The power of outstanding musicianship comes from many factors; sometimes, it’s your birthright, while other times, you build it from the grown-up on your own. The house we live in as young kids can have an impact, and even the school you choose to attend. For DACEY, Vancouver’s down-to-earth Indie darlings on the rise, the musicianship is all about connecting their authentic self with the outside world at large. Consisting of frontwoman Dacey Andrada, guitarist & keyboardist Justin Tucson (aka JT), and insane guitarist Nathan Chan, the band met at a music school where they bonded over their shared culture, their varying aesthetics, and their passion for music—not just as a form of entertainment but as an art form with the power to connect one soul to another.
With their musical philosophies realized, or at the very least drafted out, the members came together drawn to the vocal depth of Andrada and formed the band known as DACEY. In the year or two since forming the band and dropping their debut project, SATIN PLAYGROUND, fans have come to love the gorgeously bold delivery from frontwoman Andrada who breathes a certain air of honesty into her music that recalls performers of a beloved bygone era. Incorporating their love for R&B, Soul, Indie, Garage Rock, and Jazz into the heart of their musical arrangements, the atmospheric instrumentation provided by both JT and Nate helped elevate her prowess as a singer and their growth as a band.
Ahead of what can be described as a busy year for the starry-eyed band, I had a chance to sit down with DACEY via Zoom and engage in conversation surrounding their musical upbringings, getting signed, their first project, how they met, and the real story behind their smash single “Bitter.”
Note: There was discussion on canker sores and how to potentially remedy those sorts of issues but, for the sake of medical accuracy and the fact that it essentially became an inside joke that we all agreed to describe as “you just had to be there” for, it was best to omit that section. Without further ado…
Marc: How did DACEY come to be as a band?
JT: So, we all met at this audio school in Vancouver. We were all in different classes but the same semester, so me and our old bassist, Josh, went to this open house during the first week of school. Dacey was there performing, and we were like, “woah, who is she?” So then Josh talked to Dacey and said that we should get in a studio session together. We met the next day, we made a pretty cool song and on the way back to return some gear, Dacey said, “want to make a band?”—
Dacey: There’s still some debate on this about who said it first; I say that it was either you or Josh who said it first.
JT: It might have been Josh, but yeah, that is the origin story with Nate joining us sometime down the line.
M: So, in regards to setting up with the name of the band, it has the same impact as Sade—where the band is called Sade, but the band itself is Sade and her bandmates.
Dacey & JT: Yeah! Exactly!
M: Gotcha, I love that. When did you guys begin making music together? Was it immediately after you saw Dacey singing, or was it sometime in between and after that?
J: So, Dacey, you had some songs that were already in the bag from before, but they just weren’t produced, but she showed us all the songs and said, “do a thing with it.” (Laughter).
D: And they did a thing with it. (They all laugh).
J: Yeah, we just refined it more. Dacey had about twenty songs that needed some more production.
M: So, they were just sitting on one of your hard drives, Dacey, or were they just fresh on your laptop?
D: I basically showed these songs to the guys that were of me playing my guitar on my voice memos and then JT taking those recordings and producing them in Ableton. And that’s how the recording process began, really, with some songs from my phone.
M: Humble beginning for sure! So, DACEY is an all-Asian band, and for representation and diversity, especially on the indie front, that is a huge deal. As a band, y’all are out here killing it, and on top of that, DACEY is fronted by a woman musician, singer, songstress, and that is both badass and historic. So how important is diversity and representation for you guys as artists in this industry?
D: I think it’s just as important as our music because we’ve always been surrounded by different cultures, and everything has been so diversified; with our influences in music, we like to take things that we experience from the outside [world] and blend them together.
J: Our environment really shaped who we are as creatives and people.
M: It sounds like it comes naturally to you guys. That sense of “this is who we are, and this is how we look, and this is the music we like to make.”
JT: Exactly, you get it.
D: Pretty much because all of us in the band are different from each other. For example, Nate is very emo; his aesthetic is very “sad boi” (they all laugh).
M: What would be the individual traits that each of you brings to the table for DACEY?
D: As I said, Nate is all black and grey, but then I like color. I’m more into upbeat music; I am very much into sad music as well. Actually, I have been writing sad music my whole life, and it’s currently been a problem where I need to think of something else to write since everything I seem to be projecting is all negative emotion, but that is the rain Vancouver influencing that. But even with all of that sadness, I do like my pops of color (laughs). JT, what would you say your aesthetic is?
J: I would say mine is in-between; I like sad and happy; I’m somewhere in the middle of that vibe.
M: So, JT, you’re definitely the balance while Dacey and Nate are the opposite sides of the aesthetical spectrum. I mean, that’s a great dynamic for a band! And you mentioned Vancouver, DACEY. With the rain of Vancouver and the overall vibe it has, how does that geographical setting assist in setting the tone for your art? Have you ever created music someplace else, maybe California or Toronto, and the vibes were maybe negatively/positively impacted? And what influences did growing up in Vancouver have on your music?
