Injecting a vibrant dose of “angry sparkly pop chaos” into the music landscape, Melbourne-based trio Blusher has emerged as a force to be reckoned with. Their latest single, “Dead End,” alongside its electrifying music video, showcases the group’s flair for blending nostalgia, rebellion, and an infectious energy that’s impossible to ignore.
Known for their gritty bass lines and explosive synths, Blusher’s unique sound is an unapologetic blend of nostalgia and rebellion, capturing the essence of late-night dance floors and the thrill of escaping suburban boredom. The band’s rise to fame has been nothing short of meteoric, with their debut single “Softly Spoken” making waves in 2022 and securing them a coveted signing with Atlantic Records in joint venture with Warner Music Australia.
Since then, they’ve continued to push boundaries with their dynamic live performances and collaborative approach to music-making, where all three members share vocal duties, switch instruments on stage, and contribute to songwriting and production. With their infectious energy and undeniable chemistry, Blusher is poised to continue making a significant impact on the music scene.
Continue for our exclusive interview with Blusher below, where we dive deeper into their creative process, inspirations, and what the future holds for this captivating trio. Check it out below.
How did the three of you meet, and was there instant chemistry in the studio or was that something you had to work towards?
We had all met each other separately through the music scene but first came together in a writing session that Lauren organized when she realized we shared a love for the same kind of hard-hitting, dancey-pop music and meaningful lyrics. It was love at first song. In that very first session, we found we had a rare chemistry as songwriters and as friends, and it was in that session that we wrote Softly Spoken and put it out soon after.
You were building your relationship as a group, developing your sound and style, a little while prior to releasing your debut single. What was the most important thing you learned during that time?
We released Softly Spoken quite soon after meeting and having that first session together. We quickly dove into the world of being a band because we were so excited. It’s been a year full of studio sessions, songwriting sessions in our bedrooms, going to shows together, and traveling together.
It’s felt quite crazy at times to learn about our different compatibilities – each time one of us cracks a super niche joke and the others completely understand, or the fact that we’ve basically created our own language over that time. When people poke their heads into our studio I think they often walk away wondering what we were talking about
Can you walk us through the creative process behind “Dead End,” from its inception to the final cut?
“Dead End” was inspired by feelings of teenage restlessness, and the way that we still long for the late nights out with our friends, escaping suburban boredom. Miranda told us the story of her year spent using a fake ID to get into terrible dive bars, and crying the night she finally got found out. We pictured it all happening in a sticky-floored club called the Dead End, where you somehow find yourself on a Tuesday night.
The verses follow three girls on a night out together: Jade’s verse embodies the restless troublemaker, Miranda’s is the voice of the determined party animal, and Lauren’s channels the starry-eyed romantic. We had a lot of fun in the session that day, writing and recording with Robby De Sa, and we hope that energy comes through in the song – we wanted it to be high energy and dancey, so it could soundtrack those restless nights out. We recorded everything that same day at Robby’s studio in Sydney, then worked with him over Zoom from our studio in Melbourne to finish the production off.
The music video is just as exciting as the record itself—I love everything about it from the lighting to vintage cars. What was the creative direction behind putting it together?
Thank you! We loved dreaming up the video concept together, and getting to invite people into the visual world of Blusher. We had this vision of a bedroom lit up by a ring of vintage car headlights, and when we shared our idea with the team, they brought it to life in a way that was so sparkly and beautiful, exceeding what we could have imagined.
Our directors were our cheerleaders on set, giving us confidence and creating a space to capture all the candid and intimate moments between us. We got so lost in the glowy bedroom that we almost forgot there was a team of cameras around. A fun fact about the video is that Jade’s vintage BMW (named Betty) appears as one of the cars, and features in the artwork.
One of the best things about trios is seeing how their personal styles and makeup choices come together. Can you all chat about the wardrobe for the music video for “Dead End”?
The video was a great opportunity to introduce ourselves by incorporating our personalities into each of our looks. Miranda takes inspiration from 70’s fashion and channels a dark feminine vibe, Lauren 90’s streetwear, and Jade ethereal pixie-esque silhouettes. We got to collaborate with our amazing stylist Vy Nguyen, who elevated each of our styles with unique pieces, corsets, and jewelry. She helped us create the perfect combination of femininity and grunginess.
That being said, how do you balance your individual experiences as solo artists with your collaborative work in Blusher, both in terms of songwriting and live performances?
We all bring different skills to the table, and have different approaches to songwriting. Lauren will usually write lyrics first, while Jade and Miranda start by putting down lots of melody ideas. We love to combine our powers in the studio, to swap instruments and take lyrical inspiration from each other’s journals. It’s been so fun going from performing as solo acts to performing together on stage with synchronized dance moves, stacking harmonies, and fangirling over each other’s solo moments.
Taking a step back a bit, I’d love to discuss your debut single “Softly Spoken” and how much you all have evolved since then. Do you have a favorite memory from creating or putting that record out?
Softly Spoken was the first song we ever wrote together, and was the reason the band formed! So we have a lot of sentimental attachment to that song. It led to so many incredible moments like meeting our managers, performing at Bigsound and creating the visual world of the band. We had no idea it would get the amount of love that it did, but we think it resonated with people because of how personal the story was. That song was partly inspired by an art exhibition where the artist got women of all different professions to analyze a breakup email she had received.
The story of getting your friends to help you decipher a message like that felt so universal, and was something we had all gone through. We wanted to create music about female friendship being strengthened and empowered in the face of heartbreak. One of our favorite moments on release day was running down to the beach that night with homemade cocktails, dancing to the song, and watching a group of swans pass by on the water.
Melbourne itself has birthed a lot of amazing talent over the past few years with you all joining the list. Can you discuss the challenges and rewards of being a part of the culture capital’s music scene, and how it has influenced your music?
Miranda and Lauren both moved to Melbourne from Queensland to experience its cultural music scene. Jade grew up in Melbourne with a lush variety of music around her, and parents who performed in an ABBA tribute band. It’s a very tight-knit community with a huge variety of music, all the artists in Melbourne are so supportive of each other and go to so many live shows.
We are inspired by all of the producers and artists around us, we share our studio with them and get all the best advice about gear and coffee. We like to think that Melbourne is a bit rough around the edges so most of the music made there, including ours, has a little drop of that grit in it.
This month, you all are hitting the road with Aurora to perform some of your songs live for the first time. What do you all forward to most?
We’re so lucky that our first-ever tour was with someone like Aurora – she’s so kind, a great performer, and one of our favorite artists. Getting to play in front of her fans was amazing for us, they were super welcoming and there were even some hand-written ‘Blusher’ signs in the crowds, which was surreal.
Most of our past year has been spent in the studio, so we were excited to finally get to take the songs we’ve been working so hard on and see how people respond to them at a show.
