søftbleach : "We just always want to keep writing songs that people can connect with"

Fresh from the release of their latest single, the UK indie-pop trio discuss escapism, vulnerability, and the creative process behind their music.

Since emerging on the UK indie scene, søftbleach — made up of vocalist Darla Jade, guitarist and bassist Dustin Dooley and drummer Jan Simson — have built a reputation for pairing infectious indie-pop melodies with an emotional honesty that runs deep.

Following the release of their debut EP Neverland and recent single “Rollercoaster”, I caught up with the trio to talk about songwriting, escapism, growing up, and the creative freedom of making music far from traditional studio environments. Reflective, thoughtful, and refreshingly candid, they discussed the stories behind their songs, the evolution of their sound, and the values they hope will continue to define søftbleach in the years ahead.

The title “Neverland” carries a lot of baggage — escape, nostalgia, fantasy, but also the danger of refusing to grow up. What did that word mean to you when you chose it, and did its meaning shift as the EP came together?

With most of our songs, Dustin tends to start with a guitar part first, then Darla finds a melody, and from there the lyrics start to take shape around it. Neverland actually came together really naturally, and we never over thought the title. We’d already written all the songs before we even realised it was becoming an EP, so the title didn’t necessarily influence the direction of the other tracks. Looking back though, it does feel like the songs all share that sense of escapism and emotion in different ways, even if that wasn’t intentional at the time.

There’s a very particular atmosphere across the EP. When you’re building a song, do you usually begin with an emotion, an image, a lyric, or something else entirely?

Usually it starts with melody first, Dustin will find a riff or progression, and then Darla will build a vocal melody over the top of that! From there everything kind of unravels itself naturally! We find a lot of the emotion comes from the melody first before the lyrics even exist. However, Darla always keeps notes of phrases, song titles, and song concepts, so sometimes a melody will suddenly connect with one of those ideas and that becomes the starting point lyrically.

©Natti Shiner

Was there a moment during the making of the EP when the project surprised you — when a song became something completely different from what you first imagined?

We wouldn’t say anything particularly surprised us making this body of work, however if we’re looking back on songs being different — “British Weather” was a song Darla came with and she originally wrote it on a sad guitar loop, so that one definitely was the most changed in terms of what it was and what it is now! We feel as well that some songs definitely have evolved since the EP came out in a live setting! We absolutely love playing “Actually Happy” live as we’ve added a sing a long section and an outro, so that one is super fun!

A lot of debut releases are shaped as much by limitation as intention such as budget, time, available gear. Were there any constraints that ended up defining the Neverland in a positive way?

For us, we’ve always written songs in Dustin’s bedroom, and honestly we love it that way. Some people might see a bedroom setup as limiting, but for us it feels way more freeing creatively. Writing in a huge studio can sometimes feel a bit clinical, whereas being somewhere familiar and comfortable makes it easier to experiment and let ideas happen naturally. Because this was our first project as well, there was no real pressure attached to it, it was mostly just excitement, and we think that really helped shape the energy of the EP in a positive way.

There’s often a gap between the emotions artists are consciously trying to express and what listeners end up hearing. Is there something embedded in one of your songs that you suspect people haven’t fully picked up on yet?

Hmm good question! “Ego Boost” is such a fun song on exterior, but when you strip it back and only look at the lyrics it’s actually kinda sad lyrically - we did a stripped version of it on our socials a while back and it really showed another perspective to the song.

Your latest single “Rollercoaster” got released on the 22nd of April. Can you tell me a bit more about this track?

“Rollercoaster” is about watching someone you care about go through a tough time, the song is really a reminder that even when things feel overwhelming that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and that it’s important to keep going. We wanted it to feel hopeful without ignoring how difficult these times can be. It’s definitely one of our more personal songs, and we’re really proud of how it came together.

©Cara Kealy

Even though it was released quite recently, “Rollercoaster” has been in your set since the beginning, how did it feel to finally have it out in the world ?

Yes, it’s been in our set since day one and honestly it felt soo good when it came out, as when you’ve had audience members asking about it months after they first initially heard it you kinda just wanna be able to give it to them!

Darla you’re from Stoke-on-Trent, and it has such a specific identity — industrial and creative. Do you feel growing up there shaped the way you approach music, even in ways you only recognised later?

I am and I love Stoke, there’s so much talent here and a brilliant community! I definitely think growing up here has shaped the way I approach music, probably more on the behind the scenes side of things. Coming from a smaller town compared to somewhere like London, you realise there are so many opportunities you don’t even know exist at first. Once I started travelling to London and making connections, it really reinforced the idea that you have to go out and look for opportunities and that they don’t just come to you. It’s certainly instilled a strong sense of hustle in me for sure!

Dustin and Jan, even though you’ve been based in London for quite a while now, you are originally from Germany. Can you describe how the indie and alternative music scene is over there?

Jan - So me and Dustin were both based in the countryside, so it was practically non existent! I didn’t really do much music or attend any shows in Germany apart from playing drums in my basement, so I actually have no idea what the scene was really like.

How does it compare to London’s?

I’ve been in London for about 10 years now, so I’m a bit out of touch with what it’s like back home but I know there is a Jazz club in Freiburg that I never actually went to.

If I interviewed you again in five years, what would you hope I identify as the first clue to where søftbleach was headed?

Great question! We’d hope that you’d look back and say that we’ve always been honest with our music and that we were never afraid to talk about harder topics, we just always want to keep writing songs that people can connect with and feel something.