Vogue and GQ Solstice Sounds headliner Lastlings: No longer new kids on the electro-pop block
Josh and Amy Dowdle, the talented siblings behind electronic group Lastlings, will headline Sydney’s biggest Solstice party.
For musical siblings Amy and Josh Dowdle, the label “up and comer” is something they are hoping to shake.
Despite their relative youth – Josh is 27 and Amy is 21 – the Gold Coast duo behind electronic band Lastlings have been performing for long enough to feel the moniker no longer applies.
“We’ve been called up and comers for a while now,” Josh says. “But we’ve done the rounds for about six years and have been working pretty hard at it.” In that time, they’ve amassed an impressive tour resume to date, having performed at Coachella, Red Rocks and, according to Josh, “most major venues in Australia”.
Last month, they wrapped up their national tour, promoting their debut EP, First Contact; a hypnotic compilation of synth and electro-pop tracks inspired by the pair’s Japanese heritage and science-fiction action films such as Blade Runner and Ghost in the Shell.
The performers, who are preparing to move to Melbourne later this month, have already started work on new music and are hoping to see a return of big concert events later in the year.
“We really hope the festivals go ahead towards the end of the year because it would be great to start playing those bigger festivals again,” Josh says.
While music is clearly their focus, the pair has also been courted by the fashion world, appearing in campaigns for the likes of Reebok and Champion. And it’s not hard to see why. Josh wouldn’t look out of place on a Milan Fashion Week runway, while Amy – with her sharp cheekbones, naturally full lips and effortless edginess – has the trappings of a modern Chanel muse.
It’s fitting, then, that Amy is planning to wear a design from the luxury Parisian fashion house when she and Josh take to the stage at Sunday’s Vogue & GQ Solstice Sounds miniseries.
“I love Chanel,” she says of the iconic brand, which offered to dress her for the performance.
Lastlings joins Brisbane singer songwriter Sycco, rapper Masked Wolf and Mia Wray in the line-up for the two-day concert series, which will take place at Sydney’s State Theatre on June 19 and 20 as part of the NSW government’s Sydney Solstice festival.
“It celebrates what’s so wonderful about our CBD,” Vogue Australia editor-in-chief Edwina McCann says of the festival. “It’s such a great cultural centre of Australia, and we need to get it going again. It’s really important that we get back shopping, entertaining and enjoying our CBD.”
For tickets and information on the Vogue & GQ Solstice Sounds miniseries and Sydney Solstice festival visit sydneysolstice.com