Project Description

Interview with

XAVIER DUNN

Interviewer – Georgia Dickinson

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XAVIER DUNN

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After working his way to become one of Australia’s most exciting up-and-coming producers with over 20 million Spotify streams and three HypeMachine #1 positions under his belt, Sydney’s Xavier Dunn is now ready to make his mark as an artist in his own right, kicking off 2018 with new single Isic Tutor.

Georgia Dickinson caught up with Xavier recently for a chat.

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So, first of all, how did you get into writing and performing your own music?

I started making my own music when l was learning to play the piano in my early years of high school. I didn’t like the music that I was being taught, so I decided to make up my own songs.

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Who are your influences when it comes to writing music?

Nowadays I’m inspired by Nils Frahm, Olafur Arnalds, Jon Hopkins and Bon Iver. I think their taste is great and how far they push the boundaries of sound and stories is infatuating.

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You’re also quite the producer with songs like Jack River’s “Fools Gold” and CXLOE’s “Monster” under your belt. Was producing quite easy to pick up and learn due to your musical background?

I began producing music when I started university. I studied a Bach of Classical Performance on Double Bass and did composition as one of the courses. I wanted to record one of my string pieces I had made, but going through the course of finding players, a studio, engineer and rehearsal time that everyone agrees with, I figured it would just be easier if I did it all myself. I bought Logic, learned all the instruments to play, bought an average condenser microphone, and away I went.

Having the knowledge of orchestral arranging really helped me shape my productions, because I just ended up producing music like I was composing it. And it became one and the same for me.

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You have mentioned in the past that you are classically trained, is there anything you’ve learnt from your classical training that you constantly apply to either your music or the music you produce?

How important every sound is you use, and how there is no limitation to producing a certain sound.

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Let’s talk about your new single “Warming”! Tell me a little bit about what “Warming” is all about.

I wrote ‘Warming’ back 5 or 6 years ago when i was with my ex-gf and it’s bittersweet for me. When I wrote it, I didn’t intend it to be a sad-ish song but now when I read the lyrics and hear the song it makes so much sense now of what I was feeling at the time.

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“Warming” and your previous release “Isic Tutor” are your first solo releases since 2016. Was there anything you had learnt from your producing and co-writing ventures over the past year that you brought to the table for these songs?

Being open to many ideas and following the direction of how you feel is a great tool. Having that time to becoming a less shit producer really helped too.

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Your EP “Isic Tutor” comes out May 18th. Are songs like “Warming” and the title track “Isic Tutor” a perfect snapshot of what we can expect from the EP?

The songs are def a mixture of chill bangers and sweet chilli acoustic kebabs. I’m just excited for them to be released into the wild.

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Speaking of “Isic Tutor”, I absolutely adore the music video for it! Tell me a little bit about the concept behind the music video.

Working closely with Entropico (production company), we found a balance of what we thought would work and went with that. They had some great ideas and we tried a lot! The idea is we all try to fix things… We all try to solve problems that sometimes cannot be solved, and the best solution is sometimes to walk away.

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You worked with renowned photographer Cole Bennetts for this video. What was it to like to work with Cole?

Cole’s great, I just met up with him again recently when he was shooting Graace (who I produced for) at her record label soiree which I was also playing in for her. He’s very smart and knows his visuals fo sho.

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Last but not least, once the “Isic Tutor” EP comes out, what’s the plan for you for the rest of 2018?

The plan for me is to start releasing more music! I have so much to release it’s crazy. I can’t wait for y’all to hear it! I might build a Smav car or open a cafe selling useless small merch. I’d love to sign a deal with Hass avocado. Maybe I can write them a jingle. That’s the dream.

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XAVIER DUNN

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