D: We haven’t gone out of Vancouver to make music yet, but hopefully, wherever we go, we don’t have any issues writing. But just growing up and going to school where they have a multicultural day, and they play multicultural music, and we take from that, take those influences combined with the internet where, if we are curious about something, we do our research, and that digs a bigger rabbit hole for us. We take that and incorporate all of that into our writing.
J: I agree with that, we haven’t gone elsewhere as a band, but one day we will. I will say I did go to LA once just to make some music with some friends. It’s a nicer vibe; the sound definitely helps—it just uplifts you.
M: (laughs) That makes sense for sure. And speaking of vibes, you guys have such a wide variety of vibes in your music it’s crazy. You guys pull from R&B, Neo-Soul, Jazz, Indie, of course—everything that I love, honestly—and you guys rolled that into one sound that is wholly your own. Where did you all first hear these many genres of music? Was it in your household growing up played by your parents? Or was it at a show you attended when you were in high school? How did that come about?
D: I would have to thank my dad’s music collection because I grew up listening to his music. His music choices were all over the place; one moment, he would be listening to Conway Twitty and then the next moment he’s listening to James Brown and then the Jackson 5, so I got introduced to all of that at a young age. And then I got into Jazz in high school. I would be the only kid in my class also listening to Doo-wop and Motown records while everybody else was listening to Drake and Kanye. And I kept this all very low-key. But then I joined a Jazz band and then Amy Whinehouse’s music really deep right after that—she definitely influenced my writing.
J: So, I gotta thank Rock Band, the game (they all laugh at the impeccable comedic timing). Honestly, that game shaped what I wanted to do in the future. So all the alternative pop-punk stuff I really grew up on that music and also my first iPod Shuffle, you remember that? With the little—
M: Square shape and clip, of course!
J: So I got that for my birthday one year, and my uncle uploaded all his songs. It had Depeche Mode and Amy Whinehouse, it was great, and that ended up shaping my tastes. And then high school, same thing as Dacey.
D: There was no going back.
M: So you guys are destined to do music, clearly. And listening to all of that music breeds a certain love for music inside of people. Not just one type of music or genre, but you really love the art of it all, which coincidentally brings me to my next question regarding SATIN PLAYGROUND. Everything that we just talked about is on that body of work, and I do want to say—and I’m probably going to start sounding like a broken record—that project is fire. This is one of those rare times where I’m actually interviewing a band where I really love their music and the work they do—
Dacey & JT: Thank you so much!
M: Of course! It’s true, though; the music is super good! But anyway, SATIN PLAYGROUND is mesmerizing; the sonics are crazy, the composition goes hard, the transitions are fire, the vocals are dope, so walk me through the creation of this body of work. What were the artistic intentions behind that project, and what was the basis of it?
D: Wow, good question. So, SATIN PLAYGROUND was just a compilation of songs that I wrote between the ages of seventeen-twenty. Basically, that whole album is a heartbreak album; I had just gone through something—
M: I can feel it ( they all laugh).
D: I just wanted a way to tell that person how I felt directly, so I made an album. Through that process, we were still going to school at Nimbus; I feel like I started by making the songs “Sidewalks” and “I’ll Be There” as class projects. So, those were pretty much demo quality until JT brought it back to life, and throughout 2020 with the pandemic, it was JT and I going into the studio recording as many vocals as we could to finish the songs that we started. It was hard to get everyone else in the studio due to COVID restrictions, but it was convenient for me and JT to meet up because we lived closest to each other. So that’s how SATIN PLAYGROUND came about and how it was recorded.
M: Do you think SATIN PLAYGROUND is a special piece of work for you because of that time period, the emotions, feelings, everything you were going through and how you grew past it?
D: Yeah, I would say so; that project is like our first baby (they all laugh).
M: The numbers for SATIN PLAYGROUND are rising on Spotify with 800,000+ plays attributed to the fan-favorite “Broccoli’s Keeper,” which is super fire!. And with that many plays… that’s nuts. How has the growth felt for you guys as a band and to see the work pay off in real-time?
J: It’s been surreal. I had no expectations to be as good as they are. We just kind of hoped for the best and hoped people liked it. And it seems like people like it.
M: Just a little bit.
D: Yeah, just a little bit (they laugh).
M: So, is SATIN PLAYGROUND the project that led to DACEY getting signed or is this something that you can’t speak about?
J: No, straight up, that is for sure the reason why we got signed (they all laugh). We got into a bunch of calls with a ton of labels. After this project dropped, we were hit up by everyone.
M: And how did that feel? That instant feeling of love, or was it time between the drop and then all of a sudden a storm of calls came?
J: It was like two weeks after the release.
