The keen reader might remember Dash House from a feature we published earlier this year, praising ‘Vitamins’ as “uplifting, bright and catchy… the perfect balance between accessibility and leftfield genius”. We stand by our words: the Texan singer, songwriter and producer has developed a personal musical formula that’s certainly hazy and dreamy, but also kinetic and euphoric. It’s a triumph of pop-leaning melodism and wider psychedelic influences.
‘Talk About It’ confirms our suspicions. Marking Dash House’s latest effort, the piece raises the stakes positively, embracing a certain sonic minimalism while keeping the playful synths and the punchy drums flowing. It’s honestly quite an impressive effort, one that also introduces a certain cinematic sheen to the whole project. Dash House’s vocals are always on point, malleable and dynamic.
Intrigued by the record, we caught up with the Texan creative to learn more about his artistry and future goals… Interview below!
Hey Dash House, it’s great to connect! I have previously written about one of your records, ‘Vitamins’, but it’s good to dive deeper and get to know your story better. First off, I’d love to know what motivated you to pursue music in the first place; is there anything or anyone that has played a pivotal role throughout your musical journey?
Hey Gab, glad to do this again! I grew up in a very musically rich household. My dad would sing songs to us while strumming his Takamine, my mom would always be singing along to the latest rock album on our kitchen CD player, and my brother would constantly be playing and writing songs on the family piano. It was only natural that I followed suit.
The thing that really opened it up to me, though, was hearing an orchestral version of Radiohead’s “Paranoid Android” while setting up for orchestra rehearsal in 7th grade. Something in me just clicked. I went home that day, asked my mom for the CD (of course, she already had it), and absolutely devoured OK Computer. I didn’t know that music could sound like that. I had just started my first band around that time and knew very quickly that writing, recording, and performing music was the path for me.
I’d like to give a special shout-out to my dad and my friend Justin for their roles in my musical journey. My whole family has always been supportive of my musical ambitions, but my dad has been a really helpful driving force to help get this batch of songs finished and out into the world. We’ve had video calls every week for the past couple of years throughout the process: the writing, the recording, and now the promotion. I’m not sure if I’d be at this stage now without his feedback and support.
Justin has also played a pivotal role in my journey. We started our first band together in the 7th grade and have been playing music together since the end of Past Life. He’s always been my fiercest critic and is constantly pushing me out of my comfort zone, whether it be recording or promotion. The best friend you can have is someone who isn’t afraid to tell you that you’re doing something wrong to help you do something right.
Your origin story is quite interesting to me; following the end of your previous band Past Life, you embarked on a sort of ‘creative rebirth’, if you will, a month-long creative streak that involved waking up every morning before work to write and record whatever came to mind. To me, that sounds like a wonderful strategy to rediscover one’s artistic side (something that’s mentioned in a few books, from Rick Rubin’s ‘The Creative Act’ – which you have read – to Julia Cameron’s ‘The Artist’s Way’).
Would you say that writing every morning helped you uncover some sleeper creative vein?
100%. I was never really a disciplined songwriter in the past, so this was a new approach for me. Overall, I think I was able to “hack” my creativity in three important ways:
- Consistency. Writing and recording a new idea every day was like building a muscle – I had just gotten really out of shape. I tend to live in my head a lot, so just the act of actually doing was liberating for me. Setting a schedule and doing it every morning made it a priority that I couldn’t ignore.
- No distractions. The only thing I’d do before working on these songs was grab a cup of coffee. No phone, no news, no internet, no conversations, nothing. This really helped me stay focused and connected to what I was trying to achieve.
- No pressure. The primary objective was just to write and see what came out. I didn’t have a band to share these ideas with, I didn’t have a due date, and I didn’t really care what other people thought of what I was working on. Sure, I’d have bad days and feel like I only wrote something mediocre, but other days I’d have streaks of some really great creativity and inspiration that would get my gears turning for the rest of the day.
Doubling down on the same theme: Did writing every day have any effect on your life in general? Did your mood improve? Perhaps such a quest gave you a deeper sense of purpose?
