Last month, Larry Heath had a chat with Darwin Deez - in the country now for the annual Parklife Festival extravaganza! David Young fills us in on what went down during the chat...

If you or anyone you know have found yourselves informing everyone around you of the fact they are a radar detector – usually in a shrill high voice – then you've experienced the kooky, crazy and insanely catchy world of Darwin Deez. It's been an exciting year for Deez – real name Darwin Smith – who has evolved into one of 2010's biggest indie sensations, thanks to songs like “Radar Detector,” from the self-titled debut record released in May. On the line from London, Deez is taking some time off to let it all sink in – surprisingly, out of anyone, the man himself was least expectant of this almost-overnight success. 

“It's nice to have a bit of time off – I've been touring relentlessly for about ten and a half months,” he mentions with a haziness in his voice. He's not going to make any complaints about life on the road, however. “I kinda like it,” he responds when questioned on the touring life. “I like living out of a backpack – it's simple. It's like I have a new life, a new job this year. It's like a dream come true.” It certainly comes as a change for Darwin, a Wesleyan University graduate and, up until very recently, a restaurant worker. Believe it or not, the eccentric singer-songwriter was still a working class man when the year began. 

“I'd decided in February, when I was still working in a restaurant, that the next goal was to quit that job,” he notes, with a genuine sense of bewilderment in his voice that it actually ended up happening. “I achieved that goal much quicker than I thought I would. I gave myself five years at the job, and it turns out it wouldn't even take that long. I took a little time off in the Middle East before I knew I was ready. It's exciting – it's a great change of pace for me, because I was starting to get bored.” 

Indeed, the music of Darwin Deez portrays a man with a vivid imagination that could never be shackled down to something as everyday as working in a restaurant. From the endless curls that make up his hair to the bizarre lyrical quips that escape his mouth (“If freckles don't mean anything/Does anything mean anything?”), Deez is a truly quirky individual. This is reflected in the eponymous debut, which has seen some big business in the overseas market but is yet to fully impact on Darwin's native home. “It's slow-going in New York,” he says with a stern sense of honesty. “We're just trying to get listed on blogs and stuff like that. It's a funny game these days.” 

Indeed, the music career of Darwin thus far could be deemed a 'funny game.' It was only on the off chance that a label exec saw Darwin performing in Germany that he and his band were signed up and the man and his music were brought to a worldly attention. “I did a tour with another band in Europe as a guitarist back in February of 2009,” recalls Deez, referring to his time as guitarist in New York band Creaky Boards – yep, the band best known for their lead singer claiming that Chris Martin stole their song to make Viva La Vida. “I played a few of my solo songs before the band set. This was mostly in Germany, and it turned out that one of the people that we are now working with saw us perform. He signed us to a label because that was the kind of music that appealed to them. I guess it was the right market for that music. I mean, they were really responding to it. Germany, man...they love their pop music over there, and in England.” 

Along with England and Germany, Darwin lists Australia as one of the three countries that have been the most actively supportive of his music. Triple J, in particular, has spun all three singles from the record on a frequent basis, making him somewhat of a dark horse for the Hottest 100. 

His visit to Australia for the Parklife festival also marks the first time he's ever been to the country – for either business or pleasure. “I've never been to Australia yet, so I still don't really know what the scene is,” he says. “But I do get the feeling that there's a serious interest [in my music]. It's a really good start, and I hope that the other places in the world start to realise what you guys have already realised.” No doubt they will, Darwin. And, hey, if they don't, at least you've still got those crazy people walking around telling everyone that they're radar detectors.