Daphnie Releases New Alt-Pop Banger, “28”

After having a not-so-minor age freakout before celebrating my birthday a couple of weeks ago, I’m relating hard to Daphnie’s latest single “28.” Daphnie cowrote this one with comedian Thomas Bleach to encapsulate all of the messy mixed feelings and nostalgia that can come as the years pass.

“People often talk about growing up referring to childhood, but in reality we don’t stop growing and changing, and the older you get the more confusing and weird it becomes.” Daphnie explained. “Something I didn’t realise could happen is having all the trademark signs of aging, being ‘2000 and late’ for listening to the Black Eyed Peas, not seeing friends or doing fun things as much; while also somehow not having your life together. I don’t wanna blink and miss it all, but it feels dangerously easy to.”
This track’s had a long gestation, but I’m so glad it’s out in the world when I needed to hear it most. Even if 28 seems pretty young from where I sit!

“The initial idea came together super quickly as we were getting nostalgic with the 2000s, but then we struggled along with the smaller details for nine months,” Daphnie admitted. “We easily wrote seven different pre’s, and churned through literally hundreds of (often awful) ideas for the chorus tag line. I feel like we really had to get through all the ‘clever’ ‘quirky’ ideas for it to realise all we wanted to say was ‘we’re too young to possibly be 28’.”

“28” comes from Daphnie’s EP which we’ll hear later this year.

Photo credit: Maya Luana

Daphnie Collaborates With Jiwon On Latest Pop Smash, “stay long”

Eora/Sydney-based pop artist Daphnie has teamed up with New York City’s own Jiwon for a shimmery new single, “stay long.” This cross-continental collab has got all the good vibes you need heading into your weekend.

“We found out about each other through Spotify’s ‘fans also like’ section when Spotify put us on the same algorithm, and instantly hit it off musically,” Daphnie recalled. “Jiwon already had most of the song but needed some tweaks and a verse from someone. He had someone else in mind, but after our first call asked if I’d do it, and I liked it so much that I had my verse written and recorded within the hour after our call.”

Crank this up and I know you’ll agree that it sounds like fate! “stay long” is on all your favourite streaming platforms right now.

Image used with permission from daphnie

Daphnie Releases Latest Pop Bop, “Alive (not dead)”

Daphnie has got me buzzing with his latest single “Alive (not dead).” Daphnie mastermind Alistair Hayes cowrote and produced this poppy gem with Vera Blue bassist Ross James before giving it the final mix in his bedroom.

“This one touches on the classic burnout and being ground into the capitalist machine of constant output, driving out actual feelings and relationships,” he said. “I’m someone who has to actively pay attention to my feelings or I don’t feel them and just exist. I’d rather not be boring, and try being alive.”

“One of my fav things about writing it, was that the guitar part in chorus 2+3 is so ridiculously fast and just isn’t humanly possible, so I’m strumming as fast as I can higher on the guitar neck, while Ross also strummed at the same time but lower down. Absolutely ridiculous.”

I’ve just added “Alive (not dead) to my Spotify playlist, Sounds of Oz Loves Pop. If you love pop music too, make sure you give it a follow!

Image used with permission from Alistair Hayes

Daphnie Channels ’90s Nostalgia With Latest Single “Wanna Be (with) You”

Alistair Hayes of Daphnie and Max Jacobs of Loretta are some of the hottest up-and-coming pop artists in the country, so I knew anything they wrote together would be a total bop. I wasn’t wrong. Wrap your ears around “Wanna Be (with) You”. It’s the perfect mid-morning pick-me-up.

“It’s inspired by the classic story of not knowing if you wanna be with someone, or if you just want to be them. Obsessing over them to an unhealthy degree, wanting to steal their perfume or clothes, date them, or just be as cool as they are,” Alistair explained. “It pays homage to classic ‘90s rom-coms like Ten Things I Hate About You (the famous bleachers scene), and makes fun of other tropes like somehow running through the airport without getting caught. We even played the movie on mute in the background while writing it to make sure it matched that ridiculous and nostalgic ‘being way too in love with someone’ energy.”

