Dulcie
Total ray of sunshine and 4-piece indie girl band, Dulcie reveal their brand new single and video Dust. As premiered by triple j, Dust is an enjoyable 3 minutes to switch off from the world and enter Dulcie’s universe. A place where everything is happy and carefree, something we could all use a little of right now.
Duclie are Ashleigh Carr-White, Timieka Denton, Saskia Brittain and Madison Hanley, and are fast-becoming one of the most exciting acts to come, not only out of Perth, but in the whole country. With music made up of mesmerising harmonies, smooth melodic layers, beautiful arrangements and driving rhythms it’s easy to fall in love with Dulcie. Accompanied with their vibrant personality, you’ll find yourself a new BFF with Dulcie.
The girls refuse to accept that there can only be one lead singer. In keeping with their ‘all in this together’ mentality, they uniquely interchange between three vocalists, which makes their sound even more fun and distinctive. They’ve tried tirelessly to define their indie pop-inspired style but instead have arrived at a conclusion that their soaring hooks and inventive melodies simply could not be confined to the limits of one genre and then went surfing. Ashleigh Carr-White answers some questions for Hi Fi Way about the single.
Has the build up to Dust been exciting?
For sure, there’s always a buzz around releasing music into the world! We recorded the track earlier in the year so the anticipation had been growing for a while. This was our first time backing up the release with a music video and some distributive support so that added to the excitement of it all!
Have you been pleased with the reaction to the single?
We are so grateful for all the support and love that people have shown Dust so far. It’s so nice to see people enjoying the music we make and really makes it all worthwhile.
What is the story behind the single Dust?
Earlier this year I was going through some old voice memos and came across a vocal idea I recorded while driving home from WAAPA in 2018. Amongst a lot of random singing I really liked a section of it which we now use in the bridge of the song. I used parts of the recording and reworked them into a new idea for what became the first demo of Dust. When I brought it to the band we continued to try new things to refine the sound and repeated this process in the studio. It has definitely come a long way since a very small idea, but that’s the power of collaboration! The song’s meaning comes from the saying to ‘throw dust in someone’s eyes’ which works as a metaphor for misleading someone or something. We can often blind ourselves to what is best for us by rushing into things too quickly, I wrote Dust as a song about overcoming this.
Are you building to an album or EP release?
We’re all very excited to say that there is an EP in the works which is almost finished being recorded! Dust will feature as a single amongst 4 other tracks which we’re aiming to put out early to mid next year – so keep your ears out!
How does the creative process work for Dulcie?
The creative process can be different every time, but generally we start with a concept that has been written prior to a full band rehearsal – this could be anything from a verse, a riff or an entire song. After the idea has been shared, we jam it and see how it flows, making adjustments and suggestions as we go! We found that catching up in duos to write works really well for us so we tend to do that as much as we can.
What comes first – the lyrics or the music?
Speaking for myself (Ash) I almost always write music first. I improvise for a while on the piano until I find a progression that I like, then put on my voice memos and sing random words over the top. If I notice a part that I like I’ll pause my voice memo, take that idea and start the process again. I usually make meaning from the random words that I sing, then refine them after I work out a solid melody.
Has the COVID situation slowed your momentum at all?
When COVID was becoming an issue in Australia we had just set out on our first headline tour over East. We played a show in Brisbane and were unsure if we’d get to go ahead in Sydney but were lucky enough to play before booking flights home for the next day. We all kind of knew that would be the last show we would play for a while, but it’s much better for people to be safe! We had a national tour lined up with one of our favourite bands ‘Ocean Alley’ amongst a few other things but hopefully they will be rescheduled to another time when people will feel safer being out in the community. We are so fortunate to be in WA right now with many of our restrictions being lifted, so we definitely don’t take the freedom to play live shows again for granted!
In this COVID haze what has been the biggest thing you have learnt about your own resilience?
COVID has had a huge impact on the music industry. It was definitely very hard, and still is a challenge navigating how to sustain a career in what predominantly revolves around playing live shows. But, amongst all the mayhem it’s been amazing to see how people have really made lemonade out of lemons, with more livestreams like isolaid festival, ticketed virtual shows and more merch sales than ever. It’s definitely proved to us how much we love what we do as we all felt the sting of not being able to be together or perform for so long. As restrictions ease we are even more grateful and passionate to be share our music.
Are you looking to being able to get on the road and start playing shows?
Always! There’s honestly nothing better than being on the road with your friends, playing music and making great memories. We’re always down for an adventure so can’t wait for more trips to come!
What’s the next challenge for Dulcie?
Hopefully more touring, more writing, recording and continuing to build up our fan base. Very excited for what’s to come and to see how next year plays out! Hopefully things will be relatively back to normal so that everyone can experience live music again!
Interview By Rob Lyon
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