I'm feeling a weird haze above my thoughts, feeling more "zoned out" than ever and I can't seem to get my shit together. I'm constantly looking for new music and new bands to keep me company in my weird state of mind. Finding a good background music for my routine is the only thing that keeps me hopeful of the possible good days ahead. Lately, I have coincided Junodream, a band that makes space inspired, hazy and dreamy sweet music. The song "To The Moon" has been a great song to think about life to, wondering if there is maybe a chance to go to the moon indeed, trying to live there for a bit, at least during the pandemic.
Junodream is a band composed by introverted and deeply cynical dudes, a reflection of their self-deprecating humour. "But we’re also very hopeful. We often find humor in the bleak and trivial, like an argument in the car, there’s a whole universe to explore in these moments." they explain. Their music takes you to the early '00s, to space, to nightclubs where people are too afraid to do anything. I have interviewed them to see where their inspirations lie and what composes Junodream.
1- Junodream seems to be very futuristic yet very early 2000’s. When listening to your EP Galactica, I’ve sensed a Coldplay, Parachutes-esque sound but when I was hearing Isn’t It Lovely EP, there seems to be a very space-oriented galactic rock sound. Who or what are your main inspirations when you’re constructing a certain sound?
We love 90s/naughties bands such as Spiritualized, Yo La Tengo, early Beck, Brian Jones Town Massacre, Air, to name a few. Definitely a bit of early Coldplay misery in the mix, and of course some space sounds.
2- It’s always difficult to execute what you have in mind to an actual form. Did you have any difficulties achieving the sound that you desired in your head to your music?
Until recently we produced everything ourselves in a home studio. Tom (guitarist) spent a summer learning the ropes - there was a fair bit of trial and error, but the benefit of doing it yourselves is that there's no time limit. The only limiting factor is death, really. Galactica was the first track we recorded.
3- In your artwork and lyrics space always seems to be an inspiration. Can you explain the correlation between space and Junodream? How does it inspire you?
What is space? We don't pretend to know. But we did watch Interstellar one time so we have a pretty amateur working knowledge of the universe, tesseracts, worm-holes and all that. Space is good because if you think about it too long, it 1) makes you feel incredibly alone and unimportant, and 2) makes everything seem totally futile. Perfect ingredients for making a song.
4- How does your local music scene affect the way you go on with your music?
London's local music scene is becoming increasingly dispersed so it can be hard to establish a scene. We're on another planet most of the time.
5- How does a music-producing day look for you?
Tom, Ed, and Dougal (speaking) are the writers. We're firm believers in the 10,000 hours principle, although we have a long way to go. Since lockdown, we've been working independently. Up at 8, desk at 9, wait for the muses to descend, wait a bit longer, accept that the muses are also sticking to lockdown rules, wrestle with some ideas, give up, go for a run, return, wrestle some more, then do it all again.
6- Junodream has actively been making music for the last few years. How can you explain the difference between listening to music as a fan and producing the music of your own? Do you listen to music more attentively now that you’re active in the music industry?
We are always analyzing songs, learning chord progressions, working out production sounds etc. I can't remember the last time I enjoyed a song without thinking about how it was made. It's a cross to bear.
7- Last but not least, what do you want to say to Tonitruale readers?
Join the junoteam. Please.
Stream their music on Spotify and check out their Bandcamp
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