Since the release of their self-titled debut EP earlier this year, emerging dream-pop duo Dust In The Sunlight have found themselves riding a wave of hype and praise, thanks to their bright and visionary direction.
With a sound that looks to marry the warm and ethereal world of dream-pop with smooth and sweeping organic instrumentation, the pair have been regularly compared to the likes of The xx and James Blake for their warm and wistful compositions.
So with the group continuing to build their reputation, we thought now would be a great time to sit them down and find out more about their plans for the year ahead.
Words by Chris Bound
Discovered via http://musosoup.com
Hi guys, how are you today?
We’re good. We’ve just got back from The Qube, where we have a studio space. We’re both finally back in London after a few months and it’s been so good to get writing and recording again.
For those that haven’t heard of you yet, how would you best describe your sound and who have been your biggest influences so far?
It’s been described as The xx meets Damian Rice, which we’re pretty happy with!
In terms of influences, we bonded over artists like Elliott Smith, Joni Mitchell and The National. Sonic inspiration from albums like Goldfrapp - Seventh Tree, Sufjan Stevens - Carrie & Lowell and Nils Frahm - All Melody.
You have just released your self-titled debut EP. Can you tell us how that release came about?
When the Grenfell Tower fire happened, Billy went down to help the people affected by it and met a guy called Tyson Joseph. They kept in touch, Billy sent Tyson the EP demos and it just so happened Tyson’s friend Andrew Radix had just started up a record label - Project Melody. Andrew came along to our first London acoustic show and six months later we signed a deal with them.
We’ve been working on these songs since we met back in 2017 with our producer Aviv Cohen - they’re a body of work that represent our journey so far and we’re really happy that they’re out in the world.
And was there a particular style you were looking for when you created it?
The songs have come a long way since their demos, apart from ‘Old Dream’ - which is true to the original arrangement.
This E.P is us finding and honing our sound. We recorded ‘Dust In The Sunlight’ first, so that was the comparison for us throughout the production process.
The coronavirus outbreak has obviously affected everyone’s plans, but what have you got in store for the rest of the year?
We’re finally back and creating together, so this year will involve lots of recording, writing and maybe some gigging. We’ve got lots to get on with.
And finally, what has been your fondest memory as artists working today?
It’s between filming the music video for ‘Dust In The Sunlight’ in Berlin with our director Alex Newton, or when we recorded a live video for ‘Strangest Places’, where we assembled a choir of our close friends. There’s a part where they all come in and it felt so beautiful getting so many voices to recreate the record.