Melbourne electro-pop artist BUFFY is getting ready to release her debut EP, Deep Days and Dark Nights. The EP, which is out on January 14th, features a quartet of songs that are perfect for a range of moods, from the soaring and funky Why Don't You Stop to the brooding and sultry title track.

It's a project that sees BUFFY working with amazingly talented collaborators in Alice Ivy, Aphir and Roy Bing, A lot of love has gone into the visuals for this EP, too, with Why Don't You Stop, Dance Alone and Cruel all having accompanying music videos.

Speaking about the project as a whole, BUFFY says, "Deep Days and Dark Nights represents a metamorphosis; the silver lining of being pushed around." It's a relatable feeling for many people, as a lot of change has taken place over the last couple of years, even if the world around us has been somewhat on hold.

We're premiering the title track from the EP below, as well as walking through Deep Days and Dark Nights with BUFFY, who's written about how each song on the EP came together. Read on to learn more about how the project came together, as well as hear the title track from Deep Days and Dark Nights for the first time!

Why Don't You Stop

I actually wrote Why Don't You Stop over a really heavy trance beat. It was so hectic! I felt it just didn't sit right and I heard more of a Daft Punk and Red Hot Chilli Peppers funk guitar vibe, so I was keen to explore how else the production could sound. I'd admired Alice Ivy for a long time and knew she was a killer on the bass and as a producer so I sent her my topline. She was keen, so we got together and the collab just meshed. 

Why Don’t You Stop is about pining for someone to love you back, and being stuck in a cycle where you're unable to move past old feelings. It's still a very cheeky song, so it still has these little sparkles of hope within the darkness. The music video was shot by Dom Gould (who's worked with Alice Ivy and Sycco), and due to the COVID restrictions, the music vid had to be shot by two units - one in Melbourne where we shot my scene, and one unit in Queensland. I was so happy with the clip. It evokes a SoCal feel which is just what I wanted!

Dance Alone 

I wrote Dance Alone while in one of our long covid lockdowns. I was really overwhelmed by how much people grabbed onto music and movement as self-help to overcome the boredom and sadness. It really felt as if everyone was really trying desperately to escape the reality and loneliness - the mood was pretty heavy. Dancing alone with music turned up really loud was almost all we had left to try and get through it.

I got together with the crew that shot some Tones And I and Masked Wolf clips and we wrote a treatment to give light to that sense of escape. I really wanted to portray that women can have strength beyond the normal stereotype. Plus, I got to drive an Aston Martin - yiewww!

Deep Days and Dark Nights

When I wrote Deep Days and Dark Nights and sent it through to Rory Grounds (who's worked with Tyron Hapi and Carla Wehbe) to crank up the production I was kind of scared, because the timing of the song is left field, and because my only reference was to make the drums like Welcome To Heartbreak, a track off Kanye's album, 808's and Heartbreak, while keeping it BUFFY-esque.

Rory totally got what I was getting at and was a total legend. It really was one of the hardest songs to record, I think because the song is about fucking up really bad. There were definitely a few tears while recording vocal takes with my engineer and friend Becki Whitton (aka Aphir). 

READ MORE: Our Predictions For Music In 2022

Cruel

Cruel was the most exciting release for me, as it was my first single for this new BUFFY project. TBH the animated music video was just as exciting for me to release. The clip is this amazing intoxicating science fiction dystopian place with a drag race, spaceships, aliens and magic.

Both the song and clip go hand in hand - both dark and alluring, all about desire. That feeling you have of wanting someone, despite something maybe being wrong, but even though you know it’s not right, you can't help yourself.