Sydney electronic pop trio Art vs Science have achieved just about as much as any established Australian act can. Today, the band share vibrant new single “I Saw You” from their forthcoming album Big Overdrive, due 5 August – their first album in seven years.
“I Saw You” was produced by members Dan Mac and Dan Williams and engineered by Sam Ford (Psychedelic Porn Crumpets) at Tone City Recording Studio in Perth. The dynamic dance track features thumping beats, uplifting synths and surging bass with Jim Finn’s airy vocals floating above. This follows on from 2021 single “SWEAT”, produced by Kim Moyes (The Presets), which peaked at #30 on the ARIA club charts in January.
“The bulk of the forthcoming album was tracked at Dan Mac’s parent’s old place in Dural, in a sweaty hotbox near the attic, using a handful of microphones and a bucketload of vibe,” the band says. “In the course of selecting the music for this long awaited album, some of these rare sessions were uncovered, and the joy and fun embedded within were plain to hear.”
The trio also shared five things that you might not have known about them – get familiar!
- The name Art vs Science was originally going to be the name of producer and old friend Berkfinger’s band The Philadelphia Grand Jury. Dan W was playing drums for them at the time and I guess he pinched the name from them! In all fairness they didn’t want it.
- Jim Finn is a trained pilot, now working for the ABC Kids Record Label (where he truly belongs). Dan Mac has just been admitted as a lawyer in NSW, and Dan W plays drums for almost everyone in the Australian music scene. It seems like everyone’s doing a side hustle these days.
- Dan Mac is the great, great, great, great, great, great grandson of convict and beer maker James Squire. Apparently, this is where he gets his love of beer and crime.
- Dan Mac, Dan W and Jim Finn were previously in a band together with Jim’s brother Tom called Roger Explosion. It was a pop punk band with some classic rock thrown in and it played about 100 shows around Sydney while the four were at university. There were some good and some very cringey songs.
- Art vs Science never signed a record deal. Rather, they had great management in Claire Collins, outstanding luck with the Australian festival scene and triple j They are also, on the whole, quite nice, which perhaps led to people wanting them to play again. Also, they love performing and it shows – there’s a reason why they’re known as one of the best live bands in the country.
It should come as no surprise that Art vs Science won an ARIA for Best Independent Album in 2011 with their debut full-length The Experiment. The trio are regulars at Australia’s biggest festivals, including Falls Festival, Splendour in the Grass and Big Day Out, and will be appearing at Caloundra Music Festival in Queensland on 30 September. You can get your tickets HERE.
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