A Quick Chat with The Phosphenes

Since your last release, how has The Phosphenes evolved both musically and as a band? Can you share any memorable moments or achievements from your recent tours or performances?

We’ve become a lot tighter and refined with our sound. We’ve really put an emphasis on using simple songwriting and production, but played as well as we can, to present an easy listening experience for anyone. We’ve also become a lot more relaxed when playing together, a lot less nervous energy and stress. After gigging so frequently at the moment, we’re super tight knit and comfortable with our music and each other, and really just enjoying playing our music. There’s been so many great moments from our recent performances, but I think our favourite would have to be the Battle of the Bands grand final at Black Bear Lodge. We got to close the night, wearing coordinated suits (it was business time), and we came out and played our best set to date. The energy in the room was absolutely electric, and it felt like were playing to a stadium of people.

What inspired 'Plastic Dream'? How does this single reflect the band's journey or personal experiences?

Plastic Dream was inspired by the perceived vanity and material obsession there seems to be with young adults on social media. Being teenagers ourselves, it seems as if there is a whole generation of kids chasing fame from a bunch of strangers, seeking out an impersonal following over real world friends. It also details what I’d call “face-value” couples, which were littered throughout high school; two people dating each other just for the sake of it, not wanting to miss out on being popular. Plastic Dream really reflects our teenage world, and the many people that surround us. I think we’ve all been caught up in this sort of teenage drama before, and it seems commonplace nowadays.

If The Phosphenes' music could be the soundtrack to any film or TV series, which one would you choose and why? How do you think your sound would complement the visual storytelling?

Our music would probably best fit some teenage comedy or drama movie, maybe something like American Pie or along that genre. We don’t like to take ourselves too seriously, and I think as most of our songs are based on teenage experiences, it would work as a suitable backdrop for that sort of film. Its basic, upbeat music that we hope inspires people to have a good time.

If you could have dinner with three people, dead or alive, who would they be and why? 

Three people we’d have dinner with dead or alive would probably be Kurt Cobain, Jeff Buckley, and Dave Grohl. Each of these guys are major heroes to each of us in the band, and I think we’d all love to pick their brains.

How do you think these conversations would influence your music or outlook on life?

I’m not sure how these conversations would influence us. I think we’d probably just be stoked talking to them about music and touring and gigging. I think they’d just make us love music even more than we already do.

How does 'Plastic Dream' fit into your broader musical journey and discography? Does it represent a new direction for The Phosphenes or build on the foundations you've previously laid?

Plastic Dream fits into our catalogue as a more mellow track, but still maintaining a nice live energy to it. It’s a little less in your face, but still has that 90’s alternative flavour to it. I think it shows that we can bring the volume down when we need to, and explore a bit more dynamically, but overall sits on the musical foundation we’ve already laid.

When you’re not making music, what might we find you doing? Are there any hobbies or interests that you pursue outside of your musical careers that help you unwind or find inspiration?

When we’re not playing or making music (which is rare), we all like to do our own hobbies. Reece pretty much always has a guitar in hand but loves his AFL and likes watching Two and Half Men and playing the Xbox to unwind. Rosie is an awesome makeup artist and hairdresser, and she loves designing cool things and going thrift shopping. I love my sport, playing rugby and baseball to unwind. I think we use these hobbies to give us a break from music, but ultimately, music. really is the centre of our universe.

What can fans expect from The Phosphenes in 2024? Are there any upcoming live shows, new releases, or projects that you're particularly excited about?

We’re releasing our sophomore EP Cletus very soon, and you can catch us playing gigs out the wazoo for the rest of 2024. We’re particularly pumped for our headline show at Solbar, Maroochydore, on the 5th of July to celebrate the release of Plastic Dream, as we believe it is one of the best venues in Queensland (and it was also the first place we ever gigged at). But to be honest we’re keen for every show we play because it means we are out there doing what we love!