Artist info
Genre
Indie, Pop
Sounds like
Odette, Kimbra, San Cisco, Meg Mac, TOPS, The Preatures, The Jungle Giants, Hiatus Kaiyote
band members
Guitar/Vocals: Saskia Brittain Bass/Vocals: Timieka Denton Keys/Vocals: Ashleigh Carr-White Drums: Madison Hanley
Influences
Odette, Nothing But Thieves, Meg Mac, Ocean Alley, Kimbra, Hiatus Kaiyote
Unearthed artists we like
Great Gable, Wooly Mammoth, Demon Days, The Money War, Lilia, St. South, Psychedelic Porn Crumpets, Carla Geneve, Jack Davies and The Bush Chooks
Website
Bio
Scattered across the outskirts of Western Australia, four young girls discovered their fathomless passion for music. Ashleigh Carr-White, Timieka Denton, Saskia Brittain and Madison Hanley didn’t all know each other then, but it was only a matter of time before the inexplicable forces of the universe would have them cross paths. There’s no denying that fate brought Dulcie together.
“We all grew up outside of the city and around nature.” - Madison
In a house tucked away in the Perth Hills, Dulcie drummer Madison first picked up the sticks when she turned eight. Bass player and vocalist, Timieka, and guitarist and vocalist, Saskia, both spent their formative years in the serene coastal town of Denmark. Coming from a musical family, experimenting with harmonies and instruments was a rite of passage for Saskia. For Timieka, music was a welcome distraction: “When you’re growing up on a farm, there’s nothing much else to do. You get bored and pick stuff up.” The group’s keyboardist and vocalist, Ashleigh, lived in the pretty port town of Dampier and was taught piano by her mother.
It wasn’t too long before their worlds collided. In fact, Saskia and Timieka became friends when they were just toddlers, while Madison and Ashleigh first met during their high school years. However, it was at the reputable WAAPA in 2018 that the stars completely aligned, and the melodious, smooth sound of Dulcie was born.
“We all come from totally different creative directions.” - Timieka
Between impromptu jam sessions at Saskia’s place and WAAPA’s studio rooms, the girls tried tirelessly to define their indie pop-inspired style. Instead, they arrived at the conclusion that their soaring hooks and inventive melodies simply could not be confined to the limits of one genre. Dulcie’s sound is an amalgamation of their individual musical influences. “One of us will be like, ‘How good is Phoebe Bridgers?’ and someone else will say, ‘Have you heard the new Arctic Monkeys album?’” Madison says.
Of course, Dulcie isn’t just defying normality in terms of genre. Refusing to accept that there can only be one lead singer, they interchange between three vocalists, which makes their sound even more distinctive. But this rebellion has proved advantageous for Dulcie. Their idiosyncratic style immediately turned heads at triple j, and Ocean Alley dubbed their soulful debut single “Fall” their favourite track of 2019. Whether it’s supporting G Flip, playing Groovin the Moo Bunbury or touring with Polish Club, Dulcie’s electric presence cannot be denied.
“We like summery colours and that Woodstock kind of vibe.” - Ashleigh
The band’s effortlessly cool energy and quirkiness is amplified at their live gigs. Usually spotted wearing vintage pink overalls or bright retro tops, it’s easy to forget you’re not stuck in some kind of ‘70s time loop. This profound sense of nostalgia is also reflected in their name. Derived from the Latin word ‘dulcis’, which means ‘sweet’, Dulcie is named after Ashleigh’s great-grandmother, who was also a talented singer.
“I signed my guitar when I was about five.” - Saskia
‘Sweet’ is definitely one way to describe the members of Dulcie, but they are also eager to leave their mark on the Australian music scene. “I remember when I was younger, I signed my guitar when I was about five,” Saskia says. There’s no doubt that these girls can afford to dream that big. After all, at the rate Dulcie is going, their signatures will all be worth something one day.
Perth super ladies Dulcie wow'd us with their debut single 'Fall' and we can't wait for you to hear it all this week on triple j Unearthed.
Tell us about your music. How did you develop your sound?
I don’t think any of us quite know how we developed Dulcie to sound the way it does. It’s really been such a subconscious fusion of all of the music that the four of us have ever listened to or been inspired by individually. At any given time, any one of hundreds of potential influences could shine through and push our sound in another direction. Hopefully that will be something that people will continue to find interesting about listening to our music. At the moment we’re really exploring how to incorporate multiple-part harmonies and that's always been a pretty consistent idea for us all.