So crank that volume. “This one”Wanna Be (with) You” is a real vibe.

Image used with permission from Alistair Hayes

Youproblem Impress With Poppy New Single “Pinch”

Daphnie was one of my favourite acts of 2024, so I was thrilled to discover that Alistair Hayes, the man behind the moniker, is also creating fabulous music with Alana Patmore aka Zhuli. Together they are youproblem and their latest single “Pinch” is a total bop. Co-written with Caleb Nott of BROODS, this indie-pop track captures what it feels like to be at a crossroads as you watch your friends taking different paths.

“I was watching my friends give up on music, and I really understood why. It’s so incredibly hard and the results don’t show for ages, it costs so much and it’s easy to lose belief in yourself and your art. In this understanding, I realised that I’d also never forgive myself if I didn’t at least try to give it all before I stop.” Alana explained. “Writing this song exposed a desperation within me, it’s kind of a love song to what I feel is my purpose in life (as wanky as that sounds).”

Youproblem have supported other up-and-coming acts like Loretta, Bugs, and ISHAN. Hopefully 2025 is the year we see them headlining their own shows.

Image used with permission from youproblem

Daphnie Release Indie-Pop Bop “Perfect Piece of Person I’m Made For”

If you need a little mid-week pick-me-up, look no further. Daphnie’s latest single “Perfect Piece Of Person I’m Made For” may just be the perfect piece of pop music.

“I wrote this one with Will O’Donohue (Runaway Mornings), and produced/mixed it in my bedroom,” explained Alistair Hayes, who performs under the Daphnie moniker. “We wanted to create a cruisy silly absurd love song that you could dance to with your significant other in your bedroom while your neighbour yells at you through the walls for being too loud. I think we really got it there, mostly because that actually happened.”

With Aus Music T-Shirt Day approaching, Daphnie has you covered. Check out the Daphnie merch store for some fantastic November 28 options.

Image used with permission from Daphnie

Daphnie Crushes It With Latest Track “Cupid”

I’m convinced there’s no better pick-me-up than a really great pop song. If you need that lift, look no further than “Cupid,” the latest release from Daphnie, the musical alter ego of Eora/Sydney drummer and producer Alistair Hayes. It’s a total earworm. I’ve already listened about five times in a row, and I’m probably not done.

“It’s an homage to having a crush on someone, with all the excitement and anxiety that can get wrapped up in that feeling,” Alistair explained. “I find the idea of violent metaphors describing beautiful feelings so funny and dramatic, but at the same time crushes always kind of felt like that. I wanted to write something about being killed by the feeling of love itself and that’s exactly what ‘Cupid’ represents. With offbeat lyrics like stupid pickup lines, to those same lines being made fun of, it dramatises the whole feeling of a crush into something ridiculously insane.”

We often associate pop music with a big corporate machine, but Alistair’s operating on a much smaller scale. He wrote, produced, and mixed this track himself in his bedroom, much to his neighbours’ dismay. When he’s making music this good, I wouldn’t be complaining!

Image used with permission from Daphnie

jnr. Brings the Rock Edge With “nervous”

I’m really digging the sonic journey that Eora/Sydney artist jnr. is taking us on with his music. The catchy pop vibes of his new single “nervous” are front and centre, but it’s a rock song at heart.

No doubt the influence of Daphnie (Alistair Hayes) as producer has helped jnr.’s evolution along. jnr. has taken care of production for most of his career, but collaborating with his good friend has brought a new voice to this music. Daphnie also plays drums while Max Jacobs of Loretta handles guitar duty in the live performance video, shot at Odd Assembly in Eora/Redfern.

jnr. will celebrate this new chapter of music when he debuts his new three-piece band to support Last Dinosaurs at the Factory Theatre on September 23.

Image used with permission from .jnr mgmt