Daffodils
Words by Hannah Powell. Images by Karen Ishiguro.
Yo Vocal had a chat with Theo Salmon, lead singer of Tāmaki Makaurau band Daffodils. Through the phone, we talked about the new single, their upcoming EP, and what it was like to hit success as a teen in the music scene.
You may know Daffodils as the indie band that emerged in 2017 with the single ‘Two Angels’, full of teen angst and adrenaline. Capturing New Zealand teenagehood like no other, Daffodils quickly rose to success in the local scene with relatable lyrics and a strong young following.
Four years since they began and two since their last EP, the band is back with a new single showcasing their development of sound. ‘House Across The Street’ is a taste of their upcoming EP to be released early next year. As Theo said, it’s been a hot minute, and the band is excited to unleash. Theo (lead singer and guitar), Louis (bass), and Isaac (drums) have been playing together since intermediate. But it wasn’t until Theo and Jade (synth) wanted to make a band for Smokefree Rockquest during high school that Daffodils was born. Looking back, Theo says the band gave him a reason to write.
Asking about his lyricism, he says a lot of it came from when he was a teen. “I had some pretty rough mental health stuff going on that I didn’t really try very hard to look for help for,” he says. “I wasn’t very confident in asking people for help.”
When the band first began, it was about writing from the teenage experience. With a growing discography since age sixteen, Daffodils have taken us along for their ride.Reflecting on the band’s shared teenagehood, Theo talks about the young music community they were a part of in Auckland those years ago. Before the City Council shut a lot of start-up opportunities down, he tells me about going to gigs at community halls played by fifteen-year-olds who were trying a hand at music.
“When we were fourteen/fifteen, we were out at gigs every single weekend, and I think seeing people our age playing music was really powerful and [gave us] motivation to do it [ourselves].”
Now twenty-two, and with gigs, Laneway, and a number of festival stages under his belt, Theo says it’s a completely different situation. “A lot of the stuff I’ll write about is related to my mental health, stuff I’ve been through – either recent or from the past,” he says. “I’m not trying to write some nostalgic-for-high-school stuff, but rather it’s quite therapeutic for me [to be able to] process stuff I haven’t put much effort into processing properly. I guess that’s where I find the most meaningful songwriting comes from.”
With the new release ‘House Across The Street’, Theo says their sound has developed and expanded as they have grown comfortable in who they are. With indie down-pact, the upcoming EP will play more with pop than their music before.
“As I’ve gotten older, I’ve become way less tribal in my music taste and a little less pretentious about it,” he says. “I like the idea that I can put mainstream aspects of pop music alongside other stuff I really like, like the post-punk vibe.”
While it’s taken some time to develop their sound, Theo acknowledges they’ve come a long way since they set out to be an indie band. With time has come the freedom to experiment and blend genres without reservation or doubt. ‘House Across The Street’ was written as a way to process a particularly tough break-up he was going through earlier this year. Intended as a release, he took the songwriting as an opportunity to look objectively at the situation and bring in some perspective. “[The single] is about coming to terms with the idea that a relationship won’t ever be the same, even if you do manage to stay mates.”
The single is the first to be released off of their upcoming EP that the band have been working on since 2019.
“Two years meaning three weeks studio time,” he laughs, but once again, Covid messed up their original schedule. It may have been a hot minute, but the EP is highly-anticipated, nonetheless.
Talking about Covid, Theo hopes the next beer he drinks will be with his mates in celebration. “It feels like a massive step up from our last EP,” Theo says, drinking the last of his can. “I’ve been sitting on these songs for a year and a half, and I’m itching to get rid of them and make them everyone else’s problem, rather than just mine.”
Catch Daffodils at festivals Le Currents and Others Way in January or on the Wellington and Auckland dates of Marlins Dreaming’s tour later next year. The band is very excited about the summer ahead.