine on their own. Once you hear it, you know.
On Their New Single, ‘Glockcoma’:
Kristof: Glockoma is basically about me hitting my head skating in Central Park and going to the hospital after I woke up on the floor. I was told I slammed into a pole and had a seizure which led to the hospital visit. We wrote the song within the week after it happened. I don’t really remember recording it but I like the track a lot.
Andrew: The video features a lot of “Slap-stick” humor which is a big part of our friendship.
Wiley: It’s a short and sweet song. That’s why I love it.
On What To Expect For The Rest of The Year:
Kristof: We hope to have our next album completed and out. We’re going to release one more single before then and we’ve got some really fun shows lined up through October.
See all music related articles here