David Schluer has unveiled his new musical project The Bad Dreamers.
The Grammy-nominated songwriter, producer and filmmaker has worked with the likes of P!nk, John Legend, New Politics and recently stumbled into his own musical project when looking for music for his new short film ‘The Offer’.
He began to write songs for the film and a spark of inspiration was ignited as he continued writing and opted to record an album blending his synthwave-meets-indie-pop sound with an 80’s influence.
As he prepares to release his first full-length album this autumn, we caught up with David to find out about the singles that helped shape the release.
Stabbing Westward – Shame
This was probably the first lasting introduction I’d ever had to pop or rock music incorporating sounds outside of just the traditional guitars and drums. I saw the video on MTV and there was something about that moment in my life as a young teenager, the dark clothes, the eye makeup, and how heavy it was but still melodic. I was 14 and really into bands like Nirvana, Bush and The Offspring, but Stabbing Westward incorporated a deeper layer of atmosphere into their sound with the analog/modular synthesizers and sequencers. The first keyboard I ever owned was a Yamaha DJX and I think now that I’m writing this, I’m going to find one on eBay and have it sent here right away haha!
Nine Inch Nails – Terrible Lie
I have a song called ‘Part Time God’ on the record that address a very polarizing figure in our world today, I won’t say who it is for fear of turning it into a gimmick…but ‘Terrible Lie’ is the defining NIN song for me because it’s a best-of Trent Reznor at his most experimental point while the band was still on the verge of breaking out. The influence is very apparent.
John Waite – Missing You
No matter what I do, I can’t get around being inspired by this song. I didn’t even discover it until I was in my 20s but the tempo, in particular, has informed a number of songs I’ve written, ‘Who You Run To’ would be the one it inspired on this record.
Primitive Radio Gods – Standing Outside A Broken Phone Booth With Money In My Hand
The last song on my record, ‘What We Think vs. What We Know’ is heavily influenced by two songs in particular – this one and the next on the list. Primitive Radio Gods broke out with this song, it uses a sample of an older B.B. King record in the chorus. This was one of those songs from the 90’s alternative era that a lot of people overlook, but the moment it comes on, wherever you hear it, it immediately changes the mood. I actually hated the song as a kid because it made me feel so lonely when I would listen to it but I can’t get enough of it now.
Annie Lennox – No More I Love You’s
My album starts off with a very heavy dosage of 80’s influence and it ends with ‘What we think…’ and this was an intentional decision. I’m not necessarily saying that I’m walking the listeners through sounds that inspired me in a chronological order from the 80s into the 90’s, but I can say that the record ends on a very 90’s note and the music to come in the future is very heavy, very alternative, and hardly reflective of what is on this record. Annie Lennox’s ‘No More I Love You’s’ tricks the listener into feeling good thanks to the repetitive background vocal, so I more or less took her lead and made it my own with this song. Both hers and mine deal with heavy lyrical content. I also just want to take a moment to personally thank Professor Jordan Peterson for granting me permission to use the audio excerpt from one of his lectures at the end of the track.
You can listen to album track ‘California Winter’ below: