Steve McCarthy navigated through just about every corner of the musical globe before taking the helm of his own solo work under the flag of Steve and the Sea. Coming from metal, grunge, pop, math rock, indie and folk, Steve and the Sea is an ongoing journey forged from a wide range of influences and ideas. Fans have likened his sound to the likes of Villagers, Radiohead, Jeff Buckley, Ben Howard, Elliot Smith and Elbow; and while Steve would be too modest to accept such flattery, the influences cannot be denied.
Originally from Manchester, then Sheffield, then Brighton and now Hamburg, Steve and the Sea is the musical output that accompanies Steve’s forays into visual arts, particularly animation, and the two sometimes meet. Steve’s two EPs; Stay Dry, Stay Warm and { Home } were accompanied by a range of artwork created by Steve including hand-printed posters and CD cases, t-shirts and hoodies and even an animated music video.
In his live sets, Steve uses loops to combine intricate guitars, haunting vocals, synths and electronic drums to build a full band’s worth of music.