I definitely think writing every day helped improve my life and mood. Before Past Life broke up, we tried really hard to write our “next song”, but something just wasn’t clicking between us anymore. Coming out of COVID, we all sort of went our own ways musically and never really got back on the same track. Additionally, I lost my singing voice for about a year in 2022, so between those two things, there was a part of me that just wanted to throw in the towel and call it quits on music altogether.
In hindsight, I’m glad I didn’t quit, and I’m glad I buckled down and got to work as opposed to walking away. With every song or idea that I wrote, I felt “lighter”, as if I had this mental dam inside of me that was holding back all of this creativity. Overall, it helped remind me that this is still a path worth pursuing.
When writing, do you prefer looking inward or outward? Is songwriting a way to describe the world around you, or more of an introspective endeavour?
I think that songwriting in general is a little bit of both, but for me, it probably leans a little more on the introspective side. I generally like telling stories that others can relate to, but I don’t think that I could write a song that doesn’t have some sort of personal aspect to it. Without that personal aspect, it loses that sense of honesty or authenticity, which I can’t stand.
That’s enough philosophy for today! ‘Talk About It’ is your latest single, a piece that was born during the intense songwriting phase that we previously described. As a synth lover and deep M83 connoisseur, I am quite pleased with it… the track is exuberant and luscious, dreamy and immersive. There’s also perhaps a hint of minimalism; synths are not overdone in terms of production layers. Are you satisfied with how the track turned out?
Thanks! I’m very pleased with how the track turned out! It’s wild you mention the minimalism because I was just thinking about that the other day. I’ve been listening to a lot of Magdalena Bay and Balu Brigada recently, both of which have really strong, maximalist styles of pop production, and I couldn’t help but compare “Talk About It” to them. As a producer, one of the goals is to use a production style that complements the song the best. I’ve got a bunch of songs ready to release that are more maximalist and full of ear candy than “Talk About It”, but for some reason, every time I tried to add more to it, I just ended up wanting to take it away again.
I see that the song was almost scrapped… yet it’s now a fully fledged single. Funny how our perspective on things can change. From a lyrical standpoint, is there a particular storyline behind the song?
The story is very loosely based on parts of the plot from “500 Days of Summer”. My wife and I rewatched this movie while I was sitting on the instrumental for this, and I immediately felt inspired.
The song starts by setting the scene: A couple is on a date when they’re interrupted by someone who’s trying to hit on the protagonist’s significant other. The protagonist gets into a fight with this person, but the significant other disapproves of the physical altercation. They refuse to talk about it and start to feel more and more like strangers the longer they refuse to address and unpack what’s happened. They refuse to talk about it because they both think they’re in the right, and the song ultimately ends in ambiguity. Do they talk about it? Are they still together? Or have they moved on?
I think we’ve all had these little quarrels with significant others and friends. Something happens, tension is created, and then there’s no clear path to resolution because both people feel like they haven’t done anything wrong. Talking about these problems is the only path forward to clear the air and restore whatever rift was created.
Given that you have three singles out at the moment, can we assume there’s a long-length release arriving at some point in the future?
Eventually! Being that these are my first couple of releases as a new artist, I’m playing the singles game for a little bit to build some hype around my music and hopefully find my fanbase. I’m looking to release a full-length record by the end of the year, though!
Lastly, any plans for live shows? Anything we should know about the future? 🙂
Definitely! I’ve been working with two really exceptional musicians to help bring these songs to the stage. We played our first show back in March, but are looking to play out a lot this summer! I didn’t write these songs with a live show in mind, so it’s been a technical learning curve to figure out backing tracks, MIDI patch changes, and create an in-ear monitor set-up, especially while we’re still looking for two more people to join our group. I’m really pleased with what we’ve come up with, and can’t wait to play this show for more people!
Other than that, I’m currently trying to figure out which single to release next. So be on the lookout for either “The Party” or “Ultraviolet Platinum Rain” sometime next month!