Firstly, I’d like to start by asking how you’ve been during the pandemic period and how the band has been affected?

We’ve been cool. As much as people can we’ve been trying to stay positive. Obviously, we feel quite fortunate in Australia because we have a smaller population than a lot of other places so it’s kind of more manageable. But because the album was meant to come out, to push it back three months I guess we’ve just been trying to find silver linings. We’ve been on tour pretty much since 2014, kind of feels like we haven’t stopped since when we kind of started. I guess we are just taking this moment to hang out with our loved ones, friends and family, catch up with them. It’s been nice to be able to stop and focus on production. We’re always writing songs but don’t really have much time to do sessions with other artists and sit in a room and collaborate. It was nice in some ways to just stop.

Has this given you time to get creative? I know you yourself have released a single with your brother, ‘It’s You,’ which I’d like to congratulate you on. But what has the band been up to?

Thank you! Yeah, so I live in Melbourne now and Tommy came down and I think we made four new demos, which was cool. I’ve been working on songs, or have songs already completed and most of the music there and he can come down and sing it or kind of tie the final pieces together. We’ve been doing a lot of isolation videos- for Radio X and we’ve got some Absolute Radio ones coming out. We do this thing called ‘Music for the Homefront’ where in Australia they put on a show during lockdown and we did a Crowded House cover, which went really well for us. We also managed to film our sold-out show at the Brixton Academy, just before lockdown happened. We had a little live streaming session, and yeah, making video clips. It’s kind of weird, I’ve been busier than ever.

So, you’ve definitely being making the most of the situation?

Oh, yeah as much as you can during this time.

So, the new album, ‘The Glow,’ kind of moves away from your previous music, experimenting with a more electronic feel, but what provoked this direction?

Well I guess on For Now we were kind of already heading down that road. There’s ‘Do I Need You Now,’ and ‘The End,’ it’s produced by Kim Moyes from The Presets. We were already hinting at those kinds of things. And then I guess since that, we’ve always made guitar music and needed the bands, before DMA’S we were making guitar music and I think if you have a lot for production and sound in general, it’s only a natural progression to move into somewhere like we are, using sequences and synthesisers and sampling. So, kind of like a natural trajectory for us.

I know that you have already released a number of tracks from the album, which have had a positive reception so far, but what do you think the fan response will be to the new feel, or at least what do you hope for?

I think we are gonna win a lot of new fans with our sound, I think the old fans will still be chuffed. I think some people will be hesitant because of the electronic feel and the more modern sounding vibe because we’ve built ourselves a name as being a kind of throwback band, which is fine as well. But from my previous experience in these situations in releasing a new album, and I talk about this in interviews on growing up in the public eye, and learning and maturing in public, you know it’s a scary and daunting thing. But from my experience, when For Now came out, they were kind of saying similar things. Even when ‘In the Air’ came out, people were saying ‘this sounds a bit different,’ ‘this doesn’t sound like Hills End,’ but then six months later it’s the loudest song being sung back at us at festivals, and I don’t think songs on this album are gonna be any different.

I think we are gonna win a lot of new fans with our sound, I think the old fans will still be chuffed

Why did you choose to release ‘Silver’ as the leadoff single? What does it represent about the album?

I think it represents, well it was a nice mix between the new hi-fidelity that the album has but still had the energy of an original DMA’S sound. I felt like it wasn’t overly electronic, but it was a high produced, ‘bigger,’ sound for us, produced by our friends called Hortscroft and he got in the string quartet and we recorded them three times so it would sound like a full orchestra. In the first and second album, and even our EP, there were aspects of it that we recorded ourselves, so this was the first time we got to record everything in a nice, big, high-budget studio, because we wanted to make a pop record. And I think we’ve done that quite successfully but have still maintained our DMA’S song aesthetic and song-writing style.

How does studio recording compare to when you were releasing music from your bedroom?

