Australian band Teacher of the Year are diving deep into the quest for happiness with their new single, ‘Porcelain Dreams’.
This track, a standout from their upcoming EP, reflects the band’s commitment to exploring the complexities of mental health and personal growth.
We caught up with the band to dig into their creative process and the story behind their intriguing name.
Teacher of the Year might evoke images of academic accolades, but for this Melbourne-based group, it’s a nod to their past lives as teachers.
Their music, a blend of eclectic influences and raw emotion, channels their experiences into a vibrant soundscape.
As they prepare to release their EP, ‘Dopamine’, they reveal their approach to songwriting, the significance of their latest single’s title, and their ongoing journey with mental wellness.
HAPPY: What are you up to today?
TOTY: At the moment every day feels the same so it’s just a case of getting up and getting through it. If it’s a weekend I am probably just getting destroyed on FIFA.
HAPPY:Tell us a little about where you live, what do you love about it?
TOTY: I live in South Melbourne so I spend a fair amount of time hanging around in the city. I really love the feel of being so close to the city and being so handy to all of the other inner suburbs so it’s always easy to find things to do.
HAPPY: What’s the story behind your band name, Teacher of the Year, and how does it reflect your music and artistic vision?
TOTY: We all used to work at the same school that gave out a Teacher of the Year award every year.
Euan and Scott won the award in back to back years and every time Scott walked anywhere we would all clap and cheer for him.
When we were putting the band together some of the boys we worked with suggested the name and we couldn’t go past it.
I never won the Teacher of the Year award.
HAPPY: What’s the significance of the title ‘Porcelain Dreams’, and how does it relate to the themes and sound of the track?
TOTY: We try not to overthink things too much but the name seemed to fit the energy of the song.
I originally pitched “My life is a Toilet” but it didn’t have the positive punch we were looking for.
The lyrics are all about being able to deal with the challenges of life and take responsibility for your own mental health.
A huge focus for us is striving to keep improving and this song is about recognising that sometimes progress is slow.
HAPPY: How do you approach songwriting, and what’s the process like for crafting a track like ‘Porcelain Dreams’?
TOTY: We don’t have a set process when we write – usually we start with a riff or chord progression and work our way out from there and see where we go.
Porcelain Dreams came from a song we had already written but weren’t really happy with so we reworked the lyrics and the song started to come together.
We recorded it really quickly in my apartment because we wanted to capture the idea and keep things fresh.
HAPPY: What role do you think music plays in processing emotions and experiences, particularly when it comes to mental health?
TOTY: I think the link between music and memories is really important, so many of the songs that I really enjoy now are the songs that I loved when I was younger.
The routine of writing and jamming and playing music is a really good way to manage mental health.
I just really like spending time developing skills and being creative and socialising.
Being able to keep developing and seeing progress is really motivating for us.
HAPPY: Can you tell us more about your upcoming EP ‘Dopamine’ and what fans can expect from it?
TOTY: We had been writing for maybe six months so when we got a chance we locked in and recorded Dopamine in 3 days in my apartment.
The idea was to put together a cohesive sounding EP, but it ended up being an eclectic mix of tracks.
We didn’t want to label ourselves as any particular genre but we think of ourselves as “Apartment Rock”.
The songs are all centered on taking responsibility for your own mental health and making healthy choices.
We just wanted to have fun and put together some songs that we liked.
HAPPY: Who are your biggest musical influences, and how have they shaped your sound?
TOTY:I really like music that is guitar driven with strong melodies.
It’s a good mix between the three of us because we all listen to a wide range of genres.
Our sound comes from all of our influences mashing together – Euan comes from a jazz background so he adds a lot texture that really compliments the rest of the sound, a lot of the song structure comes from the guitar lines and then Scott brings a level of emotionally charged inexperience that really adds to the chaos that is TOTY.
HAPPY: What’s next for you?
TOTY: The “Dopamine” EP release is our big focus at the moment, we have another single coming out in the next few months as well and then we are looking at our next project, we have some demos that we are working on at the moment so they will be the focus in the longer term.
HAPPY: Lastly, what makes you happy?
TOTY: At the moment I’m enjoying being active and creative, getting away from screens and creating sustainable habits.
