Between producing songs for Jack River or Peking Duk as well as appearing in the incredible OK Moon project alongside LANKS, Hayden Calnin and Dustin Tebbutt, Xavier Dunn has found time to blow us away with You Lately.
The latest single from Dunn’s solo output is quiet, impactful, and shimmering with the high production standard you’d expect from such a talented individual. Off the back of You Lately’s release to the world, we caught up with Dunn for a quick chat.
We chat to Xavier Dunn about collaboration, his latest single You Lately, and writing off your gut feeling.
HAPPY: Hey, how’s it going? What are you up to at the moment?
XAVIER DUNN: I’m going soooo good thanks Happy Mag! Atm I’m rehearsing for upcoming Ok Moon shows and waiting for my next couple of songs to come out for my solo project!
HAPPY: We’re loving You Lately! Could you tell us a bit about the track?
XAVIER DUNN: Much thanks, I wrote the song about a girlfriend at the time about how it was great and tumultuous at the same time. Nothing new but it meant a lot to me at the time of writing it.
HAPPY: We were pretty interested to read that you wrote the song in under an hour… is this unusual for you? Or have you penned a track this way in the past?
XAVIER DUNN: I usually write songs very quickly, just go off gut feeling without filtering anything. I feel like these are the best songs written.
HAPPY: Were there any other differences in the way you approached the writing/recording of this new single to past material?
XAVIER DUNN: I tried to keep it very simple without over complicating the structure of the song. That was at the forefront of my mind in creating this baby.
HAPPY: Could you tell us a bit about how your family experience impacted your music career? Because you drifted away from music for a while, right?
XAVIER DUNN: I didn’t drift away from music, never have. It’s an intergalactic part of who I am. At school it ostracised me from my peers and now out of school it brings me together with so many more people. It’s the thing that validates me and makes me feel special which keeps me from ending it all.
HAPPY: You’ve worked with so many incredible artists throughout your career. Do you ever struggle with balancing your own solo work with other collaborative projects?
XAVIER DUNN: Timing is hard but with my tenacious management team they help me schedule in all the things from touring to sessions to where I’ll be tomorrow. Flex.
HAPPY: Are there any particular artists you’re listening to at the moment?
XAVIER DUNN: I have a huge soft spot for early Coldplay. Phoebe Bridges, I die to her music. Olafur Arnalds, I wake up to his music.
HAPPY: What’s next for Xavier Dunn? Any other exciting plans in the works?
XAVIER DUNN: Soooo many exciting plans. Making a studio in Sydney. Creating a cohesive dialogue between the post emo scene of 2004 and pop scene of 2019.
HAPPY: Cheers for the chat!
You Lately is out now.
