Meet Aeroplane Mode, the dream-pop band who make a hazy debut with Settle Down

By this point in the year, we typically have a fair idea of a few acts primed to dominate the year ahead; the acts that have made an entrance in the past eleven or so months, and are bound to further explore themselves - and their sound - in the next eleven / twelve or so ahead. However, there are often one or two acts that seep through towards the year's end, those that make last-minute efforts - successful ones at that - to put themselves on the map and make them one to watch in the year ahead, where they end up doing pretty bloody well.

As it seems, Melbourne-based four-piece Aeroplane Mode may be one of those last-ditch success stories birthed from 2020's last moments, with the group making a grand debut at the tail-end of last week with their first single Settle Down, and what a moment it is. It's a dreamy, stripped-back affair that moves with a grace and charm that holds the ability to pluck you out from the depths of your worries and transport you to somewhere far more relaxing; the group diving deep into the power of escapism through washed-out alt-pop.

The group have been a couple of years in the making, created as somewhat of a side project for two members of hype Melbourne-based group DIET., who expanded Aeroplane Mode to a four-piece and began refining in on their craft - in which Settle Down is the first taste of. The single shows that too, with stirring guitars and hazy vocal hooks coming together with comparisons to groups like EGOISM and Hatchie, and their respective abilities to turn moments of pain into cloud-backed bursts of rich pop.

As the group explain, the song is a well-needed message to compose yourself in a time of need; a reminder to take a step back and relax amongst the madness of the year and everything going on in your current-day life. "Settle Down is about the need to remind yourself to take a deep breath, compose yourself, and work things out," they say. "It came about during a very transitional period in all of our lives, and was simply an expression of the words we each felt we needed to hear – we had no idea that these words would become more relevant now than ever."

There's also an official video too, produced by Sucker Co. and shot by Aden McLeod. "The video is our version of visual ASMR," the group explains on the video, which further dives onto the single's theme. "The footage contains all the things we might do to settle down, or that we find super satisfying, to give people a well-deserved break from their stressful days."

It's a brilliant time and an introduction to a group well worth checking out, so take a dive into it below, and better introduce yourself to the group underneath that:

Tell us about yourself?

Hi! We’re Aeroplane Mode and we’re a four-piece dream pop band from Melbourne.

This project has been in the pipeline for years, and finally it’s the right time to get started! We began making music together about three years ago, whilst Will and Carlos were also juggling their other band DIET. After watching Sinead (our singer) play a couple of shows at our local watering hole Nevermind Bar, we were quick to get her on board too. We’re so excited to finally show everyone what we’ve been working on.

What’s the ‘vibe’ music-wise?

We’ve got a big leaning towards sweeping synths, reverb-soaked guitars and lush vocals. Nostalgic, dreamy songs that makes you want to take a deep breath, and switch to aeroplane mode for a moment. We’ve drawn a lot of our inspiration from 80s shoegaze bands as well as local names such as Hatchie, #1 Dads and Sunbeam Sound Machine.

What are your production and writing processes usually like?

We begin with an acoustic guitar and some rough iPhone voice memos. If the song shows promise with just the bare bones, then we’ll flesh it out. Some of our songs are a bit like Frankenstein – mutants of 5 or 6 separate songs that make sense as one cohesive train of thought. The final step is making sure we have a meaningful story within our lyrics, something that speaks to us as a band collectively.

For Settle Down, we’ve worked closely with Nick Bond (Juno Disco) on the production side of things, who also supports us as our live guitarist.

Can you tell us a bit about this new song, Settle Down?

We wanted both the song and the video for Settle Down to act as a real calming agent for those listening/watching. It’s all about taking a quick moment to gather your thoughts, regain control and think clearly. All of us in the band can all think of times where these words would have been useful, so we hope it may serve a good purpose for our listeners whenever they need a (sonic) hug.

What does the rest of 2020 and 2021 have in store for you?

For the rest of the year, we’re putting the finishing touches on our debut EP and we’re currently booking our first run of debut shows for the start of 2021.

What do you want people to take away from the project?

Whether you’re listening to one of our songs or attending one of our shows, we want to provide a little reprieve from the stresses of daily life. We like to think we’re the musical equivalent of a diffuser.

Where can we find more of your music?

This is our first single, but we’ve got a bunch more going through the final processes for release next year. You can find Settle Down on streaming services.

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