The Melbourne artist on devotion, dreamy soundscapes & DIY magic
From a bedroom studio in Melbourne’s western suburbs emerges Sextant, a one-person psych-pop phenomenon crafting immersive soundscapes that bridge decades and genres.
Equal parts Tame Impala’s warped production and Beach House’s dreamy lyricism, the project’s entirely self-made sound combines vintage synth textures with contemporary indie energy.
Sextant’s latest release, Dreams, They Do Come True, is a nine-track meditation on commitment and transformation.
Five years in the making, the album moves from cinematic slow-burners to rhythm-driven anthems, all tied together by a singular vision.
This is bedroom pop at its most ambitious – intimate yet expansive, personal yet universal.
Check out the album here.
Catch the full interview with the psych-pop powerhouse below.
HAPPY: Can you walk us through the journey of creating Dreams, They Do Come True?
How did the process unfold over the past five years?
SEXTANT: I had amassed a bunch of loops and demos over the years and to keep check of them I would sort them into various folders one of which was labelled devotion (which was actually the name of the album up until late last year!).
The nine songs that make up the album were the strongest demos and ideas that I would continually come back to chisel away at over time and then eventually turned into dreams.
HAPPY: You’ve mentioned that this album blends lush soundscapes with hip-hop inspired rhythms.
How did you incorporate these different elements, and what do you think they bring to the overall feel of the album?
SEXTANT: I wanted to make a colourful record that draws on my influences through the years.
The lush keyboards and piano paired with the more aggressive drums makes for an interesting contrast especially when paired with my higher register singing.
It’s ethereally grooving!
HAPPY: What inspired you to explore this theme of devotion in your songwriting and production?
SEXTANT: My wife!
I remember it was the early days of us dating and I had sent a demo of ‘Heart’ to which she responded quite emotionally.
I knew ‘Heart’ was something special when I first demoed it but getting that response sealed the deal.
The demo itself had quite a strong identity and theme which ultimately served as the starting point of writing the album.
HAPPY: Sextant’s sound is described as both nostalgic and futuristic.
Can you talk about how this came to be?
SEXTANT: I wanted to experiment by contrasting something natural with something synthetic which you can hear on songs like ‘New Year’s Eve’ and ‘Now I Know.’
For dreams, I think I struggled for the longest time trying to find a sound to tie all the songs together thematically.
I remember downloading countless plugins and sample packs trying to find something that would inspire me.
Eventually it was a quiet ten or fifteen minutes I had to myself before I had to leave for an appointment, I decided to dust off my childhood piano.
It was quite nostalgic playing it again and at that point I realised that dreams needed to be a mostly piano album.
I remember playing ‘lovefromblood’ an early version of ‘Now I Know’ where he said he could hear a piano on the song – a suggestion I brushed aside at the time but now the song would be an empty shell without it!
HAPPY: Given that the album was self-recorded, produced, and mixed in your bedroom studio, what was that experience like?
Did you face any challenges?
SEXTANT: As any DIY musical project would tell you – you are your own worst enemy most of the time!
I think I spent a lot of time going back and forth on minor details that no one would probably hear.
With unlimited time and freedom, you can definitely get into your own head about things that don’t matter in the bigger picture which I did a lot!
I found that most of the songs presented themselves in a way I could tell what they were missing and where they wanted to go but putting in the time and work to get there was definitely a challenge as well.
HAPPY: With nine tracks on the album, do you have a favourite track or one that feels particularly personal to you?
SEXTANT: I’m quite proud of all the songs on the album, each was a little experiment in how far I could push my songwriting or production and most felt like they were successful in what I wanted to achieve with them.
That being said, ‘Heart’ is a song that is very personal to me – that song captures what dreams is about sonically and lyrically.
I can vividly remember writing it, the response I got from my wife and even when finishing the song, it still felt very emotionally potent to me.
HAPPY: How do you feel your sound has evolved since you first began, and what new elements or techniques did you experiment with on this album?
SEXTANT: I think the core of my sound and aesthetic has remained the same since I first started but I feel I better understand how to frame and present the songs with more clarity and depth than I could before.
Compared to my previous works, I also feel the songwriting is more personal and self referential rather than the sweeping catch all stadium rock platitudes I was hiding behind before.
For example on ‘Heart,’ there’s a reference to some Melbourne train stations that I took to see my now wife when we were dating – I don’t think I would have referenced something so mundane or personal on previous releases.
HAPPY: What kind of emotional response or message do you hope listeners will take away from Dreams, They Do Come True?
SEXTANT: That it’s always worthwhile to chase after that dream.
I tried to capture that moment or feeling when you have that realisation that you want to devote yourself to something – hopefully that comes through the album!
HAPPY: Looking ahead, how do you see Sextant’s music evolving in the future?
Are there any new directions or collaborations you’re excited to explore?
SEXTANT: I definitely want to be more collaborative in the future!
Working on this album definitely had moments where I got stuck in my own head a lot.
I want to explore writing with other artists and producing for more artists, I’m curious myself to see in what directions I can take the Sextant production wheelhouse in and what styles I could expand it into!
HAPPY: Lastly, what makes you happy?
SEXTANT: My wife!
And also making something and knowing that it’s good – that makes me happy!
