Fresh off their new single release ‘New Years Eve’ we caught up with Darwin’s fav pop punk band Danger Den
Today, we caught up with Danger Den, the vibrant pop-punk quartet hailing from Melbourne, Victoria.
As frontman spoke to us from his day-off retreat, he reflected on his journey from the tropical heat of Darwin to the ever-changing weather of Melbourne.
“I know locals might disagree, but I love it here!” he enthused, hinting at the eclectic inspirations behind their latest single, “New Year’s Eve.”
This catchy track is more than just a title; it tells a heartfelt tale of serendipity and romance, underscoring how personal experiences fuel their songwriting.
With classic rock influences and a penchant for melodic hooks, Danger Den is carving out a niche in the pop-punk landscape.
Join us as we dive into their creative process, the thrill of collaboration, and the excitement of upcoming projects that promise to keep the energy alive in the scene.
HAPPY: What are you up to today?
DANGER DEN: Today I’m just taking it easy and enjoying my day off from the day job.
HAPPY: Tell us a little about where you are from? What do you love about it?
DANGER DEN: I’m from Melbourne, Victoria. I’m originally from Darwin, Northern Territory but originally originally I was born in Manila, Philippines.
I’ve been living in Melbourne for almost two years now, I’ve been here since late December 2022 and I guess the thing that I love about Melbourne is weather!
I know a lot of the locals here would disagree with me but I actually like it believe it or not. It changes every five seconds but hey, at least you can say that there’s something for everybody!
HAPPY: Your latest single, ‘New Year’s Eve,’ tells a unique story. What inspired you to write this song?
DANGER DEN: Long story short, ‘New Year’s Eve’ is basically about how I met my girlfriend at the time, except it didn’t happen on New Year’s Eve, it happened on some random day in September back in 2021.
So anyways I met her at this place called “Monsoons” while I was still living in Darwin. But yeah this song is about that encounter, before I could show her this song however, she broke up with me. I thought that this song was still pretty good though so I kept it anyway.
HAPPY: How would you describe your musical style, and what influences have shaped your sound over the years?
DANGER DEN: I guess if you had to put a label on it, my style is the happier sounding pop-punk with classic rock influences.
I like good melodies, I like a lot of harmonies and I love guitar solos. As for my influences, my favourite bands of all time consists of Green Day, Blink-182, Mayday Parade, All Time Low and Taking Back Sunday just to name a few.
HAPPY: The energy in your latest track is impressive. What was the songwriting and recording process like for this song?
DANGER DEN: For ‘New Year’s Eve’ it was actually our first time working with a producer. Working with Ash and Ev from the Loud Noise Estate was a great experience!
I learned a lot from them during the 3 days that we spent on recording ‘New Year’s Eve’. There was a bit of a learning curve in working with them initially because I’ve been so used to doing the home recording thing for many years, but Ash and Ev were super easy to work with and are great at what they do!
They really pushed us to get it right and to get the energy into the song. When I first showed the original demo of ‘New Year’s Eve’ to the session I wasn’t feeling very confident about the song at the first, but as we worked on it together we made it feel more like a real single!
The demo was at least 5 minutes long but we cut it down to a great sounding 4 minutes.
HAPPY: Personal experiences often fuel creativity. How do your life experiences influence your songwriting?
DANGER DEN: I suppose most of my songs are more or less about my life experiences. I guess my approach to song writing is that I don’t focus too much on the experiences themselves but rather on making the song sound more interesting by making them more interesting, if that makes sense?
I guess it’s the same as telling stories to your friends, if you wanna make it more interesting you make it more interesting by changing or adding things that didn’t really happen!
HAPPY: Collaboration is key in music. How does working together as a band shape your songs?
DANGER DEN: Working with a band is always a fun time. Whenever we show each other the songs we’ve been working on, one member might come up with something that we wouldn’t normally come up with or do and that’s the beauty of it really.
Everybody contributes and adds their own flavour to make something unique.
HAPPY: Your music video for ‘New Year’s Eve’ adds a visual layer to the song. What was the concept behind it?
DANGER DEN: For the music video we had this super original idea of getting drunk in front of a camera with our friends in it!
The video was directed by the one and only Andrew Bromley and he did a fantastic job! It was a fun shoot and we had a great time!
This was not our first time working with Andrew either. He also directed the music video for our previous single ‘Merch Guy Mike’s Favourite Song’ that came out in February.
HAPPY: What are your plans for the future? Any upcoming projects or shows you’re looking forward to?
DANGER DEN: Well first we have to win the Melbourne District Music Awards which is happening on the 16th of November, so please vote for ‘New Year’s Eve’ for song of the year or music video of the year! (VOTE HERE)!
Then after that we’re back in the studio again next year in early January to cook up more tunes and after that definitely more shows!
We’re planning to visiting Brisbane, Adelaide and Newcastle next year too so we’re very excited for that!
HAPPY: What makes you happy?
DANGER DEN: Doing interviews about my band makes me happy!
I think the question should be what doesn’t make me happy? Honestly I’m not too hard to please, it’s the little things that make me happy!
