Dead Sea Souls

In an age in which instant musical success usually involves fast-tracking your way to the top via TV talent shows, it's refreshing to come across a band who have achieved a favourable amount of accomplishment by virtue of something a little more old-fashioned - honest hard work.
Dead Sea Souls, a funk-ska quartet from West Lothian, have been on the local scene since 2006, and in that time, have played almost every venue in Scotland. In fact, if you've got a shed that can hold ten people, they've probably gigged in it.

Oka
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y, so that may be a bit of an exaggeration. But by paying their dues, things are finally beginning to come good for the band, who you can see rip it up at The Store (formerly The GRV) on Saturday night.

With sell-out shows in Glasgow, Liverpool's famous Cavern Club and The HMV Picture House behind them, Dead Sea Souls are now one of Scotland's hardest-working groups and have recently been picked up by Big Rock Candy Records.

As bassist and vocalist Gary Burns confirms, it's all come good. "I've been in the band since 2007 and it's only since we played a Marie Curie cancer charity gig this time last year that things have really begun to pick up. We managed to sell out King Tut's in Glasgow a week before our first EP came out. That EP has now sold really well on iTunes, especially in America.

"We then played with Stornaway - another band of the moment - and sold-out our allocation quite easily. We've been played on Radio 1 and managed to attract 3500 friends to our Facebook page, too. It's totally snowballed and is a good sign that we're gathering pace and building momentum."

The band's name - a pun based on the Dead Sea Scrolls Hebrew texts - won't come as much of a surprise. What is surprising, though, is this successful band aren't based in Edinburgh or Glasgow, choosing instead to remain in West Lothian.

The reason for this, says 24-year-old Burns, from Whitburn, is simple. "We're 30 minutes from Glasgow and 30 minutes from Edinburgh, so you could be in either city in no time at all. Being where we are is an ideal place to be based. It's a lot cheaper to live here, too. Another upside of living here is that we've managed to build up a loyal fanbase in places like Livingston and Bathgate.

"We supported The View in Bathgate and we drew a crowd of 800 who had come purely just to see us - almost the total capacity of the venue, Room At The Top, itself."

Fans of The Sunshine Underground, Ian Dury & The Blockheads, Jamiroquai and anything ska-related, Dead Sea Souls are currently sponsored by clothing manufacturer Fly53. It might not be up there with US rappers advertising Calvin Klein, but it's another indication that people are acknowledging their growing appeal.

"We got the sponsorship deal after they saw one of our reviews. - Scotsman

Happy-go-lucky indie tunes - The List

Dead Sea Souls (aka DSS) were formed in Whitburn, West Lothian, Scotland. Their music has been described as "a gargantuan dose of filthy, disco inspired bedlam". They have toured extensively in Scotland including three sell-out shows at King Tuts, Glasgow Barrowlands (main stage), HMV Picturehouse, Liquid Rooms, Doghouse and the Cavern Club in Liverpool (with travelling support of 130).

Notable supports have included 'The Sunshine Underground', 'The Invisible', 'Complete Stone Roses' & 'Sergeant'.

The band is in the process of releasing an E.P. in the autumn of 2010, with self funded album to follow early in 2011.

"An amazing live act that really took me by surprise" - Jim Gellatly XFm Scotland. - Kinemagigz

West Lothian band Dead Sea Souls could never be accused of pretension judging by the evidence of the songs on this EP. Staring with the nervy tale of Friday night psychos “Cagefighter”, each one is a song of the people by the people and, like The View before them, they know their audience well.

“My Problem” follows the formula with sat-nav accuracy and it is hard to imagine the aggressively beer fuelled “Trendsetter” missing the bullseye on the dartboard of popular music. In fact, that one also gets a remix into a banging choon just perfect for your fart pipe equipped Pug. Oddly enough for a band that can certainly cut it on stage, it is the live version of “Girl On The Corner” that falls flat.

Dead Sea Souls are a band that perform with verve when so many wallow in self indulgence making this a promising release. - Bluesbunny

DSS are recording this gig. So good for them that they are owning souls & the crowd are in fine voice. - Song Kick

Last time I encountered Dead Sea Souls was a couple of years back on their home ground in West Lothian where they proved the perfect Friday night party band. Judging by the audience reaction, nothing much has changed with their one size fits all basslines and their habit of turning every song into a chant getting those feet moving. Likewise, their buoyant onstage attitude represented a refreshing change from moody indie rockers. So get yourself another beer, pretend it is Friday and get dancing! - Bluesbunny

Headliners Dead Sea Souls are the business. They were playing their umpteenth Tut’s gig and it showed. Their set of polished, ska-influenced pop was being recorded, but how it will be heard over the crowd belting out songs like Caroline, is a mystery. Front man Gary Burns has real charisma and had them eating out of his hand.

Star rating: ***** - The Herald

As the lights dim in Glasgow’s legendary King Tuts for Stornoway support act, the mumbled chant of 'DSS' resounding round the venue could easily be mistaken for 'DFS'. But alas, the enthusiastic fans are not after half price sofas tonight; they are after the funky pop notes of Scottish act Dead Sea Souls. Dead Sea Souls have created one of the biggest crowds for a support act King Tuts may have seen since The Fire and I in 2007, and on stage this evening do nothing less than provide a fully justified soundtrack for the dancefloor.

Dead Sea Souls have a really strong sound, hitting better beats and catchier rhythms than Parka, The Fratellis or The View. You can see that their music was written to be played live; with sing-a-long choruses, lots of da-da-da-da-ing and upbeat chirpy tunes. The band perform in a cocoon of fun, flirtatious pop, with contagiously cheeky grins and dancing fans. Performing a 45-minute set, Dead Sea Souls do more than just support Stornoway, they put on a completely banging set for the King Tuts crowd this evening. - Music News