Lucinda Dodd
It’s an exciting time for Sea Girls: the four-piece male indie rock band (yes, Sea Girls are all men!) have just embarked on an extensive UK tour, and their sophomore album ‘Homesick’ is due to come out in January 2022. Whilst prepping for three weeks of bus life, lead singer Henry Camamile took time to chat with Lucinda Dodd to discuss his favourite aspects of touring, the upcoming album and to give his advice for aspiring musicians.
In March 2020, as the world descended in Coronavirus chaos, Henry Camamile returned to his childhood home in Lincolnshire, forcing him to confront his past and “come to terms with growing up”. He revealed that unpacking these emotions meant: “I had a chance to write songs that just felt really true. [Lockdown] gave a reset, and a chance to think about what is important, and write about that.”
“Sick is the first single out from this album, and is definitely influenced by the fact that there has been a pandemic”
Camamile explained how “Sick is the first single out from this album, and is definitely influenced by the fact that there has been a pandemic.” The lyrics are raw, as Henry lists all the ways he is ‘sick’ of his life. In the chorus, Henry forcefully sings: “I wish I was just a child / Mum and dad, can you make me smile?” The accompanying music video, directed by Joseph Delaney (Ashniko, HMLTD), sees Camamile, alone, trapped in his bedroom, in true lockdown style.
The British guitar band are known for their powerful storytelling through song, Henry explained how “a lot of the songs we wrote for this album just felt super important and really real and relevant – exactly what I would want to hear if I hadn’t written them.” The 25-year old also revealed how he feels the new album highlights the growth the band have had: “We basically were like we want to step it up, so it sounds bigger. It’s got a really strong identity and we just did it in Brixton in late night sessions and it just feels a little bit grittier, it’s got a lot of bite. It’s about things in life that everyone our age is just feeling.”
“Homesickness for me means to be missing home, but it also means you belong somewhere”
Unpacking the name of the album, ‘Homesick’, Camamile philosophised how for him, ‘homesickness’ is a complex emotion. “Homesickness for me means to be missing home, but it also means you belong somewhere. That’s the thing about this album, it’s just about a feeling of belonging.” The band’s dedicated fan base speaks to how they have cultivated a community which feels like home to many.
Hot off the back of a summer playing energetic sets at festivals such as Reading, Leeds and Latitude, this October Sea Girls are travelling round the UK on an 11 date tour, playing mainly at O2 Academy venues. Camamile shared why he’s excited for this stint of shows: “We have never done an academy tour so that’s super, we cannot wait.” He divulged how for this tour, the band will be playing a mix of their favourite songs from their debut album, ‘Open Up Your Head’, but teased that fans can also anticipate hearing some tracks from the upcoming album.
Sea Girls will be travelling on a bus with their crew, asked how it is living in such close proximity to everyone, Henry shared: “I like it, it makes It a big party and you know where you’re sleeping every night. Some of the best night sleeps are in a bunk on a bus, it makes it really good fun!” Henry also disclosed his pre-show routine: “We have a huddle [and] I like listening to music pretty loud”. His favourite artists to help him prepare to play? “At the moment I’m really liking playing Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Lil Peep as well.”
Despite not forming Sea Girls until they moved to London, the members met whilst at school together
Despite not forming Sea Girls until they moved to London, the members met whilst at school together. Henry revealed how knowing his bandmates for so long makes their working relationship “pretty natural”. He added “I don’t really know anything else, I quite like it. We are enjoying it more than ever at the moment.” He reflects back on his life when he originally moved to London for the band in 2015: “When we first started gigging, life was very different to how it is now. We did like a year and a half gigging where no one gave a s**t. We had written Call Me Out and stuff and we were playing to no one. It all started randomly one day when Radio 1 played us.”
Call Me Out is now one of Sea Girl’s biggest songs, currently having over 11 million streams on Spotify. For musicians in the same stage as Sea Girls was back then, Henry says: “If you believe in it, and you know you’re doing good, just keep trying to get better at writing songs and playing – all our weekends were taken up with practice for years.” He continues: “Just have fun if it is what you wanna do. And just gig loads, it doesn’t matter if people aren’t showing up. I used to just hustle everyone I knew – I’d spend ages on Facebook just trying to get anyone I knew to come to a show!”
Sea Girls have come a long way since their early days in London, and are due to play a sold-out show at Brixton Academy on 15th October. Their upcoming album, ‘Homesick’, is out 14th January 2022.
Lucinda Dodd
Featured image courtesy of Chuff Media. Permission to use granted to Impact. No changes made to this image.
In-article video courtesy of Sea Girls via youtube.com. No changes made to this video.
In-article image courtesy of @seagirls via instagram.com. No changes made to this image.
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