Dear Sunday
Perth's psyche-indie newcomers Dear Sunday have just released their new single, Teleport, & debut EP, Draw 4. Speaking to Pario ahead of the EP's release frontman Ben Swanson told us how the band came to be, how they blend a wide range of musician influences & most importantly answered the much-debated question, 'Can you use a Draw 4 on top of another Draw 4 in a game of UNO?'
As Ben explained to Pario the band consists of 4 best mates (Ben on vocals/rhythm guitar, Calvin Fennell on bass, Eligh L'Ecluse on drums & Mason Nguyen on lead guitar) simply making the music that they find fun.
"Calvin & I were in a band which was more of a hobby," explained Ben. "But once that simmered out we decided to start a band with our mates & from there it all happened really naturally."
Finding this specific group of 4 musicians was crucial because without each individual member & their particular skill set Dear Sunday wouldn't function Ben revealed, "I can't even read music & Eligh doesn't even know how to set up a drum kit. So it's lucky we have Maso because he's our little music Yoda."
Whilst the decision to form the band all occurred quite naturally finding a sound for Dear Sunday was a slightly more arduous task. The difficulty in this step of the process came simply because each of the band members had, and continues to have, very diverse musical interests/influences.
"My music taste is very much in the vein of Ocean Alley, Spacey Jane or Sticky Fingers," said Ben. "Mason listens to a lot of stuff that was in old skate videos - so old hip-hop. Then our bass guitarist listens to Stevie Ray Vaughan. Then our drummer loves his metal. So our influences are all very personal but we all get to throw our 2 cents into the sound of Dear Sunday."
Due to this broad spectrum of influences the sound of Dear Sunday is also quite broad - shifting from "drum & bass" right through to "surf rock". For Ben & the other members of Dear Sunday, this means the entire songwriting journey always places "fun" at the core of the process.
"All of our music sounds like Dear Sunday but there isn't necessarily a box that we're in... We just make music which is fun because we've always said we would stop doing this when it stops being fun."
During our discussion about the story behind Dear Sunday's latest single, Teleport, both Pario & Ben came to the realisation that it couldn't have arrived at a more fortuitous time.
"Whenever we play the song I have this picture in my head of talking to a partner who is upset about not being able to travel or get away from everyday life," explained Ben before coming to his epiphany. "Just as I was explaining that story I had a bit of clarity & realised, maybe I just wanted a holiday?! That whole theme of wanting to get away is pretty relatable to everyone at the moment."
Now that the Draw 4 is out in the wild Ben says the band is excited to be hitting the road, firstly around Western Australia but then hopefully the East Coast soon.
"We've been really lucky to play a bunch of 100% capacity shows in Perth, so we're really looking forward to getting out & touring. This is our first EP & first tour, so we're both nervous & excited.
"We'd love to go over there (East Coast) & play some music for you guys, that's definitely something that's on the cards for us. It's only a matter of time until we get over there."
In closing, given the title of their debut EP we had to ask Ben, 'Can you use a Draw 4 on top of another Draw 4 in a game of UNO?' to which he said, "Yes you can! I do it & I've always done it. You might lose a friend in the process but it's a free for all when it's house rules."
Follow Dear Sunday on social media at @DearSundayBand
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