Biography
Dust are a 5 piece psychedelic folk rock/ alt.country band from Melbourne.
We describe our sound as ‘power-line pastoral’ - joining up the power and intensity of urban culture, with psychedelic country melancholy and feelings about nature and wilderness. Dust strive to create a sound rich in texture and harmony, deep and lush, reverberating in dark spaces, invoking a movie soundtrack or the echo of a lost highway blues.
Dust formed in Melbourne in late 2004. Our line-up comprises: Nicole Skeltys from femme-tech duo B(if)tek on vintage keyboards and vox and Mark Gardiner from ’80s post-punk band The Scream on guitar and vox. Lead vocalist Ann Marie Sullivan is a classically trained singer, Gavin Vance (bass and vox) formerly played bass with post-rock instrumentalists Oneironaut and ‘Fancy’ Dave Bower (drums and vox) is a cowboy drummer from Perth with a shady past he is still drinking to forget.
Our debut album Songs journeys from emotionally intense country rock landscapes reminiscent of Neil Young and Crazy Horse, to gentle psychedelic folk madrigals, to ’70s FM playlist ‘classic’ pop songs and much more. Tinges of Pink Floyd, Lynchian soundtracks and Texan psychedelia combine to create an album rich in texture, melodies and dream-like atmospheres. Interspersed between tracks are ‘found sound’ interludes, which we recorded as we ambled through the dark ambience of Melbourne’s suburbia during autumn twilight hours. Album instrumentation includes a harmonium, usually found in sacred Indian music, analogue keyboards from the 70’s alongside the more expected country twang of pedal steel.
We wanted to create an album that was warm and nostalgic in feel, that generated the magical mood of old 1970s vinyl, but that was also new and ambitious – far beyond ‘retro’. We have worked hard to develop an original psychedelic folk/ country rock sound and songcraft, which is unique in the Australian musical landscape.
Our songs seek to generate a heightened mystical aura. We are singing about love, heartache, death, the dark political times in which we live and the hope of redemption. The lyrics have several layers of meaning, and often express many of these themes at once
Dust will be devoting the next 6 – 9 months to promoting the release of Dust-Songs. The Melbourne CD launch is at the East Brunswick Club in late August, with follow up gigs at other venues and festivals. Dust-Songs will be promoted to local radio and internet radio stations, as well as available on-line through I-Tunes and other on-line outlets.