Start Listening To: Blusher
Melbourne trio Blusher talk through their euphoric new single WHATEVERWHATEVER, swapping instruments on stage, and how their chaotic bond powers everything they do.
There’s something immediately infectious about Blusher. Whether it’s the adrenaline-rush pop hooks, the Y2K-glazed production or the sheer joy they bring to the stage, the Melbourne-based trio are building a world that feels like one long, dizzying night out with your best friends. On WHATEVERWHATEVER, their cathartic, shout-it-in-the-club anthem, Blusher deliver a mission statement: unfiltered emotion meets dancefloor abandon, with a dose of playful chaos thrown in for good measure.
But beneath the glitter and glitchy vocal chops, Blusher are also a tight-knit unit of songwriters, producers and performers who know how to tap into the specific and the surreal. Whether they’re harmonising on stage in sunglasses or writing about heartbreak with a knowing wink, they keep things grounded in friendship, humour and emotional honesty. Here, the band dig into their collaborative process, their obsession with layering vocals and synths, and the odd moment when a late-night lyric about meatballs just sticks.
For those unfamiliar with your music, can you tell us who you are, where you’re from and about the music you make?
Hello! We’re Blusher, we’re a band from Melbourne who make sparkly electronic music for late nights with your friends, crushing hard in your bedroom and running 100 meter sprints.
‘WHATEVERWHATEVER’ feels like pure catharsis. Part rave, part letting-go mantra. What was the spark that set this track in motion?
We had come into the studio that day after an intense meeting about the music industry. I think all of us had some pent up rage that we needed to channel into a four to the floor kick and an anthemic chorus we could yell together. When we got that pre chorus melody it felt like being launched into the clouds, it was so exciting. It really was pure catharsis, because by the end of the session we were bouncing around so full of joy about what we’d made.
You’ve said this song is a reminder that “it’s not that deep.” Is that a mindset you’ve had to consciously develop as artists navigating a fast-paced industry?
Definitely, it’s easy to get wrapped up in the pressure of the music industry and the pressure we put on ourselves. In order to be creative you have to let go and feel comfortable, you can’t make anything good in a state of fear. It’s so nice to have each other to pull ourselves out of that heavy headspace, to be silly and remind each other we are here to make pop songs!
The production is so rich with Y2K energy, glitchy, euphoric, and a little chaotic. What sounds or references were you pulling from in the studio?
Thank you! We worked on this with the talented angels Donny Bravo, Nathan Ferraro and Gab Strum. They did such a great job of finding a balance of coolness and nostalgia within the production. Lauren had made a bunch of glitchy blushery sounds from chopping up our vocals (the Lauren chef’s special) which was really integral to build on as a base. They are so unique and immediately inject the Blusher DNA into the production. There’s a lush bed of synth layers that open up in the chorus which feel really emotional and coming of age. We were listening to club leaning songs like “Set The Roof” by Hudson Mohawke and “Where’s Your Head At?” Basement Jaxx. We were also listening to MGMT and getting inspired by the brash attitude of their lyrics.
Your live shows have become a big part of your identity. How does a track like ‘WHATEVERWHATEVER’ evolve when it hits the stage?
There’s a certain unhinged energy that takes over on stage when we play this one. It’s partly to do with the fact we’re wearing sunglasses for the whole song, that always sets the right tone. We love when the audience matches our energy and pretends they’re at a rave with us. The chorus is one of our favourites to sing live, it feels so immediate and it’s awesome when people are able to sing along with us by the end of it. We finish the song with a synchronized do si do across the stage, that part is really just for us.
You all share vocal duties and swap instruments onstage. How does that level of collaboration shape the way you write together?
It’s really similar in the studio, we love to wear so many hats and swap instruments and take turns steering the session. We’re like three kids at a sleepover and bouncing off of each other about what ideas to try next. The ideas that make us laugh usually stay in the song, like the slowed down tape recording you hear at the end of WHATEVERWHATEVER. If you listen closely you can hear Jade and Lauren talking about meatballs in the background of the tape recording. We have a unique opportunity to use our three voices and perspectives in interesting ways as a band of three singers, writers and producers. There will often be verses or parts that clearly embody one of our personalities, like a verse that sounds very Miranda coded. There are endless combinations of how a song can come about, sometimes one of us will bring in a melody idea or a beat they’ve made, other times we’ll sit at a piano together and work on each line as a unit.
Blusher’s lyrics often toe the line between dreamy and disarmingly honest. Is writing together more about collective storytelling or drawing from individual experiences?
We love writing about our friendship and our experiences together. We spend a lot of time together on the road, living overseas and going out on random nocturnal adventures. The best songs come when we’ve been out the night before a session, there’s usually some chaotic residue that carries over into what we make. Of course we all have complex emotions and phases of life we go through as individuals, and it’s nice to centre in on something one of us is going through too. One of us might have something they really need to get off of their chest and write about, and the other two are there to help facilitate that vision. Often the more honest and specific we are able to be, the more universal the song becomes.
So many outlets are describing you in bold, vivid ways from “rave-pop” to “a rom-com in band form.” Do you embrace those comparisons or do you feel like you're building something entirely your own?
We love seeing all the ways people describe us and the music! It’s so fun. We want to have a strong identity as Blusher that people can resonate with, and at the same time be able to explore lots of different, interesting corners of our taste. It feels like we’re in a unique position because each of us individually have such a range of influences and inspirations - no other band in the world is going to have that exact combination of taste or ideas. We’re all equally passionate about doing something new and following what’s exciting to us.
You’ve worked as solo artists before forming Blusher. How has that history influenced the sound and energy of the trio now?
We all had really different upbringings in music, but then when we started our solo projects we had a lot of similar experiences and shared context. We all had a very DIY approach to our solo music and all loved to have our hands on every part of the creative process. When we started Blusher it felt like speeding that whole process up exponentially, a real controlled chaos. We play to each of our strengths, but the cool thing is that we can swap roles all the time and keep the process interesting.
Your aesthetic, sonically and visually, feels carefully considered but also totally unfiltered. How do you balance polish with spontaneity?
We try to always have the approach of “create first, refine later”. Both parts are equally important, but if we’re in the critical editing brain while we’re trying to be creative it tends to block the flow of ideas and get us too caught up in our own heads. We feel really lucky to be a band in an era where authenticity and unfiltered-ness is so embraced, and we also feel like the art of pop is conveying that authenticity in a captivating way. Like - it’s still my real face, it just has some glitter on it.
What do you love right now?
Jade: coffee
Lauren: Kesha
Miranda: cardamom ice cream
What do you hate right now?
Jade: coffee
Lauren: living out of a suitcase
Miranda: instagram
Name an album you’re still listening to from when you were younger and why it’s still important to you?
Jade: the ABBA gold album. I grew up listening to so much ABBA, they will forever be the blueprint. Their music is so sentimental and nostalgic to me, I always return to it.
Lauren: It’s got to be Britney Spears, Blackout. The song Break The Ice will always be a religious experience for me.
Miranda: Lily Allen - It’s Not Me, It’s You. I used to listen to it every morning in the shower before school and it still slaps.
What’s next for Blusher?
World domination. Haha just kidding… unless?
We’re excited to release our EP, remix our own songs, announce our headline tour and throw some secret afterparties after the shows. We’re manifesting another UK tour this year, and we want a night out at Fabric.