What’s your greatest source of inspiration for making music?
Definitely each other and our personal and combined love for music. We all really egg each other on in rehearsal and write music together so I think it’s probably fair to say that our biggest inspiration is other musicians and the ability to inspire and collaborate with each other. Songs come together that much quicker when you’ve got three other people in the room getting hyped up over your ideas.
What can punters expect from a Dulcie live show?
You can definitely expect a few laughs, we don’t take ourselves too seriously on stage so punters can expect a bit of a giggle with/at us for sure! You can probably expect to have a bit of a dance and maybe some cheeky sing-a-longs and clapping on the beat too- we love that stuff!
What’s the best advice you've been given and who was it from?
As silly as it sounds, my mum has this frame full of motivational quotes hanging above our toilet at home and there is this one quote that says “Fill your life with experiences, not things. Have stories to tell, not stuff to show.” I feel like this has always been a really important thing in reminding me to choose what I want to do because I love it rather than what will give the biggest instant reward. This whole philosophy has definitely helped more than one musician in my life to decide to either study music or commit their time to writing and making music, follow their dream because they love it and want to have the experience, not necessarily the money or the fancy degree. Touring and playing music is the biggest source of cool experiences and stories to tell so it’s pretty relevant to all of us.
What Australian track would you play to cheer up someone who was crying?
100% ‘Exactly How You Are’ by Ball Park Music. It’s got me smiling after the first sentence every single time, it is the most wonderful song and sometimes people need a little reminder that it’s okay to be who they are and they “don’t have to swim upstream”.
What Australian track would you play to someone to make them cry?
That’s a tough one! We’re gonna have to go with Sawteeth by Spacey Jane. It’s just a beautiful song and you can’t help but shed a few tears to it. If you haven’t checked them out, prepare yourself for some of the most beautiful songwriting ever.
You’re the DJ at a party. The dance floor is pumping. What Australian track do you put on next?
Surely it would be a sin not to put on ‘Let It Happen’ by Tame Impala. Not sure about everyone else, but we’re never at a party that doesn’t get around a bit of a boogie to that huge tune.
What was the last local gig you went to? How was it?
I think the last one was probably the Across The Road Music Festival in Bunbury (that’s down south, does that count?). We played a little festival down in Bunbury at the start of the month with a bunch of other Perth bands and it was SO FUN. Every single band or artist that performed killed it, there were little op shop stalls, food trucks, pop up bars and the whole thing was zero-waste. Basically it was everything you could ever ask for.
Tell us about the bands or people in the Perth music community that inspire you.
The list of people in Perth that inspire us goes on forever and ever. Within our little family at Across The Road Music there is a really inspiring space to create in. We have some great mates in some great Perth bands (Wooly Mammoth, Great Gable, Carla Geneve, Death By Denim, King Ibis, Lilia, Grace Armstrong- the list goes on). It’s always been a pleasure to play and hang out with everybody that we have had the chance to so far and there is certainly no lack of inspiration in the Perth music community.
What are your plans for 2019?
2019 is shaping up to be a big one! We’ll definitely be jumping into the studio and putting out some new music. Starting this week, we’re going on our first ever national tour with our good friends (and amazing Perth band) Great Gable so we’re all super keen for that! Every day things change and become bigger and more exciting so we’re keeping it pretty chilled out while we do this tour and hopefully over the next few weeks we’ll get a bit more of a detailed idea of what this year holds for us.
View Profile Hide Interview
Review
yep, you can go ahead and plug that build around the 2 min mark straight into my veins.
yep, you can go ahead and plug that build around the 2 min mark straight into my veins.
Review
Celebrating a great new return from Dulcie in 2020! You girls sound in full bloom, the melodies are divine and I love the momentum. It feels light and bright and I can't wait to hear this on air.
Celebrating a great new return from Dulcie in 2020! You girls sound in full bloom, the melodies are divine and I love the momentum. It feels light and bright and I can't wait to hear this on air.
Review
Flexing some Meg Mac muscles here to great effect.
Flexing some Meg Mac muscles here to great effect.
