Far Out Sounds

"I remember we were playing once at the Powerhouse, and there were kids who were loving some of the nature sounds we have in our set. They were dancing around. And then we came in with this big doom riff and a couple of the kids screamed and started crying.”

According to the late, great, '60s icon Hunter S. Thompson, when the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. Having kids crying at your show is probably pretty weird, and Dreamtime are certainly making a professional run with their psychedelic rock. But does Zac Anderson, the band's guitarist and vocalist, want kids crying or dancing during the set? “We'd rather have small children dancing around, and not screaming and crying. I mean, that's a nice thought.”

The Wiggles they aren't, but Dreamtime are still managing to become one of Brisbane's hottest psychedelic prospects. They're also becoming players in the global resurgence of psychedelic music. It's something that seems rather improbable in our cold, clinical, digital age, so Zac is asked; what does he think brought psych rock back into vogue?

“Economies and politics and movements in the collective consciousness bring about these kinds of shifts… Because as far as I know, there hasn't really been a surge in psychedelic music since the '60s and '70s, until maybe like the last decade.”

Does he see any correlations between the resurgence of psychedelic music and its origins? “It seems like there's a lot more violence in the world, maybe there's a connection between warring and people escaping into the psychedelic… I could sit down and think about what's driven the resurgence for hours and not come up with anything. But whatever it is, it's been good for us.”

Their brand of psych rock has earned them slots supporting legends like Bardo Pond and a chance to travel to the States and play a set at the prestigious Austin Psych Fest. It's also brought them fans in fairly unusual territories.

“We've sort of got a big following in Mexico and Greece. Lots of people in those places are following our fan pages and buying our vinyl. [But] I have no idea what's capturing people's attentions in those countries. From a douche bag, money-making point of view I really would like to know what it is that they like about the band. It might just be a trend in those places at the moment…”

While Zac hopes the three-piece will be able to capitalise on their interest abroad, in the meantime they're focused on their upcoming domestic run alongside Japan's premier psych rock troupe Kikagaku Moyo.

“We'll be playing some new songs on this tour, and then we're planning to release a split seven-inch with the Japanese band we're touring with, Kikagaku Moyo, sometime after the tour and maybe make a little cult video with both of the bands to accompany the release.”