Bluey: Dance Mode!
‘Dance Mode’ is the exciting follow up to the award-winning, number 1 debut ‘Bluey: The Album’. Bringing together 17 brand new recordings from series 1, 2 and 3, all originally composed by Joff Bush.
Shop NowCelebrating the Year of Dance Mode! An Interview with Composer Joff Bush
activate dance mode in day 22 of bluey’s Christmas countdown as we look back at one of The Biggest moments of Bluey’s Year with composer Joff Bush.
One of the highlights of 2023 was the release of Bluey’s second album: Dance Mode! In an exclusive interview, Bluey composer Joff Bush (who also voices the Busker dog in the show) answers questions about the Chatter-ific album.
1. After the success of the first Bluey Album, What Influenced you to theme the second album around Dance?
One of the most requested tracks was Dancemode! And I thought you know what? Let’s start with the title, ‘Dance Mode!’ and see where that takes us.
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2. What is the song from the album that gets the most stuck in your head?
Honestly, probably Cat Squad! I’m always singing in meows around the house and I finally got to use that ‘talent’ to make a song!
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3. Which song were you most excited for everyone to hear? Do you have a favourite song from the album?
There’s a little tune we made with Meg Washington called ‘The Gnome Song’ which is based on her improvisation in Calypso. We’ve made a whole new song out of it (well mostly Meg did). It’s not like anything else we’ve done or anything anyone’s really heard from the show too but still “Blueyesque”
4. How dID you choose the order of songs on the album?
There’s a bit of a hidden story / through line we made up. Sometimes it’s obvious, like when we shift from ‘The Gnome Song’ into the start of ‘Army’ but generally we thought of it as Side A and Side B.
‘Side A’ is full on dance party – upbeat games and dance music you can party along with. ‘Side B’ is more story driven – a little more intimate, emotional and chilled.
5. What was the quickest song to write and the longest song to write? Do you ever get writers block?
I don’t ever get writers block. Everything I need to know about writing the music from the show is in the story of the episode – so there’s always a starting point to bounce back to when I get stuck.
Hard to say what was the quickest because so much of it comes out in the process of producing it. Often we’ll find a new melody or extra idea during the recording process that becomes irresistible to ignore and we’ll scramble to find a musician to play it.
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6. Is the process the same for every song? Do the tracks play in your mind fully formed or are there 188 drafts of Cat Squad out there?
Oh very different. Bluey’s unique in that we make not only a new tune for each episode but often a completely new approach to the musical dramaturgy. Cat Squad! was somehow one draft though. (Haha!)
7. Which instrument haven’t you had the chance to use in a song yet that you are waiting to use?
Not sure about this but I did get a new Melodica that has little panpipes in it – so it sounds like a tin whistle and I ended up using that quite a lot on this album because I became a little obsessed with it.
8. What usually comes first the episode or the music?
Episode always. Very occasionally I’ll have a little tune that I’ve written in the past that I adapt for the episode but that’s super rare. The unique story influences what the music will be each time. It’s like we start from scratch and treat each episode like it’s own short film.
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9. If you could choose one artist to collaborate on a Bluey track who would it be?
I think it would be all the artists I collaborate with on the show already. I’m very lucky to work on this album with Meg Washington, Steve Peach, Pluto Jonze and Jazz D’Arcy. All the fabulous musicians are already my dream collabs too. They make me a better musician and are as much a part of the Bluey musical world as I am. Sorry to be cheesy.
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10. Describe the album in 3 words.
Fun, Sweet and human
Preview the album
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