Serving Fresh Sounds: 7 Questions with daste.

“Colours had a fun writing process. We didn’t have a vision or a goal in mind as we were making it, but sonically we felt like it expressed a lot of the joy we carried into the writing process of the track.” – daste.

It’s a pleasure to have the incredibly talented Australian trio daste. with us for a quick interview. Known for their lush, atmospheric soundscapes and heartfelt lyrics, daste. has consistently captivated fans with their blend of indie and alt-pop. Comprising Callum MacDonald, Braxton Tahi, and Tyler Harden, daste. continues to push musical boundaries. Their latest single, “Colours,” is a wonderfully chilled summer track that fits seamlessly into one of those days that feel good.

In our interview, we dive into the creative process behind “Colours,” how they translate their intricate studio recordings to a live setting, and their views on the ever-changing music industry.

photography by Maxwell Byrne

Nice to have you for a quick interview, daste.! We’re excited to dive into your latest projects and upcoming tour. Let’s start with your new single.

In ‘Colours,’ you collaborated with Jim Alxndr, who added saxophone elements. How did this collaboration come about, and what was it like integrating a new instrument into your sound?

We love Jim and the music from his project! We’ve worked with Jim before on our ‘Same As It Ever Was’ EP and fell in love with his mixes and the additional production he added. Jim is also the mixing engineer that we selected for this album, and being the amazing sax player that he is, we asked if he could lay something down while he was there. Brass instruments have always been something that we have loved. We feel it has that nostalgic feeling that makes you want to catch a sunset on the beach, ya feel?

In previous interviews, you’ve mentioned how important it is to create a ‘sonic utopia’ with your music. How does Colours’ reflect this vision?

Colours had a fun writing process. We didn’t have a vision or a goal in mind as we were making it, but sonically we felt like it expressed a lot of the joy we carried into the writing process of the track. We like to leave a lot of our songs up for interpretation because we want our fans and our friends to tell us how they feel and what vision our songs give them.

Your upcoming album is set for release in early 2025. Can you share more about what we can expect? And are there any particular songs you’re excited for fans to hear?

You can expect a lot more live shows around this album! We’re eager to get on stage again with all of our new tracks. The live aspect of daste hasn’t felt like as much of a priority until now, so we’re gearing up and working harder than ever. We’re excited for our fans to hear one of the tracks on the album that we made with our good friends Jess Cameron and Aidan Rahman. The writing process for the song involved the five of us having fun and laughing throughout the session, and we feel like it really comes through in the song.

“It is really scary to see bands breaking up, festivals being cancelled, and venues closing down throughout Australia. All we can do is stay hopeful and play on. Music is the food of life; stay hungry.”

With your Australian and North American tours on the horizon, how are you preparing for these live shows?

Practice. Practice. Practice. The three of us are currently answering these questions from an Airbnb just outside of Byron Bay, rehearsing our parts together for the live set and making the final touches on the album. We’ll be putting in lots of hours rehearsing with our live band players, Aidan Rahman and Nathan Graham in preparation. For this tour, we have enlisted Aidan to be the Music Director for the live set, and he’s currently working his magic, thinking about new places to take our songs in a live setting.

Translating the intricate, layered sound of your studio recordings to a live setting must be challenging. How do you ensure that your live performances capture the essence of your recorded music?

There are a lot of intricate production elements and audio effects that are almost impossible to recreate live. It’s a great question… come to our shows and find out if we pulled it off!

The music industry has seen many changes in recent years. How do you feel about the current state of the industry and your place within it?

It is really scary to see bands breaking up, festivals being cancelled, and venues closing down throughout Australia. All we can do is stay hopeful and play on. Music is the food of life; stay hungry.

The most important thing in life is?

Love.

Thank you!