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Every Monday we will be bringing you interviews with unsigned UK or Ireland artists for Independent Music Monday. Recently we caught up with unsigned singer Dean and Chapter to find out more…

Where are you from and how did you first get into music?
I’m from London originally but I’ve lived in Ireland for 20 years. My mother played music in a few bands and when I showed an interest in playing guitar age 7, it wasn’t long before she showed me 3 bass guitar lines and had packed me off to a classical guitar lessons at The Classical Guitar Centre in Leicester Square London.

Who were your musical influences when you were growing up and who are your influences now?
I grew up with strong rock and roll influences and as a child lived through The Beatles explosion, flower power, progressive rock, glam rock etc. I was a fan of The Beatles, Slade and especially Focus and early Queen. During my teens punk rock happened and I was lucky enough to catch almost all of the bands you would associate with that period. Indeed I played at and was the last ever DJ at the famous Roxy Punk Club in Covent Garden. My favourites during this time where The Clash, The Pistols, The Damned and many of the more obscure bands that came and went. Since then I’ve tried to give myself a detailed education in most things musical from classical to rap. I’m a fan of Progressive rock, and my favourite artists at present are Rory Gallagher and “Big Dog” Mercer, a Chicago Blues exponent and I’m lucky enough to have met and strike a friendship with.

How would you describe your sound?
My sound is a mixture of many influences, it’s getting called Rock/Punk which is a little different to Punk/Rock. I tend to go where a song leads me but it’s no surprise that I have a strong rock and punk feel and sound.

What is your latest release called and what was the influence behind it?
My latest release is a 5 track EP called Spiritual Suicide. Influences are lyrically about how we struggle with ego, self doubt and dreams. There are three heavy songs and two lighter offerings, I sing about the devil, selling your soul and realising your potential.

What’s your local music scene like?
The music scene in Newry is very active there are a lot of bands and several venues. For my liking there are not enough bands doing original music, many of the local acts are tribute bands, wedding bands or cover bands, that’s fine and pays the bills I guess, but personally I prefer to write and perform my own songs. I guess it depends on how much self-expression matters to someone at the end of the day.

What do you have planned for the next 12 months? Any albums or festivals?
The next 12 months has a good few things in store, all things being even. I’m planning to record the debut album starting in June 2019 and there are gigs lined up around Ireland, the UK and further afield too. We are also shooting a music video for the track Street Corners and one other most likely. Anything is possible and we rule nothing out, variety is the spice of life and I think it’s important to try new things, go new places and absorb all you can in the process.

Is there anyone you’d love to collaborate with?
Honestly No! I better clarify that… I can’t think of anyone I would say no to either. I respect many many artists from right across the board and would happily collaborate with anyone but I don’t have a bucket list of artists that I’m itching to play with other than my own band of course.

Any funny stories surrounding your live performances?
Well I’m not sure it counts as being funny but certainly notable was once when I was playing at the Bachelors Inn in Dublin. Just as I started my set a fight broke out… some guy had been getting a bit touchy-feely with the women and they’d had enough. He was invited to leave but wasn’t for going so a rather distracting scuffle ensued all to the sounds of me playing “Friends with the Devil”. As if that wasn’t enough he came back for more and a second scuffle ensued and the Garda ended up dealing with the sorry excuse. It did remind me of the Blues Brothers actually!

What is the one thing that you want readers to know about you?
Perhaps the less they know about me the better! I’ll say this much… I’ll always stay true to my ethos of original music by original artists, it’s not always popular and certainly not always profitable but it does have rewards far greater than many. I would encourage anyone that has the notion to try something that is from themselves not live someone else’s dream. It’s amazing when you start to believe in yourself how other things follow.

You can find out more about Dean and Chapter on his website or via Apple Music, Facebook, Instagram, Spotify, Twitter or YouTube.