Darby Shares a Little Bit of "Everything"

Following the release single “Everything,” Darby spoke about his musical origins, relationship with other artists, and career trajectory.

Despite being a newcomer to the dance music space, 22-year-old Australian producer Darby has already begun making fruitful strides in his in career. The artist debuted his first solo EP in 2019, having started his career writing and producing music for the project Sneaker Kids. A few years later, he appeared on San Holo’s deluxe bb u ok? album with an official remix. The support and acknowledgement from fellow industry giants – a list that includes Illenium, Alison Wonderland, and NGHTMRE – is only a small indication of the growth Darby has had over the years.

In addition to the peer support, Darby recently found a following on TikTok after posting a snippet of his song “Everything.” With an outpour of positive reactions, the producer officially released the song via San Holo’s bitbird label this week. It’s hard to classify anything that Darby makes and “Everything” is no different. It boasts a little bit of, well, everything. Blustering punches of bass, glitchy effects that vividly glitter, and moments that bring it all together make the single a standout culmination of Darby’s distinct sound thus far. With the release of his single, we had the opportunity to learn more about his background in music, his relationship with fellow electronic artists, and the path he’s forging for himself with every new project.

Listen to Darby’s “Everything” on Spotify or stream the single via your favorite music platform, and keep reading for our interview.

Stream Darby – “Everything” on Spotify:

Hi Darby, thanks so much for chatting with us today. Can you share a little bit about your background and how you got started producing music?

Hey, I’m Darby. I’m a 22-year-old Australian songwriter/producer. I started music under Darby in late 2019 and have been going strong ever since. My background has a big variety of styles and influences, so it’s culminated into a style of “Euphoric Nostalgia” that I like to express through my music. Appreciate you having me!

In your Spotify bio, it’s mentioned that you’ve produced music for the group Sneaker Kids. Can you share how you got involved with the group and how being involved has shaped your musical journey?

Yeah, that’s my band/side-project. I do a lot of behind the scenes production for them and other non-electronic projects in general. Pop music is deceptively simple. It is by far the hardest genre to write an above-average song for; it’s forced a lot of important creative challenges for me, so I’ve become a much stronger songwriter because of that project, since we focus on a big variety of pop, indie, hip-hop, etc.

Despite having debuted your first EP more recently in 2019, you’ve already provided an official remix for San Holo and are now releasing music with his label. How does it feel to have such major support from him and what was your initial reaction to being able to remix “bb u ok?”

Actually met San in LA last year. He was such a chill and supportive dude in real life. I’m grateful to have bigger artists in the scene that are so down to earth in terms of supporting me. He actually was a HUGE supporter of the remix from the moment I put it out too, and even played it a ton in his live shows. I was always super grateful to have it on the official album.

Similarly, you saw support from NGHTMRE and Big Gigantic when they played your remix at EDC Las Vegas. What was that like to hear your music playing at such a massive festival?

Was so awesome, I was freaking out when fans at the show started sending me videos. Being in Australia, you kind of miss out on seeing a lot of those U.S. show experiences, so seeing a massive mainstage crowd of people resonate with my music is always special. Big Gigantic and NGHTMRE were super friendly after too. They still support my project pretty regularly which I think is so cool of them.

How do you feel your new single, “Everything,” reflects your growth as an artist thus far? Is there anything new you’ve learned about yourself or the production process while working on the single?

“Everything” is the first UKG track I’ve released, but is still honestly very much a Darby track, stylistically. It came from such an innocent and fun place, like, I wrote most of it so quickly while spamming tons of catchy ear candy sounds and interesting samples from friends. It gave it a proper personal edge. It retaught me that the magic of a song can be in its simplicity, and how distinguishable my style is regardless of genre.

You originally released a preview of “Everything” on TikTok and saw a lot of positive feedback around it. In what ways do you think the platform has changed the way music is released or marketed?

Yeah, they absolutely loved this tune. TikTok is a massively untapped reservoir for marketing in the electronic scene. It’s all about grabbing the listener instantly with grand show casings of your aesthetic/sound. My style lends itself so well to that format, so I’ve adapted alongside it with my flashy, colorful, “lighting in a bottle-esque” aesthetic. People on there don’t want to be sold a product. They want to feel like they’re discovering their new favorite artist organically, and that’s exactly what I provide.

Seradopa worked with you to create the cover art for the single. What kind of vision did you have for the art while collaborating with him on it, and how do you think it reflects the song?

LOVE Seradopa. I’ve been wanting to work on a project with him for a long time now. We mood-boarded 7+ pages worth of ideas for artworks, trailers, assets, colors, symbols, storyboarding. It was very collaborative. I rented out a cinema room projector and put everything on a big screen for the photoshoot as well. I was so happy with how it came out in the press pics and trailers.

My main visual inspiration was the movie Everything Everywhere All at Once. I wanted to recreate all the flashy, euphoric visual board shots they creating in their universe. Such a good movie. Color is an extremely important element of all my music and artwork, so we had to make sure it was represented that way consistently.

Finally, as you continue producing music, what are some goals you hope to accomplish?

This year’s already big. My upcoming releases, remixes, and collabs are things I always dreamed of when starting out. My main goal is just to connect with more people. I don’t think enough listeners know about Darby yet, and I want to give new fans something to talk about. I’m planning to travel soon to meet more of my international creative friends too. That sort of collaboration is important. Ultimately, I just want to make a project I’m proud of and I know we’re finally reaching that.