Dawn to Dawn^CA/QC

© Christopher Honeywell

Some musical projects seem destined to happen, as if written in the stars. Dawn to Dawn's story of their first meeting sounds like one of these rare sparks, a musical crush, musicians finding each other and completing each others' sounds in a telepathic way. Montréal-based synth-pop virtuoso Tess Roby and The Beat Escape's Adam Ohr and Patrick Lee began their synergic collaborative project Dawn to Dawn in 2018. After putting out a stream of singles on the internet deliberately, patiently, like rare gems, they finally released their debut album, Postcards from the Sun to the Moon on Roby's SSURROUNDSS label in 2022. Soft soundscapes made of blissful synthesizers are tinged with an intangible sense of longing, or bittersweet nostalgia, they make up the emotional space Roby's vocals inhabit so gracefully. These rich, intimate tones are carried away by minimal, uptempo beats, perfect for the movement of dreaming bodies in space. Their music is a mysterious blend of pop that feels subdued and sober, but also vast, all-enveloping. The three collaborators have toured extensively across Europe and North America, playing festivals such as Moogfest, The Great Escape, and Reeperbahn, and opening for artists such as Nicolas Jaar, Derrick May, Molly Nilsson, and Weyes Blood.

Channeling the sun and the moon, Dawn to Dawn, seeks to create a unifying, mesmerizing experience with their unique blend of ambient, techno and breakbeat. A nostalgic 80s and 90s pop sensibility performed by Adam Ohr and Patrick Lee is shaped by Tess Roby’s intimate vocals, bathing their soft synth-pop in emotional waters, like soothing electronic tides for the body and soul.