Following a three-year break, with original vocalist Charlotte-Jayne Gilpin leaving and replaced by Jessie Powell, Swansea post-hardcore entity Dream State find themselves in a stronger position than ever, with a new EP out and a comeback tour that has sold out across four cities. Ahead of their appearance at In It Together Festival in Margam, Emma Way spoke to band members Aled Evans and Jake Bowen .
What’s been the driving force behind keeping the band going in the last few years?
Aled Evans (lead guitar): I just wasn’t ready to stop. I love doing music, I love writing and performing. I just wanted to keep going. There’s still more life in it yet, I think.
Jake Bowen (bass): It’s too good – the music’s too good. You don’t want it to die when there’s only an EP and an album out. There’s a lot more to come.
As your first release in three years, how did you want the Untethered EP to be recieved by fans?
Aled: The three tracks on the EP were like the rebirth of the band – to see if people fell in love with the newer music like they did with the last ones. That was the intent of those three songs. It was just to see how people would react to it with the lineup change and the three year absence. And it’s gone off a treat so far! They’re probably, as I said, some of the best songs we play live and they go off.
You’ve got loads of festivals lined up: Burn It Down, 2000 Trees, In It Together… I imagine the festival experience is completely different to playing your own shows. Do you ever think about how different kinds of audiences might react to your songs when writing them?
Aled: I do sometimes. Whenever I’m writing, I’m always envisioning how it will translate live. I’m always thinking: can you bounce to the song? Can you run around in a circle? That kind of stuff. It’s the heavy hitters we want.
Jake: You also want to write songs that cater to everybody who’s watching, whether they’re a fan or just discovering us or don’t even know who we are. You want to make sure that the songs capture them and bring them in as fans. Taunt Me is gonna be a great festival song because it’s bouncy, catchy.
Aled: When I’m writing songs, I’m jumping up and down in my bedroom, counting the tempo of how fast I’m jumping. Then I’ll just try and write to that. Whatever feels comfy to jump up and down to!
Following your change in lead singer, do you feel pressured to still use the name Dream State going forward? Have you thought about changing it?
Jake: We had a discussion about it. Bands like North Lane, Killswitch Engage, Of Mice & Men… they’ve all changed singers but kept the name. I personally felt it was important to keep the name because we’re still such a young band and one album in. There’s still so much more to give. We wanted to keep those fans who already know about us, and if they liked it, they liked it. If they didn’t, they didn’t. It’s up to them.
Aled: I’m still writing the same music. I’ve always been the main songwriter. So I feel like if we were to start a new band, people would probably just say it sounds like Dream State.
Jake: So far it’s paid off. A lot of people like it. We’ve had a few naysayers here and there but some of them have come to shows and then been like, “actually I’m wrong – I like it!” I think we won on that front.
Dream State play In It Together Festival, Margam on Fri 26 May.
Info: inittogetherfestival.com
The Untethered EP is out now via UNFD
Info: dreamstateofficial.com
words EMMA WAY
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