After slaying them at Electric Avenue, Auckland-based psych indie dance duo DUAL have a second EP out and now have Australia in their sights. Cityscape talks dreams and reality with Maurice Miller and Jamie Pyne.
Let’s start with your name. DUAL suggests two elements combining to become something even greater. Jamie: Spot on. The name reflects the yin and yang of musical tastes and influences that we both have. When we are writing songs, we bring ideas along and work on them together. You know when it’s working. It’s always about the song. When you start writing a song, it already knows what it wants to be.
Is that process a reflection of your long-time relationship? Maurice: That’s a big part of it. We’ve written a lot of songs so you get to know when you’re not feeling it and it’s time to move on. Jamie: It’s about finding the spark and then following it.
Was Electric Avenue your first Christchurch gig? Maurice: We have played there once before, at the darkroom. It was a dark room all right, pretty full. And we played the Christchurch Town Hall on the Friday before Electric Avenue as part of the flood relief concert. That was huge – 3500 people. We haven’t shared a stage with Lorde and Marlon Williams before!
Did you get to check out the nightlife while you were in town? Maurice: It was a whirlwind visit. I got to Chiwahwah. It was going off. We went on to some other places too. It was fun, the whole city was going off. But the real party was going on in the Green Room at the Town Hall.
Do you have any pre-show rituals? Jamie: I like to keep busy, checking everything. I’m a bit of a control freak. Maurice: I disappear before a gig. I don’t want to talk to anyone. As a singer, I eat a long time before I perform. No booze, no milk, no cheese, yoghurt, beer or bubbles.
What would be your dream collabs? Maurice: Tame Impala, Damon Albarn – I’d love to spend some time in the studio with him. Also No Comply – they’re hip-hop, not too hardcore. We’ve got a dreamy track coming out with them in May for Music Month.
What do you have on high rotation at the moment? Jamie: Jean Dawson – I love the way he mashes genres together, which is a big part of our music as well. Maurice: I’ve been listening a lot to a couple of the singles off the new Unknown Mortal Orchestra album. Also Genesis Owusu. And Helena Nova.
Any more tours lined up for 2023? Jamie: We want to come back to Christchurch, especially after Electric Avenue. It was so much fun. Maurice: We’re also planning some Australian shows – Sydney and Melbourne. We’ve played there once. Most of our listeners are in Australia. The indie dance scene is bigger there.
warnermusic.co.nz/artists/dual