The release of Junodream’s latest single “easy life” came at an opportune time, as many are now living socially distant and virtual. The track, steeped in Post-Rock, Modern Prog, Shoegaze and Psychedelia, explores the concept of becoming overwhelmed by the real world and finding solace in the isolation of the online world.
We chatted with the band about “easy life,” their creative new endeavours and more!
How did you all get connected and form the band?
We’re very lucky in the sense that we were all friends growing up and have been since meeting in our early teens. Our early friendships were based on a shared love for music and certain artists (a lot of dad rock). We naively started the band and were utter rubbish, but thought we were incredible (which was key). As long as we’re always getting better, or at least think we are, then we’ll always be doing this.
Where did the name Junodream come from?
It was initially inspired by a Pink Floyd b-side, ‘Julia Dreams’, we then did an old-school mashup of two names and created the ultimate name.
You’ve been compared to Pink Floyd, Coldplay and Radiohead. Who did you listen to growing up and do you feel that that music had an influence on your sound today?
We love all of those bands, plus artists such as Air, Boards of Canada, Sigur Ros, Beta Band, and many more. They take the crumpet.
What was the inspiration behind your new single “easy life”?
Spending lots of time on our phones.
You wrote “easy life” before lockdown. Can you talk a little bit about how the song’s meaning has become even more relevant?
It’s about trading real life for an online existence, isolating yourself from the world until the idea of socializing becomes too tiresome to think about. Lockdown proved, by and large, that we can live in isolation nowadays. We get everything delivered to our doors, meet friends and partners online etc. Sure, it’s handy, but is it good for us? We don’t have the answer, but we do have a nice song to add to the confusion.
What did the song writing process look like?
A mixture of ideas, fused together to make the ultimate song (much like Numb/Encore). It was written in January. Everyone is hyper emotional and sad in January. Especially us.
If you could set fans up in the perfect environment to listen to “easy life,” what do you imagine it looking like?
The Roundhouse, live. Given that’s off the cards, I’d suggest a nighttime listen, maybe outdoors. Let off a bit of steam.
Congratulations on your video for “To The Moon” winning best animation video at the Four Walls Festival. How did you get connected with artist, Milly Mcalister? Take us through the creation process?
The more we work with Milly, the more we’re convinced that she is in fact a superhero. She came to a show a year ago and then offered to do a poster which was amazing, so it progressed to artwork, then animation. Milly is life.
You recently launched a podcast, dream_cast. What inspired you all to start that and what is it all about?
Call us crazy, but podcasts are gonna be big. Some of us weren’t sure about it so we did a podcast episode on whether bands should make podcasts. People didn’t hate it – now we do one every few weeks. If we can’t make a crust in music, we’re going to be podcast moguls.
What can fans look forward to next?
Some fairly large release(s) over the next 12 months which have some timeless tunes on them. Now’s a great time to jump on board this rocket ship.
You have some tour dates coming up in the UK this fall. What song are you looking forward to playing the most?
Eden Burns. It’s lively, challenging and there’s a good chance we’ll mess it up. Tense.
What is one quote that you have heard or that you go by that you want to ECHO out to the world?
“Get it done” – junodream.