daydreamers is made up of Riley (vocals, guitar), from the Southampton area of the UK, Aurora (bass), described as half-Finnish and half-Spanish, Jay (drums), also UK-based, and Marco (guitar), from Italy. Despite the variety of cultural upbringings, the band is now strictly London-based.
Riley, who lacked a solid music scene back home during his homeschool years, later moved to Brighton and attended the esteemed Brighton School of Music. “I’m grateful I went, but my experience was probably quite different from a lot of people, ‘cause I always had a real intention of what I wanted to do,” he said. “In a way, for me, it was kind of like delaying your life for three years so that you can just work at what you want to work at and write songs. It definitely wasn’t for the degree.”
Deemed, “the ideas guy,” of the group, amongst other business-related tasks, Riley is primarily focused on the songs. With three hours and a laptop, he can, and often does, make more headway on his own than in a writing session. He can easily pinpoint the strengths of the other members of the band, rounding out the kind of cohesion that can often take time to develop.
“Jay is so meticulously organized with playing live, the setup, the backing,” he explained. “Equally, Aurora is so good with the Discord and the WhatsApp. She has such a connection with the fans that is unique to her. I think people fall into these roles… just adopt what they’re good at. I remember someone telling me, ‘You can never be too crazy.’ It’s a bit extreme, but you have to want to die for it… and then you lead the way with that intention.”
While discussing the vision of the group… knowing what the music is, so that the content, the videos, and the overall image all fall into place, he stared up and out of the car window, almost lost in serene thought. “I like to think the lyrics are very fresh and modern, and what I want to say is relevant now,” he continues. “I like that nostalgia. I like music that isn’t overly compressed, or so ridiculously high-endy that it hurts. Even down to the instruments that I use. I like the synths that were used in records that I loved… a Juno, a Moog, same for electric guitar and bass.”
