Creative Conversations 010: The Ultimate Collab For The UN Refugee Agency

Music has always been at the forefront of social change and Azren from Analogue Dawn thinks so too. Working with his acts Tutara Peak, Aether, and Zes and a few special guests Lilia and Grand Pavilion, the group have teamed up to raise money for the UN Refugee Agency. We spoke to the team about the single, collaboration process, and the importance between music and social justice.

Futuremag Music: Hey team, how're you doing with iso life?

Aether: Much like everyone else, it hasn't been the easiest process but I feel I’ve been making good progress over the last couple months. I’m actually stranded at my parents place during all of this and my setup has been kind of makeshift, so I’m definitely looking forward to heading back home when the flights are airborne again. Other than that, I’ve just been focusing on the light at the end of the tunnel, doing as much as I can so when this is all over I can look back and know that I put the time I had to good use.

Futuremag Music: Can you talk us through the collaborative process for ‘Daydream’, what went into the production process?

Aether: Harvey from Tutara Peak was the catalyst for the track. He sent his original idea to myself and then Zes hopped on with some synth work and vocals. Because we’re all in different DAWs we ended up just working with stems, but I feel that was a good situation to be in for this project as it made edits hassle free. From there it just rotated between us, adding small sections and changes until it ended up back in Harvey’s hands for him to finish the mixdown. It came full circle which is good as he was more or less the director for the track so it’s nice that he got to do the finishing touches!

Tutara Peak: The collaborative process for Daydream was all done online. Each producer had a go on the project individually, adding their own instrumentation and flavour to the mix. For example, Zes contributed both instrumentals as well as vocals while Lilia sent vocal harmonies to us to be incorporated into the song. The original idea started with the main guitar riff and a stripped back version of the beat. After everyone added their individual parts, Tom (Grand Pavillion) then tied up the track with some sprinkles before we sent it to Dan for his incredible mastering skills!

Futuremag Music: Could you please tell us about the connection between the track and the UN Refugee Agency? Why'd you select this agency?

Azren (Analogue Dawn): The concept of community was really important to us when deciding on a fundraiser to support. With Daydream drawing upon so many unique sonic and cultural backgrounds, it made sense for us to partner with the UN Refugee Agency whose amazing work supports a diverse number of remotely displaced communities around the globe. It's a cause we felt very passionately about and we're truly honoured to be working in support of the organisation.

Futuremag Music: What's the importance of the connection between music and social justice?

Zes: Music can play a big role in unifying people from around the world. In times of this global health pandemic it’s easy to focus on ourselves and forget about other people in need. With ‘Daydream’ we wanted to tell a story about how we as a species tend to let things spin out of control and then somehow put ourselves in the position of the innocent victim. When we slip into a state of individual panic, it becomes harder to see the bigger picture and people start fending for themselves. It’s a bittersweet song with an underlying sense of hope that we can start living and thinking as a community again.