'Dust In The Sunlight' On Their Single "Former Lives" and Upcoming EP

“Former Lives” shares a drop of lush escapism by London based ‘Dust In The Sunlight’. Their glacial vocals transcend into orchestral strings and weightless synths, delivering a flawless antidote for any lingering winter blues. In conversation with Clique, 'Dust In The Sunlight' shares that “Former Lives” is about feeling like you have to be a hundred different people, balancing so many things, the pressure to constantly be productive. They wrote the song after quite a poignant shared experience that made them reflect on what they each really wanted out of life, so it’s underlying message is trying to remember where you’ve come from and to reconnect with who you actually want to be.

CLIQUE: What is your new single “Former Lives” about?

ANNIE: It’s about feeling like you have to be a hundred different people, balancing so many things, the pressure to constantly be productive… that’s what the lyrics ‘pulled in every direction at the same time’ are saying. We wrote the song after quite a poignant shared experience that made us reflect on what we each really wanted out of life, so I think it’s underlying message is trying to remember where you’ve come from and to reconnect with who you actually want to be.

CLIQUE: What has the response been like to your song?

BILLY: We started gigging it a while back and it’s become our favourite to play live. We build up the ‘Help you let go’ chants with the crowd. So it felt great to finally release the studio version.

CLIQUE: “Former Lives” is taken from an EP that will be released later this year. What can you reveal about the upcoming EP?

ANNIE: It’s called ‘Same World, Different Eyes’, which has been a running theme for most of the songs - the idea that we all, as humans, fundamentally want the same thing but we’re seeing it through different lenses, with different ideas about how to achieve it. We worked with some amazing producers and musicians - it’s got lots of live horns, strings and drums which I think add a lot of warmth and texture. Our best work yet!

CLIQUE: How did you start singing together?

BILLY: We met at a friend’s album recording session, singing backing vocals for them. We were randomly put into a booth together and came up with some harmonies on the spot. After the session we went to mine and wrote 2 songs in a few hours.

“Sometimes, I think we’re musically telepathic. If we’re in a writing session, bouncing production ideas around in the studio, or performing live, there’s a real intuition between us of what the other one is thinking, or going to play.”

CLIQUE: What is your favourite part about working together?

ANNIE: Sometimes, I think we’re musically telepathic. If we’re in a writing session, bouncing production ideas around in the studio, or performing live, there’s a real intuition between us of what the other one is thinking, or going to play. There’s a song we always play at the end of our sets where we just sing a cappella, usually with our eyes shut, and that synchronicity for me sums up exactly what Dust In The Sunlight is.

CLIQUE: What is the process of writing a song like for the two of you?

BILLY: When the project first started, a lot of our songs started around piano and guitar parts that we had floating around.
In the last few years (post-pandemic), production has become a big part of our writing. So it could start from a new synth sound that we loop and write a melody over. We both write very quickly so the song takes its initial form and then we go back over it with a fine tooth comb. I think it’s best to achieve creative flow, then you can finesse it afterwards.

CLIQUE: How long did it take to write “Former Lives”?

ANNIE: It came together pretty quickly. We had recently started renting a tiny little recording studio in North London - just a box room really, but it had great views of the city lights. I think I was sketching out the intro chord pattern and the lyrics all fell out pretty quickly. I’ve got the voice memo on my phone and the bare bones of it are all there.

“It’s easy to get bogged down in the ‘social media’ side of music, but we’re first and foremost songwriters - without the songs, there’s nothing. Just empty content for content's sake.”

CLIQUE: What is a piece of advice you would give to other singer/ songwriters?

BILLY: Keep writing! Keep creating music! It’s like a muscle that you need to keep in shape.
It’s easy to get bogged down in the ‘social media’ side of music, but we’re first and foremost songwriters - without the songs, there’s nothing. Just empty content for content's sake.

CLIQUE: Do you have a favourite memory from making “Former Lives”?

ANNIE: We recorded Former Lives at Tom Donovan’s studio in Essex, which was a lot of fun! We got pretty experimental with this one, adding lots of ‘foley’ sounds like dropping bean bags and rustling potpourri for percussion, and actually singing in the back of Tom’s car in honour of the lyrics in the first verse. Tom also has some incredible synths and there was one point when we’d hooked one up to a Kaoss pad and there were four of us playing one synth line. Super inspiring and memorable session!

CLIQUE: Who are some singers/ songwriters who inspire you?

BILLY: I love Paul Simon. I think he’s one of the best songwriters of the last century. There’s something about his vocal rhythm that transcends. If ever I’m feeling uninspired I listen to “Slip Slidin’ Away”. I remember hearing that when I was 8 years old whilst driving across Florida and I felt a connection with it, even at that age. “The nearer your destination, the more you’re slip, slidin’ away”. It resonates now - writing music and songs is about the journey, not reaching some imaginary place that might not even exist.

ANNIE: We both love songwriters like Joni Mitchell, Nick Cave and Leonard Cohen. My current favourite songwriter is Adrianne Lenker from Big Thief... she's so prolific, and has an incredibly beautiful and deep-soul way of viewing the world.

11. Where do you hope to see yourselves five years in the future?

ANNIE: Kicking back on an island in the sun drinking mojitos having just toured the world and released a platinum-selling album. Manifest ;)

BILLY: In a studio somewhere (studio island?!), making music that means something to people.

Listen to 'Dust In The Sunlight’s’ single “Former Lives” on Spotify here, and also watch their live video on Youtube.