In recent years, the vibrant seaside town of Margate has evolved into a heady blend of coastal charm and DIY creativity — a place where visual artists, musicians and free-thinking makers thrive. It’s the perfect backdrop for Margate-based dark-pop duo debdepan: Chelsea Tolhurst (vocals/guitar) and Grace Bontoft (bass/vocals).
Friends since they were 11, Chelsea and Grace — affectionately known as “the girls” or “the twins” due to their resemblance and inseparable bond — formed the band in March 2022 after writing together throughout lockdown.
They quickly made their mark through Pie Factory Music’s Emerging Artists programme, which paved the way for their breakthrough single “Darkest Hour” in September 2022. The track picked up radio play across the U.S. and Europe, broke into the Deutsche Alternative Charts and secured the duo a publishing and label deal with Archangelo Music. Their debut EP “Omen” followed in July 2023 on Bamala Newtown.
Recent interviews highlight a creative partnership rooted in decades of friendship — collaborative, grounded and instinctive. They make music together because it’s what they love, and that joy runs through their new work.
Their sophomore EP, “Lovers & Others”, explores friendship, intimacy and emotional growing pains. It marks a bold and increasingly confident new chapter — one where debdepan begin collaborating more widely to refine and expand their sound.
“The Girl” opens with a dark, grungy bassline and a distorted, mood-soaked vocal. Shimmering synths add tension while jagged bass riffs propel the track with urgent momentum. The bridge detonates as drums and bass collide, revealing a rawer, more visceral edge to debdepan. Recorded at The Albion Rooms in Margate with engineer Jason Stafford, the duo prioritised live energy over studio polish — and it pays off. It’s a cracking opener.
“Oh No” begins with an understated electronic pulse and gentle guitar strums beneath Chelsea’s melancholy vocal as she reflects on a faltering relationship: “I wish I could leave this place without you / I know sometimes things just get too hard.” As the track builds, synth pulses thicken and merge with grungier guitars. A Blondie-esque chorus lifts Chelsea’s vocal above the industrial backdrop: “I believe we’re through, not that I was ever with you.” Grace keeps the bass brooding until the song dissolves into a gloriously gothic swirl before a programmed pulse snaps it shut. A beautifully crafted moment.
“Habit” is a belter. Their first single in two years, it emerged in the wake of a breakup. Eerie vocals slice through hard-hitting instrumentation, simmering with tension that intermittently erupts into dynamic surges of sound.
The track evolved dramatically during their residency at Westway Lab in Portugal, where a week-long collaboration with Portuguese electronic artist/DJ Phaser pushed the duo into fresh sonic territory. What began as a reflective, melancholic idea became something more driving and propulsive. Recorded with Mike Collins in Ramsgate and completed at Strongroom Studios with producer James Minas, the finished track pulses with bittersweet energy.
Lyrically, “Habit” explores emotional inadequacy and the exhausting games we play for affection. Anchored by the devastating line “If being more enigmatic makes you happy, that is tragic,” its looping structure mirrors obsessive thought cycles while maintaining a punchy, restless momentum.
“Blue” delves into the feeling of being trapped. A solitary bass note sets the tone: “You got into something new, something borrowed, something blue, now you’re saying you don’t know who you are.” The track then accelerates — drums heightening the sense of escape — before pausing and swelling into resplendent guitars that add urgency and drama.
The EP closes with its most vulnerable moment, “Ghost.” Chelsea’s vocal lays bare the confusion and self-doubt of being ghosted — a painfully common experience captured with striking honesty. The song begins with faint hope before gradually darkening as insecurity creeps in, culminating in a cathartic chorus: “Oh, where did you go? We weren’t exclusive but 6 months and then you ghost.”
Layered guitars in the mid-section ramp up the emotional tension, balancing fragility with explosive catharsis — another example of debdepan’s growing mastery of emotional contrast.
The accompanying music video, featuring the duo as DIY ghosts wandering Margate, is wonderfully tongue-in-cheek — a playful counterpoint to the song’s heartache, filled with seaside glimpses of Dreamland and the shoreline.
“Lovers & Others” showcases genuine growth in debdepan’s production and ambition. There’s greater interplay between styles — dark pop, dance, grunge, and industrial textures — moving far beyond purely guitar-driven foundations. Their shift toward more dance-leaning arrangements, combined with new collaborators, brings depth, richness and sharper edges to their sound.
Their willingness to expand their creative circle has clearly paid off. “Lovers & Others” feels like a significant leap from “Omen” — punchy, cleverly constructed and fully self-assured. It leaves you with the sense that even bigger things are on the horizon for these two best friends from Margate.
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