It’s not better or worse. For me, I still listen to the albums and I find them affable. I mean that was the time where we were at then and this is the time where we are at now. It’s like styles of music, they aren’t better or worse than each other, you can find beauty in all of them, which is cool. Experience wise- actually it was funny, one thing that Stuart Price did was set up the computer in the live room, which is quite unusual. Usually the producer is at the big desk looking through the window, there’s the control room and then the band are playing in there. But he talks about how he likes the bedroom aesthetic. When he goes into commercial studios, he gets the engineers to set up the computer in the control room. And you’re sitting in there and five metres to left or less, three metres to your left or less, Tommy’s doing a vocal take, the guitar pedals are set up, the drums are five metres to your right, there’s a piano behind you, all the synths are next to the keyboard. It feels like a high-fidelity version of your bedroom recording, which is really conducive to creativity.

It feels like a high-fidelity version of your bedroom recording, which is really conducive to creativity

Wow, so you’ve come a long way, but still has that home feel to it.

That was his vibe, so if you’re used to recording in a bedroom environment, like we are, it’s almost like that, just on steroids.

Your most recent release from the album is ‘Learning Alive,’ along with a pretty heartfelt music video. You could almost say it’s an ‘Ode’ to your band and your music. What does this song mean to you?

For me personally the song is a very special song. I wrote it on the same piano as I did ‘Step up the Morphine’ on the first album. Then the same piano again for ‘In the Air’ and now this record, ‘Learning Alive.’ It’s a piano I have at my parents’ house and I visit them when I’m on a break from touring, in Sydney, and I’ll play this piano. So, yeah, I wrote it on that, and I wrote it in about 20 minutes. I wrote it early one morning, and I guess the general theme is happiness prevailing through sadness, or from sadness, with the help of your friends.

Yes, it’s a really beautiful song, and I really enjoyed the music video, I know though, that it will probably make you feel differently because it’s looking back in your own memories and is quite nostalgic.

Well, particularly because there’s no live gigs happening, with coronavirus and the state of the world at the moment, hits that quite poignantly.

When picking songs for the album, what did you have in mind when making the decisions- are you thinking of the daily listener through their headphones or for the atmosphere at a gig or a festival?

A bit of both I think, I know that when we were writing ‘[Life is a] Game of Changing’ and ‘Cobracaine,’ we saw it from our last gig at Brixton Academy because I kind of always felt like our DMA’S live shows had the sing-a-longs, we had the rock-and-rock, upbeat bangers, but we kind of needed to fill this void, we were playing late festival sets, you know, when the sun was down and we wanted people to dance so I guess we were kind of filling the void of that a bit, which was cool because it came in naturally with where we are creatively.

Songs of yours are often described as ‘anthemic,’ do you think any of those on the album fit this?

I think ‘Silver’ and ‘[Life is a] Game of Changing’ are pretty anthemic.

I think it’s a nice word to describe your songs

You think so?

Yes, well I’d be happy if people were calling songs of mine anthemic!

Well, they’re kind of like feel good sing-a-longs, I guess that’s what people relate them to, which, you’re right, it’s a cool, nice, good thing for people to compare it to, yeah. So, yes, I reckon even ‘Learning Alive’ [is anthemic] in its own sad, little, melancholy way.

Some people like that though, when it’s a bit more mellow, they like singing along to the slow ones.

You’re totally right, that’s what I mean, it might not instantly sound that anthemic right off the bat, but then, we’ve talked about playing ‘Learning Alive’ with just a piano and an acoustic live and not doing the full band thing, we could kind of see that evolving into a crowd sing-a-long favourite.

Can you describe the album in three words?

Electronic-Garage-Pop

So, there’s clearly been a shift in your music to avoid, I think you said, “regurgitating the same shit,” but where do you see yourself going after this?

