Over the course of three independently released EPs, Junodream have earned airplay at Radio 1 and Radio X (John Kennedy, Felix White, Maz Tappuni) plus a BBC Introducing Hot List for their previous single ‘easy life’ alongside numerous tips from key new music champions. The quintet will add to their tally of 5 million streams as they kickstart what looks set to be the biggest year of their career so far by sharing the new single ‘Eden Burns’, which was premiered on BBC Radio 1 (Jack Saunders) earlier this week.
Tell us what inspired new single ‘Eden Burns’, premiered on BBC Radio 1 this week. We wrote the song at the time of the Australian bushfires. We’re a generation that’s grown up with climate change being a pretty central problem, and we’ve slowly watched it turn into a reality. There’s a lot of talk and debate on social media without much action. We wanted to highlight this.
What can we expect from the video? Space-rock, space ship, and a lot of mess. The whole thing was filmed in reverse. Ed spent two months singing the lyrics backwards. Worth a watch, we’d say.
How would you sum up your musical style? A little bit like drifting alone through space, and you realise you left your wallet and your phone behind, but it's ok because you're still alive and you realise you have no need for money in space and the phone reception is probably awful, so you just enjoy the views instead.
How did the band get together? We’ve all grown up together, school, uni, housemates, you name it. It's been extremely damaging for our social lives. We all became friends initially due to shared love of music. After years of playing together, and having evolved from bad to mediocre, to pretty good, junodream was born.
What’s next on your release schedule? Well, it was all top secret until Ed blurted it out live on Radio 1, and now the press won't stop hounding us. Eden Burns will be one of a number of songs coming out over the coming months... the question is, how many?
What is your song-writing process? It’s a bit like a Christmas tree. Dougal often comes in with the main structure of a song / the tree itself. Tom then decorates it and Ed’s the angel on top. Of course, these roles can switch around every now and then. That’s the beauty of having three writers - the creative pool never runs dry.
Who are your heroes in music? Spiritualized, AIR, Radiohead, Primal Scream, Zero 7, Yo La Tengo to name a few.
Away from music what do you like doing? We have plenty of hobbies between us. Ted (singer) and Bill (bassist) spend a lot of time playing online chess; the ladies can't get enough of it. Tom (guitarist) keeps a fine collection of knitwear. Dougal (other guitarist) fancies himself as a masterchef but dinner is always a slight variation of the same meal. And Jake (drummer), well, no one knows what Jake does. He's the mysterious one, if you like.
Are you looking forward to getting back to playing live? Absolutely bricking it, cap'n. Will we be able to play our instruments? Who knows these things. But if you want to find out, we hit the dusty trail April and we're bringing the circus to a town near you.
Do you think the tour will go ahead? PMA - that’s what we always say to each other whenever there’s doubt or negativity. Positive mental attitude. It's the sort of motto that pushes great people to do great things, and stupid people to do stupid things. As for which category we fit in, only old father time knows.
For someone that hasn’t come across you yet what three songs would you say ‘check these out they sum Junodream up’? To The Moon, Easy Life, Eden Burns - from relaxed to absolute mayhem.
Any message for Music News viewers out there? Take a minute to listen to our music, watch the videos, and generally get stuck in. It's a great time to get on board.
