Best Friend Indie Pop Duo Drops New Single "Dinner Date"
Photo Courtesy of Sunrise Academy
The sun is blinding. Kids with knobbly knees and endearingly crooked teeth let out excited whelps of joy, happy to bask in the euphoria of adolescence. Among these summer camp attendees, two thirteen year old boys create an instantaneous bond that would turn into the addictive and organic tunes of Sunrise Academy.
Yakob Dye and Julian Jordan’s childhood friendship filled with campfire songs turned into experimenting with music production in the closets of Jordan’s childhood home. They eventually dropped their debut single, “Wondering Why,” under the band name Sunrise Academy in 2021. The duo’s newest single “Dinner Date” was released June 6.
“A lot of people meet when they start playing music, but it’s crazy to have a best friend and you just happen to do music too. It’s not just like we’re a band,” Dye said. “We’re just like brothers.”
Despite having geographical differences with Dye being born in Ethiopia and Jordan being from East Dallas, both musicians developed an interest in music from a young age. Dye began piano lessons after his adoption and move to Texas and later expanded to guitar, bass and drums while participating in church music groups. Jordan’s passion sprung from his creative centered parents, with his dad being a filmmaker and his mom being a member of choral rock band, The Polyphonic Spree.
“Music is an emotion,” Dye said. “Every feeling I get, I just want to make a song about it. When I’m sad, when I’m happy, I just want to make a song. And this goes back to [Julian and I’s] chemistry, it's our emotions and we’re pouring ourselves into our music. We have a story to tell. We’re here to build friends, build fans and build relationships.”
What sets Sunrise Academy apart from other indie bands is their unapologetic focus on optimism in their work, from their self directed and made music videos to their debut single “Wondering Why” that was created in the midst of a picturesque summer. Their peppy beats can be attributed to their music tastes and positive experiences through their long lasting friendship. They muse that their work will always lean towards the upbeat but note that lyrics and beats in songs like “I Found a Haven” and “Bonafide” juxtaposes different emotions.
“This may sound cliché but people having a good time, getting vitamin D is what I imagine when I think about our songs,” Jordan said. “At night, my perspective is different than in the morning, and Sunrise Academy feels like that morning mindset. In retrospect, there’s a beautiful contrast between upbeat, fun instrumentals and introspective lyrics.”
The duo currently lives a couple hours apart, creating music in their home studios, but their work sounds anything but amateur. The two jokingly discuss Dye’s computer difficulties that arise when they work on their music, but agree that a professional studio and equipment does not always result in good tunes.
“A lot of people think you need really expensive equipment but some people make songs on their phones, like Steve Lacy, made songs on his phone that blew up,” Jordan said. “We have little, simple home studios but we are getting traction. Work with what you have because most of the time, if it's good enough people won’t know the difference.”
“Dinner date” was written in three days with the intent of being a cute, relatable and simple song for listeners. The simplistic but upbeat nature of the song with lyrics like, “So come on in, no need to give a knock on my door/ I set the table out for two” stems from adoration for the small joys in life like sharing a meal with loved ones.
“You can’t over complicate a dinner date otherwise it will be bad, that's the essence of the song,” Jordan said. “A dinner date should be simple, romantic and fun, nothing more.”
“Dinner Date” is available on Spotify and other streaming platforms now.
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