After their recent return in a Nissan Micra, DREGG have kept things rolling by releasing a new single and video “Hyperbole”. Signature DREGG with an expect the unexpected chaos, “Hyperbole” is a hectic and heavy look at the ridiculousness of the world we live in.
I reached out to DREGG with some questions about the new single, firstly why “Hyperbole” is sung as ‘hyper-bowl’ instead of ‘high-per-boll-ee’. The word fiend in me needed to know what was going on there! Vocalist Christopher Mackertich shared that while it was initially a mistake, it was one that worked well in terms of the song’s concept of not taking things seriously, and doing things your own way. He says:
“If I’m being completely honest! I thought it was pronounced ‘Hyper Bowl’. Then my friend Chloe corrected me, and I felt like an idiot, but also realised how perfectly that ties in with the song [laughs]. That’s why we added the cool little dictionary voice in there. My bad!”
The song comes across like an exercise in contradictions. Is that what inspired it?
“100%, someone who is constantly trying to find ways to be the best version of their self has to contradict themselves over and over to get to the right spot. I just wanted to write a song for anyone who felt like they’re stuck in cycle of convincing themselves they’re not crazy. Story of my life.”
Concepts like hype, false information, going against the grain, and the impact that has on someone are covered in “Hyperbole”. It’s a bit like DREGG are the superheroes backing the odd ones doing their own thing and not buying into that stuff. Is that what you’d like to be known for?
“That’s the goal, the voice for the weirdos. And not just people who dress funky and have an aesthetic Instagram. The real weirdos. Those people that everyone thinks is a little off, but blossom into an amazing individual. People that are constantly freaking out over what being alive means. People who aren’t afraid to call the world out on it’s bullshit.”
The whole nonsensical factor of life is pretty obvious both in the song and the video, I love that you seem to have a good time just playing around with concepts. What was the plan going into the video?
“We prefer to leave video concepts open for interpretation, but we definitely wanted a visual those showed how insane we feel sometimes thinking the way we do.”
You show education for the Australian heavy music scene in the video. I can’t tell if it’s taking the piss or serious, but it’s attention grabbing for sure! What’s with that?
“The main point we wanted to get across was rule number 2 with the pie chart: This industry is full of a lot of bullshit politics and most people are just here to have fun.”
The whole idea of being too serious while also being a creative is interesting to me. Have you found a happy medium for yourselves there as a band too?
“The secret is to be serious in your dedication, in your passion and in your message. Enjoy the rest of it; music isn’t a competition, it’s a lifestyle. Treat it as such and don’t get caught up playing games. You’re responsible for your own experience as an artist.”
The DREGG lineup seems to have had a change. Can you tell me about that?
“We’ve welcomed our long time merch guy Zov [Aiden Zovic] into the band on bass. This tour will be his first time performing on a stage ever in his life and he’s been playing bass for about 3-4 months now [laughs]. He better not fuck up.”
Is the single part of something bigger to come?
“Just a single. But we’re chipping away at other stuff.”
Keen for the Hellions tour? What might we expect?
“Hell yeah we’re keen! And it’s DREGG, expect the unexpected.”
Watch “Hyperbole” via YouTube below. See DREGG in the flesh with Hellions by grabbing tickets here: https://hellions.tix.to/Australia
