INTERVIEW: Post-Rock Duo Dayburn Come Out Swinging
Photos by Kiki Vassilakis
“I felt like the music was speaking to me; I don’t know how else to say it.”
After interviewing many artists over the last decade, I’ve concluded that my favorite conversations are the ones that, despite having never met, feel like catching up with an old friend over a cup of coffee. In the case of this particular interview, that’s literally what occurred (though to be fair, none of us were drinking coffee).
Dayburn is a new project with two familiar faces. John Glenn (Stellar Young, LiketheAstronaut) and John Luby (ex-Athletics)—lovingly referred to from here on out as The Two Johns—went to college at SUNY Oneonta with me during the second half of the 2000s. We all played in separate bands, occasionally sharing stages or, more accurately, classroom floors together. All these years later, the two Johns reconnected on a whim and began unexpectedly making a record together.
“I was just trying to relearn how to record and get back into the hobby of it,” Luby recalls. “I hadn't done it for so long. I had basically written a song for me to practice getting different tones and sounds with. I was listening to this track over and over again, and I really built it up. I felt like I could actually use it and release it, but it didn’t have any vocals, and I definitely wanted it to.”
Luby immediately thought of Glenn, and after not talking for almost 15 years, he sought out his number and texted him. The two reconnected almost instantly, and when he heard what Luby had been working on, Glenn was floored and eager to collaborate.
“It sounded so big, and it felt important,” he says. “I was like, ‘Yeah, I'll write something to it.’ There was no intention for this to become a project, necessarily. We just collaborated purely for the enjoyment of it.”
Once vocal ideas were sent over and mixed in, it became clear the pair were onto something meaningful. On a whim, Luby saw a call for submissions for a new Emo Diaries compilation, a series curated by indie label Deep Elm Records from 1997-2011. During that time, they released 12 volumes of groundbreaking music. It was a hugely successful series that featured songs from bands like The Appleseed Cast, Jimmy Eat World and Brandtson. The duo submitted the one song they had and received the best response they could have hoped for: not only did the label love the track, they wanted more.
“Without us submitting that song, and them asking us for more, we wouldn't have come this far with it,” Luby adds. “It was just great to have that support and feedback, not only from an outsider, but from someone who has been in the industry for so long and heard a lot of music to tell us, ‘This is good. We want more.‘“
They kept writing. One song turned into two which turned into the 12 songs on the band’s upcoming debut, Hollow Sounds, which will be released in two six-song parts beginning in August. Listening to …Part I affirms Glenn’s initial reactions; each song contains an epic backdrop of sound, with huge rhythms and soaring post-rock guitars. Glenn’s vocals tie everything together in a neat bow, as they typically do in any project he’s involved in. They are delicate in nature, while also more impassioned than ever before, with lyrics like “The only time that I see you is on holidays and the funerals of those who stayed,” resonating immediately upon listening.
“I love the music we made,” he gushes. “It forced me to confront a lot of things lyrically that either I’m seeing out in the world or dealing with myself, and really dig deep. I’m very excited for people to listen to it, and see how many people connect with it.”
Each song on Hollow Sounds was constructed in a similar way to the impetus song, “Here Tomorrow”, with Glenn and Luby sending ideas and files back and forth from their homes in Albany and Endicott, respectively. The remote nature of their collaborations allowed the songwriters a sense of freedom which benefited the final product.
“Being so far away and sending stuff back and forth does not seem efficient, but it really is,” Luby notes. “Sure, there's a chemistry when you're in a room together and you're jamming, but it's different when you get to sit with it and you're not pressured. We just got into a groove, and it worked. The fast pace of it just kept that excitement, and with the style of music we were going for, it just felt right.”
“It was just so easy to write with John,” Glenn adds. “I felt like the music was speaking to me; I don’t know how else to say it. It was an exciting time where we’re just recording stuff and sending it back to each other. Every time we’d open up a new file, it felt like Christmas Day.”
That excitement comes through on recording like an audio fireworks display, the two Johns each putting their best foot forward to create something greater than the sum of its parts. It’s rare for a band to be introduced to the world in such a big way, but Hollow Sounds proves it’s possible. Fans of post-rock and near-cinematic soundscapes will find a lot to love here, and I’m confident that this is only the beginning for Dayburn.
Dayburn’s debut single, “Here Tomorrow”, is out now via Deep Elm Records. Pre-order Hollow Sounds, Part I – out August 20th – via Bandcamp.
