Musicians David, Lucy, Arsenii and Konstantin were all new to Berlin when they met through a Facebook advertisement. Together, they formed Dusk Saffron, a band name originated from a Logic Pro synthesizer preset, inspired by British band Foals and united under their passion for shoegazing. “I thought for sure that someone else has taken this name already, then I went on Google and nobody has it. There's a lot of saffron dusk perfume but no Dusk Saffron. It's really hard to find a new band name,” David laughs.
Konstantin’s journey began in Moscow. Following the Russian-Ukrainian war, he migrated to Indonesia for two years before moving to Berlin. Although he recalls Moscow’s giant underground scene, Berlin provided the space for him to express the music that he enjoys the most. “There's a lot more money and opportunities and you can do a lot more different stuff. It's all about the money; life's expensive. Also, I want to play something nice and do some great stuff.”
Arsenii moved from Tbilisi, Georgia, to study in a music college in Berlin and learn about sound engineering. Yet, he would have preferred lessons that are more technical then going over things he already knew. “[Music colleges] force yourself to do something you otherwise wouldn't, right?,” David suggests, in which Arsenii replied—“but they charge you money for that.” Lucy was the latest to join the band, coming from Australia. The first concert that she played with Dusk Saffron was in Berlin’s Fête de la Musique, an annual and international celebration of music, which happened in the same week she moved to Berlin.
On the other side of the globe, David launched his own tape label Nugget Records in Beijing. He recounts the scarily liberating feeling of being his own boss, although going to work was nothing too special, “Some days I would be excited to go to work, but my usual emotion about work was ‘I don't want to go’.” But when it comes to the excitement, David compares working for the label to playing a show as a musician. “No matter how tired we are on tour when the show comes, I'm super excited about playing. It was the same with the label every day.”
Compared to China, playing a show in Berlin was uneasy. In China, bands often grew their fanbase through live concerts first, before releasing any music. In Berlin, however, promoters expected the band to have already released music before playing a gig. When offered to play with British shoegaze artist Hongza, Dusk Saffron was prompted to record music.
The recording of their debut EP A Little Death took place in Arsenii's music college, where they took advantage of expensive audio equipment. For example, the gears from Trident provided a sound that is “mix-ready” and “really British… like a lot of bands from the 80s, 90s”. Drums and bass were recorded separately, then a lot of guitars were recorded. Demo tracks were recorded first, and new tracks were added later on with vocals alongside the reused parts of the demo tracks.
For those who listened to the album, it’s no surprise that A Little Death was born out of priceless recording tools and expertise. Such as the title track “A Little Death,” where the layered guitars, main vocal and the background vocals create a strikingly psychedelic texture that refuses to fit to today’s shoegaze soundscape. In the title track “Orphic” and ending track “Sinking Ship” it’s easy to recognize the drums and bass leading the song, giving a sense of regularity to what would otherwise be a sonic madness. Overall, it is a clear reminiscence of classic shoegaze acts such as My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless, as well as the synth-pop ear candies such as Slowdive’s Everything Is Alive.
Outside of recording, the band also invested in putting together the best live show experience. One of the main focuses were transitions, such as what to say on stage and linking two songs together. “Make it worth money,” David tells us, “People pay to come and see us, which is crazy. It needs to be worthwhile.” During the interview, the band toured across Mainland China and Hong Kong, where they witnessed a spectacular sense of connection between musician and fans. The concert in Shanghai, in particular, has been their favorite. “It felt nice to come home and see all of those people again, especially because we've been playing in Berlin for a year and we don't know a lot of people there. So we're still playing to like new people every time.”
Right after the interview, Dusk Saffron performed in Aftermaths bar in Hong Kong, the last destination of their sleep-deprived tour schedule. Inside the magic known as shoegaze there are the well-known effects such as reverbs, delays, and filters. Then there’s another spell that turns exhaustion to beauty. “I was closing my eyes and I understood that I was falling asleep when I was playing,” says Arsenii. David comments, “But it was still better than all of the shows we had done before in Berlin. I think that's what really helped this tour. And tonight’s the last night.”