It isn’t just the East Coast centres that pit it out for the status of Rock City, Australia. Every once in a while, our brothers and sisters to the West come through with a soaring speccy to get their hands on the title. In recent weeks, sounds have been emanating from one particular Perth-based studio, one occupied by Those Who Dream, that suggest the accolade is once again within the city’s reach.
Last week, Those Who Dream emerged from their studio hibernation, holding high above their heads in victory their latest offering, ‘Tension Headache’. Hyperactive and manic, ‘Tension Headache’ bares an energy that lives up to its name, right up to the cliché that yes, once it gets in your head, it will take a hell of a lot of effort to get it out.
Comprised of creative and literal brothers Josh and Cooper Meyer, Those Who Dream are a self-sustained DIY unit, going as far as to film, edit and produce their latest music video.
And while they aren’t necessarily new kids on the block – their first EP hit headphones back in 2017 and it landed at #4 on Apple Music’s Rock Chart – Blunt Magazine understands introductions are always awkward. To break the ice, Those Who Dream gave us some essential reading for you, a user guide if you will, for before you hit play.
1. We used to skip class to write songs together.
I definitely don’t recommended trying this, but…Back in high school we were so over it that we’d go to our first class so we could be marked “attending” for the day, then meet up the second it finished to go to a park and make beats, write lyrics, and eat Hungry Jack’s. The adrenaline rush combined with the sunny park vibes made for the perfect atmosphere for our creativity to run wild.
2. The entire song and video for ‘Tension Headache’ were produced DIY by us.
We grew up in a really creative household, and have just always had the most fiery love and passion for all forms of art. We were the kind of kids who loved to challenge ourselves, so if we’d watch a film with a cool special effect, we’d spend the entire rest of the day trying to recreate it with a makeshift green screen and whatever crappy editing software we had. We did the same with music, starting out covering Good Charlotte, Green Day & even Owl City to teach ourselves the production and writing techniques behind the songs.
Through endless YouTube tutorials and trial and error, we’re now at a place where we’re able to produce our own music, shoot/edit our own music videos, design our own merch, and create social media content, all to a pretty high standard. This feels really strange and braggy to talk about, but honestly considering the amount of people and money it normally takes to complete all these jobs – it feels pretty incredible that we’re able to keep it all between the 2 of us and make exactly what we want to make with no compromises!
3. We had a bigger emo phase than you, no competition.
Let me take you back to 2013. The bathroom smelled like hair straightener and hairspray fumes. ‘King For A Day’ by Pierce The Veil feat. Kellin Quinn was blasting from a laptop covered in Glamour Kills stickers. One by one, we’d slip on an arm full of wristbands and studded bracelets. I remember crying when my hair straightener died because I was meant to go to an All Time Low concert that night, and I couldn’t let my fellow emos know I had wavy hair… But considering how much of that music we’re still inspired by, I think we can say with confidence that it really was never a phase, mum!
4. We accidentally created an immersive storyline centering around a floating-eyeball-worshipping cult.
I don’t wanna say we accidentally started a cult, but… We might have? When we came up with the concept for our first official single ‘Violet’, we never could have predicted how deeply the fans would dive into the world we began creating. Dubbing the floating eyeball from the music video ‘Jimothy’ and deconstructing every shot, the community around the band just started getting bigger and more interactive than ever.
Because this is an immersive story, we realised we could encourage fans to join our “cult”, which is a supportive, positive, and safe version of the fictional cult in the storyline. This, as you can probably guess, is a play on the idea of films, bands, etc. having a “cult” following.
(Side note: This is all in the spirit of artistic expression and in no way attempts to present itself as a real-life cult or discredit the experiences of those who’ve survived real cults.)
5.We love pop and experimental just as much as we love alternative & heavy music.
Put simply, we hate genres. OK maybe we don’t “hate” them but we definitely don’t think about them when we’re making or listening to music. Good music is good music! We’re influenced by everyone from Fever 333 to Avril Lavigne, Muse to 100 Gecs, Childish Gambino, the list goes on!
Our number 1 goal for the future is to stay as true to our weird, diverse brains as possible, and not dull it down to fit “what’s trendy” or what we feel like we should be making.
Check out ‘Tension Headache’ below.
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