Glass Animals: “We should all dedicate ourselves to daydreaming”

By Lizeth Cadena, MWN

Metro recently sat down with Glass Animals’ vocalist, Dave Bayley, to discuss Dreamland, the band’s latest album.

Has it been difficult to work and create music during the pandemic?

Launching this last album was very different, because we have always been used to promoting our music in front of the media and the public. Besides, there is nothing better than that promotion through concerts, and this was not possible.

As for the creation I have to confess that having a studio at home made things easier, so it became easier for me and for all of us to produce and offer new material to our fans.

People from all over the world were staying home. Did you enjoy this time?

I enjoyed it, although just at certain times. In the beginning I felt panic because we were about to launch the album and nothing good was happening outside. I remember I always had in my head the questions, ‘What are we going to do if we promised our fans new music?’ But of course, with the passing of the months, a bit of calm came and we all understood that we had to go on living despite the virus, so, like the rest of society, we also looked for new ways of working, of releasing songs. 

Do you think your music changed because of the pandemic?

Yes, a little bit. Dreamland was already being put together before the arrival of the coronavirus and from the beginning, it looked like an introspective production, because it was full of memories of the past. This feature was made stronger by the pandemic, because it was coupled with thoughts about the future, whether we were going to survive, what would happen the next day. So, in the end, it became a nostalgic piece of music, between the past and the future.

What does the word ‘Dreamland’ mean to you?

I grew up in the United States, in Texas, and when I was a kid I was always daydreaming. I had a teacher and every time I was distracted she would say, ‘Come on Dave, you have to come back to reality, leave that dreamland and pay attention.’ That word marked me because I’ve always been a person who lives in another world, so to speak, and it fits perfectly with the album, precisely because it implied a past, a memory and a personal story, which is the essence of the production.

Besides, this word has another meaning in the sense that dreams never go away, they always stay with us, and finally, they drive us and shape us as people. So, at the end of the day, we all, no matter if we are children or adults, should continue to daydream and live in our dreamland.