“A searing alt-rock banger” – Wonderland

“Sounding not unlike early Blur with touches of shoegaze, their impeccable songwriting has caused a storm of underground hype” - Clash

“Echoes of mid-1970s Pink Floyd and A Rush of Blood to the Head-era Coldplay on this gauzy, dreamy new track from the hugely promising London-based five-piece” – Sunday Times Culture

Having played a sold-out headline show at the Bermondsey Social Club last month, rising London alt-rockers Junodream share their new animated video to their single ‘As Far As I See’, which premiered on Gig Slutz this morning. It follows a host of support for the band from numerous new music champions including Phil Taggart at Radio 1, BBC Introducing, Radio X, Felix White, This Feeling’s Track of the Day, The Line of Best Fit, Clash and Wonderland. Meanwhile, playlist support from Spotify’s Hot New Bands and Deezer’s Hot Alternative have helped push their streams in excess of 3 million.

‘As Far As I See’ showcases a different side to Junodream than we heard with their recent tracks ‘Limiter’ and ‘Nobody Wants You’. Powered by a hypnotic beat and chiming keys, ‘As Far As I See’ progressively layers up its dramatic soundscape as it builds towards a soaring crescendo of guitars. And just as the song gradually unveils itself, Junodream have the confidence or let it organically drift back to silence. ‘As Far As I See’ touches on dream-pop, psychedelia and shoegaze without ever being constrained by one genre.

‘As Far As I See’, ‘Limiter’ and ‘Nobody Wants You’ all feature on Junodream’s second EP ‘Isn’t It Lovely (To Be Alone)’, which follows on December 6th. While the track’s atmospherics vary dramatically, the songs are all thematically linked. They’re a collection of vignettes in the life of an ordinary young man, whose dedication to making the best of his position in life masks the turmoil that lies just under the surface. Think Gregor Samsa from Kafka’s The Metamorphosis dropped into a modern metropolis.

Junodream are comprised of Ed Vyvyan (vocals), Dougal Gray (guitar), Tom Rea (guitar), Will Ryder (bass) and Jake Gidley (drums). The five old school friends formed the band on the back of a shared passion for alt-rock greats including Radiohead, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Beck, Pavement and Slowdive. After finishing university, they decided to share a small flat in Hampshire. It was an arrangement that paid dividends for their music. Away from the distractions of the city and constantly surrounded by each other, their sound quickly evolved into something distinctive.

We Caught up with the Juno Dream boys for a Q&A about their most recent EP on the set of their exclusive photoshoot for X-RAY Magazine.

What is your latest song about?

Dougal explains “AFAIS is a song from the view of someone who’s been humiliated and wants to correct scores. But hate is a heavy thing to carry and ultimately leads nowhere. The animation reflects this: it’s like a paranoia-driven ‘catch me if you can’. We follow a character on a mission-driven by anger but this only sends him round in circles”.

What drew you all to the music industry?

It was never a serious chat about career choice, it just naturally developed. We’ve known each other for a while and have always enjoyed making music, so to have a shot at being able to do that full time is a no-brainer. (Tom)

How did the band form?

We have been playing music as friends since we were young teens. A few years ago we decided to take it seriously, and Junodream was formed. (Dougal)

What are your key sources of inspiration?

We listen to all kinds music, which probably helps. But we have all have a soft spot for the legends of the 90s (+ Pink Floyd). That said, Will's very into sea shanties. (Ed)

How do you connect and interact with your audience?

Keep shouting at them until they listen. Although, we do have a few upcoming songs that involve a hefty amount of percussion, so perhaps we’ll start dishing out random instruments to people at shows. (Tom)

Why are you called Junodream, does it mean anything?

It means sweet f all. We used to be called Paint, which proved pretty challenging to find on the google machine. We wanted something original, easy to find, nice sounding, and relevant to our music. Junodream is based on a Pink Floyd B-Side - you'll have to guess which one. (Dougal)

How do you think you are different from other bands around at the moment?

Love songs are only so relatable, you know. We want to bring the inane everyday moments to life; the feelings just under the skin you don't pay attention to. Like being addicted to your phone or feeling anxious about your night out. Plus, we do love a big live show. (Ed)

What’s the craziest thing that’s happened on Tour?

Depends what you mean by crazy. We recently went to Netherlands and a crazy man called Fred travelled 200km to watch us play and knew the lyrics. Crazy as in good crazy. Fred is a hero.

How does the band work as a group, who does what?

To describe what we do writing-wise, let’s imagine a Christmas tree. Dougal is the tree itself, with Jake as the stand holding it upright. Tom decorates the tree with tinsel, with Ed as the angel on top. This isn’t to say this is always the structure, but it’s our best way of describing it (we promise to come up with a better analogy soon). (Tom)

What is your current music about?

We write about everyday scenarios and try find the humour and romance in them, whether it be being barged in a nightclub but being too scared to do anything about it, to having an argument in a car. Comedy, banality, misery and romance. Great combo. (Dougal)

What’s an average day like for you?

We run this thing ourselves so we all have side hustles. It'll involve a bit of side hustle, then a lot of songwriting, marketing, emails, video/photo-shoots. If there's nothing to do, something's not right (Dougal)

What advice would you give an emerging artist or band?

You can learn just about anything with the internet, from recording to graphic design. Learn, learn, learn. And make friends. Friends are good. (Ed)

What’s your favourite track on the EP and why?

Isn't It Lovely (To Be Alone). Ed came up with this in a pretty low moment. It's incredibly simple, straightforward vocal melody and minimal parts, but the lyrics walk the line between comedy and sadness. The end of a relationship, breaking down in a grotty house party - a suitably dire situation. (Dougal)

What do you love about being in a band and what do you hate?

We love playing live. There's a special feeling when you play live to a room of people who really want to get stuck in. Kind of electric. Hate service station diet. At this rate, we're well on our way to being the fattest band in Europe. (Ed)

Your EP has been well received by music critics in publications like Wonderland, The independent etc. Does this help drive you forward? What drives you to succeed?

We're really grateful for these kinds of nods, because they help spread the music. But if you pay too much attention to commentary, you'll get blown off track. The main thing we want to do is make proud the people have been supporting us along the way. We've met some amazing people so far, from all over, and it easily makes it worth it. (ed)

You have had some great support getting radio play from BBC Introducing, has this opened up any opportunities for the band?

Yeah, the people at BBC introducing have been really good with getting our name out and about. We recently went down to Bristol to do a filmed performance which was great. So yeah, it’s a thumbs up from us. (Tom)

What are you doing now and what are your goals for the future?

We're currently finishing something very exciting. In terms of goals, we decided when we started our only measure of success would be better songwriting and production. And healthy cash flow. We think the songs are better. Cash flow questionable. (Ed)

LISTEN TO OUR FAVOURITE JUNODREAM TRACKS

The ‘Isn’t It Lovely (To Be Alone)’ EP is available to pre-order or pre-save at https://backl.ink/IsntItLovely.

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Team Credits

Photography | John Burbidge| BURBIDGE STUDIOS @burbidgestudios

Photography Assistant | Lewis Hammett @Hammet_Lewis

Interview by | Emily Burbidge

We Meet JUNODREAM on Set | The 90's Inspired British Indie Band That’s Getting Rave Reviews| Listen to Their New EP ‘Isn’t It Lovely (To Be Alone)’