Get to Know: Das Druid

Newcomers DAS DRUID are bringing Madchester vibes all the way to Brisbane, and we're absolutely here for it. The newly formed duo at once take inspiration from the likes of The Stone Roses while maintaining a firm forward-facing approach to their production similar to Jagwar Ma, meaning they never lean too heavily on nostalgia. Instead, it's a perfect fusion of new and old, and their latest single, 'Anxious Oxygen', is a melting pot of psychedelic rock, breaks and electronic, with dreamy vocals floating atop to guide you into the rabbit hole.

With two singles under their belt, Das Druid are creating music that remains authentic to themselves, imploring their listeners to come on the journey with them. Utterly immersive, both 'Anxious Oxygen' and first single 'Eyesight' have a timeless quality and a global sound, and set the duo up very nicely indeed for future releases. They've got plenty more music in the bag ready to unleash, so we decided to get to know them a little better. Take a read below and listen to 'Anxious Oxygen' here:

Who are you? 

We are Das Druid… Inspired by the classic AOE Druid. Kinda. But not really. We are Shannon and Michael. Friends, housemates and LinkedIn endorsers.

How did Das Druid come to be?

It’s a long story but I’m sure everyone has time to read it in this self isolation period. We were friends that both made music and had similar taste in music. So… Yeah.

For more detail, we started jamming some basic stuff out into Garageband and Ableton on an old crappy laptop. Now we have a mini studio in our apartment and have grown our band by one whole member. Our good friend, Alex Greaves. He’s been helping us mix down and is starting to put his naughty bass licks in our more recent stuff.

What are we talking, vibes-wise? 

Our music definitely has the Madchester vibe, like the Stone Roses or more recently, Jagwar Ma. We also take a lot of elements from psyche bands and UK Breaks, House and Acid.

Tell us more about your single, Anxious Oxygen?

Unlike our other tracks, ‘Anxious Oxygen’ was punched out pretty quickly. All wrapped up in finished within a day and re-recorded the vocals not too long after. We didn’t add too many elements as it blended and flowed quite nicely, without having to be too intricate. It’s groovy, fun and danceable, all the while keeping the psyche elements we love. Keeping the guitar hidden in the drums just sounded right. It’s one of the only tracks you will hear Shannon’s voice at the forefront. Usually it’s buried, oh so buried.

What can we expect from you in the months ahead? 

We have a big EP coming out. Or Album. Either way it’s 8-9 tracks, ready to go. More tracks like our first 2 but also tunes that are poppy, ravy and jungly. Our goal was to play live as it came out but not sure if venues will be in full swing by then. Maybe we could get a live stream going?  If you know your way around a live stream, hit us up.

Where can we hear more from you?

All two of our tunes are Spotify, Soundcloud and most other good streaming services like Apple Music.

'Anxious Oxygen' is out now.

Words by Emma Jones

Image: Supplied

LISTEN TO NEW MUSIC HERE

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