Local the Neighbour
Photo credit Teja Binti Solah
Melbourne-via-Darwin artist Local the Neighbour has released a sparkly new single ‘Point Guard’. The seasoned musician says ‘Point Guard’ pays tribute to loved ones and connections. Local the Neighbour, aka jazz-drummer-turned-indie-rock-connoisseur David Quested is one of a new era of musicians, classically trained and educated in his craft and using that knowledge to write beautiful songs that touch the depth of life’s reality. We spoke to Daniel/Local the Neighbour about his transition from Jazz to mainstream Indie-Pop, his thoughts on his music being dubbed “Nostolgic” and how a Bon Iver album changed his future path.
Local the Neighbour, for those who haven’t heard your music before, how do you describe your sound?
Hey, and thanks for having me:)
I guess a blanket description is indie/rock or indie/pop. But to be honest I’m not sure! People have thrown around the word ‘nostalgic’ when talking about my music and to be honest, I’ve got no idea what they mean exactly, but I’ve genuinely lost count of how many times people have said that word to me in relation to my music haha. I might start a tally!
Tell us about your new song 'Point Guard'? What does the song mean to you?
To me, it’s about my girlfriend and just feeling grateful for the good things in my life. But overall it’s just about the people you love and hold dear.
You made the video with your Girlfriend, who's idea was the concept for it? Any memorable moments during the making of it?
Yeah, you’ve done your homework! So, I’d been throwing around the idea of purely owning a super 8 camera. I’m a big fan of the aesthetic, especially how it can make things feel quite emotional through very DIY processes. Instant vibe!
My birthday is very close to Christmas, so my girlfriend (plus some friends and family) had the idea to finally get me the camera after hearing me talk about it so much. Once I had it, this song just gave me a good reason to shoot, so everything fell into place pretty quickly. I had an overall vibe of how I wanted things to look and from there we just tried to capture those things!
“I change my mind all the time and people hate that I live so flexibly!”
Can we expect a full length 'Local the Neighbour' album out anytime soon or will you be sticking to single releases?
Hmm, look maybe not a full album this year, but definitely an EP in the foreseeable future. Although, who knows. I change my mind all the time and people hate that I live so flexibly!
You moved from Darwin to Melbourne to further your music career, was that a hard decision to make and then execute?
The decision to move - not at all. I think Darwin is similar to a small country town, where if you want to pursue certain avenues, it can be hard to do so in that town/city. Melbourne is such a big musical hub in Australia, it just made sense that was the place to be!
However, execution was another thing! I really didn’t know how I could make the move sustainable and be a part of a network quickly, so studying made the most sense (even though I strongly believe you don’t need to study music to be a great musician). My main instrument was drums, but when I looked into university courses, I realised the main university courses either taught classical or jazz. Jazz was the only one that allowed me to play the actual drum-kit, so I had to learn that style of music in a year, after playing rock music my entire life. To make it worse, no one played jazz music in Darwin, or even really knew what it was! It was quite daunting, as I remember the first time I sat down to actually play jazz music with people (and not by myself with headphones on) was in one of my auditions. It was such a funny experience, but thankfully everything worked out!
Your music study has been based around Jazz Music, with you studying in such prestigious schools such as the Victorian College of the Arts and UCLA in America. What made you decide to go down the Indie/Rock path now?
It’s a bit of a story with many ends to it, but a somewhat short version is: Bon Iver.
When I was in high school that world was always my intended destination - all I played was indie/rock/pop and I loved it! When I got to music school, a lot of that music was kind of laughed at, and in many ways I suppressed it in order to be taken seriously by peers or lecturers.
Towards the end of my degree, I thought I wanted to pursue a career as a jazz musician and went abroad to study in the US (the source/origin of jazz), however when I got there I just didn’t think it was for me and felt quite confused about it all. I had stumbled across the Bon Iver, Bon Iver album and I really fell in love with it and realised that it’s best to just follow what I always wanted to do. That album (and some other events) really opened up my perspective on music and I can’t speak highly enough of it! Seriously, I could go on forever about the memories (when listening to that album) and impact that music has had on me.
“Everything about that sentence is quite funny to me, but it’s the most ‘Mac Demarco’ interaction I can imagine. He’s amazing! I even had that on my CV for a period of time haha.”
Your professional resume so far is already very impressive, but what's been the highlight so far for you?
Thanks so much! I’ve been quite fortunate to do some really cool things. It’s funny because when I was younger, certain gigs would really stick with me, but then you get to a point where you’re doing it more frequently so things don’t stand out as much! There are some projects I work on with some close friends that every time I’m a part of, I feel excited!
Although my career highlight is when Mac Demarco kissed me on my head when he was saying goodbye to me at his after party in London. Everything about that sentence is quite funny to me, but it’s the most ‘Mac Demarco’ interaction I can imagine. He’s amazing! I even had that on my CV for a period of time haha.
Do you have plans to tour or hit the festival circuit soon? Are there any events you would particularly like to play at?
Nothing planned in hard detail, but definitely hoping to eventually! At the moment I’m working on more music that I’m excited to release soon!
How did you get your start in music?
I begged my mum for a drum kit or guitar from the age of 4, but sadly she just sent me to piano lessons! But after a consistent 9 years more of begging I finally got a drum set, and that’s pretty much it!
Do you play a part in the production side of your music?
Yeah I do! I produce all my own music. I absolutely love that side of things, it’s so interesting and exciting. I’m obsessed with how you can produce a song in so many different ways, and each one feels totally different, and you have to figure out which one serves the song best.
Who do you credit as your musical influences?
Blink 182 and Good Charlotte when I was really young. I love Bon Iver a lot! Radiohead, Paramore, and Alex G are also people I love.
Living or Dead, who would your ultimate Collab Partner be for Local the Neighbour?
This is TOUGH!! I think for Local the Neighbour, it’d have to be the Paramore crew. Everyone in that band can do so much and they’re all so different. I love that both the drummer and guitarist are both producers now, and Hayley just has the perfect energy as a front woman and songwriter. Incred!
“Going to release more music! Play more shows! Then repeat those two things forever!”
Who in your crew or team deserves a shout out but never gets one? And what is it they do that keeps your world turning?
Definitely my girlfriend. The running joke is that she’s actually Local the Neighbour and I’m just the face of it. Without her I’d have no one to bounce my ideas off of, or tell me when I’m overworking myself on a terrible idea. I also like to work on my music really late into the morning like 4-5am, and she’ll sometimes put an alarm on or something to make sure I don’t go too much further, otherwise I'd probably just keep on going if I could! But it’s definitely not that productive once you get mega late.
She has also done a lot of my photography and a lot of the graphic work!
Where to from here for Local the Neighbour? What's in store for you next?
Going to release more music! Play more shows! Then repeat those two things forever!
Interview by Michelle Symes
June 2022