Start Listening To: Dumbhead

Dumbhead discuss their beginnings in Naarm’s jazz scene, the instincts behind their new ‘sister songs’ and what they hope to bring to their first UK and European shows.

Dumbhead began with a conversation at a jazz gig in Melbourne and some tracks waiting for vocals in a bedroom. Now, two EPs in, the trio have developed a way of working that gives each member room to follow their instincts, drawing on everything from industrial and ambient music to folk and trip-hop. Their latest songs, ‘Didn’t Make The Part’ and ‘With Stones In My Shoes’, emerged during a period of uncertainty, though one took little more than an hour to find its shape and the other needed a violin to fall into place. Ahead of their first UK and European shows, we caught up with the band about knowing what a song needs, finding a welcome on tour with Water From Your Eyes and why Demon Days still gets played religiously.

For those unfamiliar with your music, can you tell us who you are, where you’re from and about the music you make?

Heyyy, we are Dumbhead, a three-piece band from Naarm/Melbourne. We make a mix of different music, sometimes drawing from electronic, industrial and ambient music. Other times from folk, jazz and indie. I guess in a broad way we’re a trip-hop band.

You met through Melbourne’s jazz scene. What first drew the three of you together, and what do you remember about your earliest sessions in the sharehouse?

The main way we connected was through mutual friends. Billie was at the same bar we were at for a jazz gig with a couple of people from VCA I knew. After chatting for a while, we could both sense we wanted to make music with each other, whatever it may be. I had already been working on some tracks in my room I was excited about, and this led to us laying down vocals on ‘Problem Dog’. From there, I knew she drew her voice from a really special place, and I knew I wanted to continue making music together. When the time came that Zach and I were living together after these initial sessions, we definitely grew together and formed a much more defined vision of what we wanted for and from the band.

What has your jazz background given you as a band, and are there any habits from it you’ve had to unlearn?

To be completely honest, as an influence on the band and the music we make, it hasn’t affected much. Billie is the only one with formal training, but we’ve probably come to a point on occasions where she has gone a bit too crazy with her voice (in a good way), and as fresh as it is, we’ve had to look at whether that’s what the song needs or not.

You’ve described these new songs as coming out of ‘collective turning points’. What was happening in your lives, and how did it find its way into the writing?

There were a lot of feelings of uncertainty at the time. It was the usual melting pot of mental and physical strain, working through relationships, and all that comes with navigating these experiences.

It’s nothing new that when you make music these things bubble up. When listening to the double B-sides, I can see how the lyrics express, in some way or another, feelings of self-reflection and inadequacy.

‘Didn’t Make The Part’ came together in about an hour between recording and rehearsing. Can you take us back to that session and how the song emerged?

Amidst a practice, I remember randomly falling into this progression on guitar. Billie’s ears perked up instantly, laying down the basic melody. Soon after, Zach’s bass glued the bones of the song together, and within an hour or so we had the lyrics and structure. It was only after playing the song live that we added the outro, which tied the track up in a bow.

What did Sas’s violin bring to ‘With Stones In My Shoes’ that made the song feel complete?

When composing utilising both analogue/acoustic instruments as well as electronic elements, there’s always a balancing act. In this case, before the addition of Sas’s violin, the song was a more neutral mix of artificial and organic sound, with MIDI strings taking up the majority of the track. Sas’s reinforcement really complemented the acoustic piano, and with that, I feel like we found that balance.

You’ve called these tracks ‘sister songs’. What do you hear connecting them, despite the different ways they were written?

Both are derived from similar experiences and places that we were a part of at the time. They lean on each other sonically and thematically, and to have them together just felt right.

Across your two EPs and these new songs, what have you learnt about each other’s instincts as writers? Is there something one of you brings that the others would never have thought of?

I think we’ve come to learn a lot about each other’s strengths over the years. Billie has an incredible knack for finding melodies neither Zach nor I could think of. Zach explores really cool and interesting soundscapes and effects which elevate the mix dramatically, and I generally put together the structure. In this way, we definitely lean on each other’s strengths.

You toured with Water From Your Eyes earlier this year. Was there anything about watching them work or perform that stayed with you?

Playing with Water From Your Eyes was a treat. We were struck by how open they were as people, and they instantly made us feel valued as artists. We’ve heard many stories of bigger acts ignoring or neglecting their support acts, so we were real grateful for that. In addition to that, they just create very interesting and dynamic compositions which surprise you, and that’s something I think is always good to chase as a creative.

What do you love right now?

Friends, family, Xbox, spring, Phoenix Central Park, sushi, coffee, a good pair of sunglasses, partners, being on the road, coming back to Melbourne, Bong Joon-ho, Goon (band), Girls (TV show), amongst other things.

What do you hate right now?

One Nation, Netanyahu, Sam Altman, wet socks, warm beer, paying house bond, black mould, amongst others.

Name an album you’re still listening to from when you were younger and why it’s still important to you.

One that sticks out especially is Gorillaz’s Demon Days. When I was younger, my dad would play it occasionally, a bit of an outlier from the far less Western music which was played around the house. The track ‘Fire Coming Out of the Monkey’s Head’ always stuck with me because of how visceral the spoken word is, and only later did I find out the band behind it. I still spin this record religiously, and probably the most important lesson I’ve taken from it is just to have fun with your creativity, and that making a world from music is one of the coolest things you can do.

With your first UK and European shows coming up, what do you want someone walking into a Dumbhead gig knowing nothing about you to experience?

I just hope anyone would have a good time. Maybe go a bit inward, maybe outward. Any sort of change to your emotional or physical state, I think we’ve done our job.