A Chat with Dude Safari (27.01.23)
Combining the raw power of alternative rock with toe-tapping pop-rock, and maybe some poignant grunge, UK-based Dude Safari is tons of fun to listen to. We speak with band members Jamie and Fred about their album YUSSUS, what inspires them to make music, future plans, and what alcoholic beverage they would be.
OSR: What does music mean to you?
Jamie: As a listener and a writer music gives me meaning.
Fred: I think without music I would be quite a miserable person. To me, it brings everything together and can really pick you up when you’re a bit down.
OSR: What inspires you to create music?
Jamie: Most things really. A lot of the time an idea just comes swimming by and I just grab my net and scoop it on in. I think writing music is just another way to write a diary or journal, it just sounds cooler.
Fred: Most of the time it’s listening to other music. It has a way of feeding itself, I guess.
OSR: What can you tell us about your album YUSSUS?
Jamie: The tracks on YUSSUS were all written and recorded in just over a year. I guess the theme is a more relative state than a band that’s debut album has spanned the usual 5 or 6 years of existence you know? I created characters and words that sound light-hearted and upbeat but hid a load of darkness under that shroud. I use this term a lot in explaining the album but it’s a very sugar-coated record. Almost like a children’s book, there are always deeper meanings in children’s books.
Fred: I am just grateful to be a part of it. I like how it just spawned from nothing and how every track has its own story and theme but all are linked somehow.
OSR: What was the recording process like and did you experience any challenges when making YUSSUS?
Jamie: We started this band during lockdown and we jumped straight in and recorded the whole thing in our own homes, aside from the drums. I think it was about 7 tracks in before I even recorded anything with another person in the room. I guess the main challenge was for Jake Day who mixed and mastered it. 12 tracks that were self-produced and recorded without much knowledge and three different drum recording sessions. Somehow it sounds like an album. He absolutely smashed it, the clever chap.
Fred: I enjoyed every minute of it. I loved the fact that I could spend hours and hours just listening to various parts and trying out loads of ideas without the stress of time or finances playing in the back of your mind. It was a very free-flowing process for me with a few challenges but nice challenges I could learn from nonetheless.
OSR: If you could change one thing about the album, what would it be and why?
Jamie: I used to always pick apart anything I’d worked on after release or a few years down the line. I’ve learnt that it’s not a very healthy trait to have. I don’t think I’d change anything just for the reasoning above. Maybe I’ll feel different a couple of years down the line.
Fred: I wouldn’t change a thing.
OSR: If you had to recommend one song from YUSSUS to a new listener, which would it be and why that one?
Jamie: I’d say ‘Maybe It’s A UFO’. It’s very catchy and everyone loves stuff about UFOs, right? Folks seem to dig that one, or from what I’ve heard.
Fred: I would have to say ‘Doom & Bloom’. There is something about it that really kicks you in the shins.
OSR: If you could be an alcoholic beverage, what would you be?
Jamie: I’d be a Long Island Ice Tea. It’s hard to not have a good time drinking those, or at least you don’t remember.
Fred: Probably a Mojito. It’s cool, refreshing and full of minty freshness.
OSR: What do you hope audiences take from your music?
Jamie: For people to take anything from our music is an achievement. I’m easy.
Fred: All I want is that our music can lift you up if you’re down or keep you up if you’re up. Just for people to feel good when listening to us.
OSR: Tell us what makes Dude Safari unique.
Jamie: We don’t take ourselves too seriously but we do take the music seriously deep down. We want every track to sound like a single. I grew up listening to Greatest Hits albums, I didn’t stop to think why and how it was banger after banger on those records.
Fred: I think we try not to push the label that we are original and have a new sound. We want people to hear our influences and recognise different bands that have inspired us and see if they can spot them throughout our music.
OSR: Do you have future plans as Dude Safari?
Jamie: We have a documentary that gets released alongside YUSSUS that our filmmaker pal Daniel Blanchard made. This is available on the limited edition Thunderbulb USB stick the album comes on. Aside from that, 2023 is mainly about shows for us. Obviously, we’ll probably demo album 2 also.
Fred: Just to keep going and grow to a wider and bigger audience. We wanna grow like an out-of-control vine up the side of your nan’s house.
Many thanks to Jamie and Fred for speaking with us. For more from Dude Safari, check out their Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Spotify.
This artist was discovered via Musosoup #sustainablecurator