D: Or maybe a month after. And then there were waves of calls; it would be two record labels, then there would be nothing for about a week or two. All of a sudden, you would get hit with four labels at once. But we went through all of that, and we just had to do our due diligence to see which offer was the best.
J: It was a good problem.
M: Was it ever overwhelming at any point to have all these people call you with business? Yeah, it’s a good problem to have but were you ever like, “oh no, I’m suffering from success.” (the trio laughs a hearty laugh).
J: It was mostly the calls we were getting, and then we had to get lawyers involved; it was kind of crazy.
D: JT was handling all of the emails, so that must have been—
J: It was a great learning experience but stressful.
M: That’s amazing that you guys grew from that and were able to make opportunities out of it. So does DACEY have any plans to tour with SATIN PLAYGROUND or hit up any festivals? Or has COVID put a damper on these kinds of plans? If so, what accommodations have you all made to replace performing live?
J: We were talking to some of our friends back in December to tour the West Coast and hit up LA; we were doing shows here and there. We had a show back in December—
M: Wait, wait, come on, you guys gotta talk your s***, man! (They all laugh). Where was this big show, man?
J: It was this venue in downtown Vancouver, this place called the Fox Cabaret, but they turned it into a live theatre. It used to be a porn theatre back in the 80s; the 80s were wild.
M: I guess the 80s were crazy everywhere because here in America, it was pretty nuts, too (he laughs).
J: Where are you based?
M: New York! So, like an hour and thirty minutes from Toronto, so if y’all got any shows up in Vancouver after COVID dies down, my fiance and I would love to come through! And then we could all get Korean Fried Chicken afterward!
Dacey: Yesssss! Planned.
JT: That would be super cool; yeah, we should do that for sure!
M: Fire, fire, and speaking of fire, let’s talk about your newest single that you guys released back in November 2021, “Bitter.” Congratulations on that song, guys; that song goes so crazy. I don’t know what it is about that song, but it is one of the best songs I have heard in a while. It has garage rock/indie/early workings of Tame Impala, but it’s wholly unique—it’s DACEY. So how did this song come about? Who wrote it? What was it inspired by, and were these events/feelings real?
D: So, let me Paul McCartney myself; I basically woke up with the riff to “Bitter” in my head.
M: I love stuff like this, I swear (they laugh).
D: I showed this to the band, and then we played it. We didn’t get back to it for a while; it was a minute before I and JT got back to it and hashed it out in Ableton. Then, I took that, went home—because I usually feel comfortable writing lyrics at home or around JT, he’s one of the only guys I feel comfortable writing lyrics in front of—and I recorded. I came back the next day and showed the song to the rest of the band members, and they f***** with it. After that, we asked Nate to play his guitar riff towards the end. There are three parts to the song: the main part, the low-key part with the vocals and guitar, and then Nate’s showcase.
J: We didn’t add his part till about the very end., about a month or two before the release of the song, fun fact.
D: But, yeah, the story of “Bitter” wasn’t made up—it was about a break-up.
M: Yeah, that’s sad as hell; I was listening to the lyrics like, “damn, sis is going through it.” Listening to “Bitter” gave me the same vibes I kinda got when I listened to Summer Walker in regards to hearing the hurt in the lyrics, but I love how vulnerable you are on that single; I’m glad you shared that art with us. It’s so good, yo (they laugh). But what are the plans for that song? Is it going to be on an EP?
D: Yeah, we’re still trying to figure out if we want to do compilation or not. We’re still trying to hear back from sync-placements, and we’re working on a music video for “Bitter,” so that’s coming soon.
M: So who made the crazy lyric video for “Bitter”? That joint looks incredibly dope.
J: That was 1824 actually, we couldn’t ask for anything better; they’re super dope for sure.
M: Do you guys have any future projects, singles, or endeavors of any kind that we can look forward to? I know you mentioned a music video and putting together a tour of some kind, but is there anything else we could look forward to?
J: We got singles on the way, but we can’t tell you more than that (they all laugh).
D: We’re honestly working on our next album and finishing up those singles.
M: So, you can’t even tell me how long the singles are?
D: Yeah, one song is like four minutes!
M: Okay, I’ll take it! (They all laugh) I’m just going to make up a DACEY-type bat in my head and pretend that you released a track along the lines of “Bitter” I think that should hold me over (laughs).
D: We can promise a song before June (JT bursts out laughing), we have a timeline now, and we have due dates. Way before June, if anything, hopefully, that’s what we want. We want our music out as soon as possible.
J: By Spring.
M: So at the very least we have Spring, and at the very most, we have June?
Dacey & JT: Yes!
M: Beautiful; I’m looking forward to everything you guys have coming up. You guys are incredibly talented, and I’m sure this new music is going to wow us all!
Dacey: Thank you so much, and thank you for this interview!
JT: Yeah, easily one of the best interviews we’ve done; you asked some really good questions.
M: Thank you! We will definitely be on the lookout for your next moves, y’all.