I’m not really sure at the moment, it’s either harder and harder down the electronic path, or back to more punkier guitars, noisier guitars. Or maybe a blend of both again, but maybe a bit, I’m really into electronic music that sounds hard, like an Underworld-y, Justice vibe, but obviously not that style of song writing, but those tones, where it’s almost like a bit industrial, but still pop melodies and anthemic.

I’m really into electronic music that sounds hard, like an Underworld-y, Justice vibe, where it’s almost like a bit industrial, but still pop melodies and anthemic

Well, that’s exciting, can’t wait to see what happens!

Well yeah, we’ll see, I’ve said that now, I’ve talked it up now, fuck.

You could take a complete U-turn and do the rubbish pop on the charts [laughs]

Well yeah, we could do that pretty well as well, I reckon.

What are you most looking forward to post-release and post-pandemic? What can we expect when you finally do go on tour later in the year?

I’m looking forward to playing these new songs in front of people again, I think there’s some really great tunes on this album, I think that people are gonna have time to really learn the album and listen to it, especially the old fans and I think people are gonna be more fucking hungry than ever to get to a live show.

It might be wild when you finally get around to it!

Yeah, that’s what I mean. And you know it was a bit of a shame because we were meant to be doing all these British festivals, we were starting to get really good bills on them and we were excited for the momentum we had over there, especially finishing that last Brixton show, but that’s all the world is.

How do British festivals compare around the world then? What makes us so special?

I don’t know…there’s definitely an entrenched love of live music I’ve found in the British culture, that runs deeper maybe because the Western civilisation side of British history- of course Australia has got the oldest culture in the world, where we live- but the Western white side of it where the festivals have been a thing, maybe it’s just so deeply entrenched in that aspect of British culture, but, I don’t know. They’re bloody mental though, I tell you what.

I don’t know…there’s definitely an entrenched love of live music I’ve found in the British culture

How do you think the dynamic of the music scene, both the physical and the creative aspects of it, will change post-COVID?

Well, we’ve already seen stuff, like festivals, like Isolate happening. We’re organising shows soon which are going to be acoustic shows, which we will hold in a venue that hold say 800 people, maybe more actually sorry, I think it holds 1200 people, and we’ll be putting around 400 people in there seated following social distancing laws, or 300 people, or something like that, whatever the math works out to be that fits in with the law. And yeah, those Isolate shows on live streaming. One thing I’ve found is that I’ve been doing a lot of writing sessions on zoom, which sounded ridiculous to me when the idea was first brought to me by management but then I did a session with an electronic artist the other day and we were working on computers, and we got shit done twice as fast because he was on Ableton, I was on Ableton, he would send me a beat and then I would do a vocal and I would dropbox him over my vocal and he would start piecing together the parts he liked and whilst he was going through it I was doing another vocal, you know, and we were working twice as fast. And who would have thought. There’s also another thing, with mixing, called Audiomovers but basically it’s a plug-in that mixers can use and it creates a link and you click on the link and you can listen through headphones- just like a zoom link,- but you listen to exactly what is coming out of the speakers, of the mix session. So, you can mix your records wherever you want, and you’ll hear exactly what’ll come out of the speakers.

Wow!

Yeah, so there’s shit like that going on and people are like ‘oh, I don’t need to physically be there to be there for my mixes,’ you know, I can be in Melbourne and someone else can be in Brisbane and we can do a session over zoom.

I suppose though, it removes the social aspect of it, it is nice to meet up with people, have a chat, and meet new people but, if it’s getting done quicker!

Well, sometimes, I suppose once again, it’s not like that’s the only way, it’s just a way and both are good.

Thank you! I want to congratulate you once more on both the album and your project BIG TIME, I know it’s been hard with all the crazy things going on right now, but thank you for taking the time to let me interview you and I wish you good fortune for the future! Is there anything you want to say before we end?

Thank you, and no not really! I just hope everyone is keeping safe and that they enjoy the record as much as how much love we’ve put into it.

DMA’S new album, The Glow is now available via Infectious Music

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