It’ been a busy year for Melbourne quartet Danger&Plastic and they’re only just getting started. With the upcoming release of brand new single ‘Dead’, vocalist Josh Hawksworth reveals the indie rockers have been hard at work on more new material, aligning themselves with producer Julian Schweitzer.
“It’s been a really awesome experience,” Hawksworth says. “He’s a pain in the arse sometimes, but he gets the best out of the band and the song. Julian is one of the best people I’ve met. He’s an amazing artist himself and he comes highly recommended from us.”
Danger&Plastic have also worked on the video for ‘Dead’, a sombre and colourful musing with a pretty zany story. “The day we shot the film clip,” Hawksworth says. “We drove straight out to Torquay to play a festival. After the show was all done we got pretty saucy and [guitarist] Josh Morph went for a little swim in the nude. He was gone for about three and a half hours. We called the coast guard, we thought we’d lost a brother. But I found him huddled near a toilet block at the far end of the beach, looked like some zombie apocalypse shit. Was a tough night.”
It would seem like there’s a lot of nuttiness surrounding the new single, and not just coming from the band. With its cool and mellow beats, Hawksworth explains that musically, ‘Dead’ came together pretty easily – it’s the lyrics that carry the depth of the song, touching on a major social deficit. “It’s about money, its allure and its worthlessness. I write lyrics that mean something and try to use the music to help people swallow what is often a morbid realistic message. Music should be a party but it should stand for something. Well, ours does anyway.
“I think we’ve progressed to a point where we have a sound that’s ours. [We have] a solid direction for the music,” Hawksworth says. The new single will speak volumes of the remaining songs on the upcoming EP. “‘Dead’ and the songs we’ve written since, feel the way that Danger&Plastic should sound and it’s the shit we love to write and play.”
Indeed, Danger&Plastic have come a long way since the days of basement jamming at their home in Northcote. “Liam and I moved from Adelaide to Melbourne four years ago. Josh Morph just happened to be moving over at the same time and we all knew each other from the Adelaide music scene, so making music together was always going to happen. Since then it’s been up and up, Morph and I write so well together, it’s so easy and free-flowing.
“On top of all of that, this year we had [guitarist] Josh Bills join the band adding somebody in the guitar department. We couldn’t let him go. In case you haven’t noticed already, there are three Josh’s in this band.”
The single launch will be a chance for Danger&Plastic to not only release their new material into the world, but also to celebrate their musical union and the journey they’ve been on, along with some friends who’ve had a similar experience. “We’ve put together quite the evening,” Hawksworth says. “It’s more of a launch party with three bands launching singles and albums. Opening the proceedings will be Steve Tyssen, who’s actually launching his album. He plays an awesome mix of psych-folk and rock.
“We go way back with Young Offenders; originally hailing from Adelaide we met them at a local studio. We love those guys and their style, we’ve always shared the stage with them and always will. On out last tour we discovered Particles. They really stood out as a no bullshit band to us, they’re also touring their new single ‘Rift’.”
After the madness of music at the single launch, Hawksworth and company will continue to work on next year’s EP with Julien Schweitzer. “[We’ve got a] couple more tracks to record, some more film clips to shoot. We’re going to be touring again early next year. Busy, busy, busy, always. We love this shit, always keen for the next one.”
