[Edited from what could be heard due to audio issues]
Breakbone: I'm here with My Daydreams. For anyone who hasn't had the opportunity to know you yet, who are you guys and what is My Daydreams?
My Daydreams: We've always thought of My Daydreams less of a 'band' and more as a concept. We're a duo. We're Kisna and Ashanti. We treat music as an art form that lets us say things we can't always express in our normal lives. The project has existed in one form or another for years, but we count last year as the moment it truly became active. That's when it all clicked.
Breakbone: So My Daydreams is almost an extension of who you are as people?
My Daydreams: Exactly. We don't separate the art from ourselves. When you meet us off-stage, you'll recognise the same energy you see amplified onstage. The 'band' is essentially us; we're just living out our own daydreams.
Breakbone: Woah, you guys are really unique then. What sparked the idea to make music in the first place?
My Daydreams: We never planned to. Our mum put us in guitar lessons 'just in case,' and we hated it. Then we saw Twenty One Pilots in 2018. That night kinda changed everything. Watching how music affected people showed us a healthier way to express all the feelings we'd been bottling up since high school. We started writing poems, those poems became lyrics, and before long the songs wrote themselves. Really, My Daydreams was always there, that night was just the spark that made it a reality.
Breakbone: I totally relate, seeing The Killers' drummer Ronnie Vannucci make eye contact with me and toss his drumstick during my first concert made me realise that music is freedom. Music gives you a way to be yourself and find your own voice.
My Daydreams: It really can. High school wasn't a friendly place for us. Focusing on music gave us a purpose. Once we began playing live, and seeing people connect with our music like how we connected with other artists' music confirmed that purpose. We've already played more than 30 shows since last year, and every one reminds us why we started.
Breakbone: So, performing is your way of connecting with other people's souls?
My Daydreams: That's the goal. We never want to lose the feeling we had at that first concert, of being part of something bigger than ourselves.
Breakbone: Kurt Cobain once said 'music is freedom'. Does that resonate with you?
My Daydreams: Absolutely. Our symbol is a butterfly which symbolises metamorphosis. Change is inevitable; a caterpillar doesn't think about becoming a butterfly, it just happens. Our music tries to ride that change rather than resist it.
Breakbone: You've hinted that high school was rough. Can you share how that shaped your writing?
My Daydreams: High school was tumultuous. We were two brown girls in a place that didn't feel very multicultural, so we gravitated toward books and isolation. Anger at the world can easily turn inward, so writing became a way to process that instead of self-destruct. A lot of those early journal entries became lyrics.
Breakbone: Woah, so from pain comes something beautiful. What's your typical songwriting process now?
My Daydreams: It usually starts with a chord progression. From there we project whatever we're feeling onto the music, dive into literature for inspiration, and ask one big question: 'What can someone else take from this?' Once a song leaves our bedroom, it belongs to anyone who needs it. That's why we chose the name My Daydreams, so listeners feel ownership too. We almost called ourselves No Regrets!
Breakbone: No Regrets?
My Daydreams: Yes, horrible, right? I doodled 'Daydreams' on a biology worksheet, showed it to Ashanti, and it just stuck. Adding 'My' made it personal.
Breakbone: How would you describe your sound? Dream-pop, goth, what's the label?
My Daydreams: We hear everything from 'gothic rock' to 'alt-pop,' but we call it 'confessional.' No matter the texture, heavy guitars, airy synths, whatever, we're always confessing something true.
Breakbone: Does your background influence your music?
My Daydreams: More and more. Onstage we wear bindis, and we're experimenting with Indian scales and even sitar textures. Culturally, owning who we are makes the music feel more honest.
Breakbone: I've noticed that one of you plays guitar left-handed. How does that work?
My Daydreams: We're mirror twins, Kisna's left-handed, Ashanti's right-handed, so the symmetry is natural. As twins we share that bond and comes through our music.
Breakbone: Any new music?
My Daydreams: A new single called 'Malibu', more shows, and then a record themed around that butterfly metamorphosis we mentioned. The goal is the same, create a space where change feels safe, and everyone can claim the daydream as their own.
Breakbone: You play without a bassist or drummer. How do you pull that off live?
My Daydreams: When high school ended, we started booking valley shows, but we kept getting kicked out for being under-18! Once we were finally allowed onstage, we worried audiences might reject two guitars and no rhythm section. Then we realised: no one else around here was doing it, so why not be the first? We embraced the learning curve, stepping on DI boxes, falling over cables, because those 'mistakes' became our favourite memories.
Breakbone: Has sticking to a duo helped creatively?
My Daydreams: Definitely. In our old high-school band it was hard to find people who matched our work ethic; we spend every spare minute writing, reading, refining. As a duo we can critique each other without ego. One day we may add a drummer, but the core will always be the two of us.
Breakbone: Onstage, who plays lead and who plays rhythm?
My Daydreams: It changes song to song, even mid-song. Whichever tone serves the track takes the lead.
Breakbone: Are you guys more perfectionists or free-flow creatives?
My Daydreams: We had a couple of vocal lessons for diaphragm basics, then bailed. We never wanted studio-perfect vocals; we wanted character. Think Tom Yorke or Jonathan Davis, raw edges that make the emotion believable.
Breakbone: Guitar-nerd question: favourite chords?
My Daydreams: Anything with 7ths, 9ths, even the occasional tritone. Those tensions ask questions instead of giving answers, which suits our lyrical themes, heavy topics you can still dance to.
Breakbone: As young women in the scene, any advice for others?
My Daydreams: You'll often be the only woman on the bill, and in our case, the youngest too. See that as power, not a handicap. Someone in every room will support you: a soundie, another band, a stranger who becomes a friend. Stay grounded, remember why you're doing this, and lean into what makes you different. Authenticity always wins.
Breakbone: What's the best way people can support you?
My Daydreams: Show up, physically or digitally. Stream the songs, share them, come to gigs, especially local and all-ages shows. Giving women and younger artists safe stages is huge. Awareness and presence keep the scene alive.
Breakbone: Speaking of gigs, any all-ages dates coming?
My Daydreams: Our EP launch will be all-ages, with merch and pop-up art from friends Ashton and Reese. We want younger fans to finally see us live.
Breakbone: Let's talk about the EP. Would you like to say some words about it?
My Daydreams: It's called 'Maladaptive.' We love self-titled records, but naming it My Daydreams felt limiting. 'Maladaptive' is a nod to maladaptive daydreaming, it's a bit of a self-title that captures who we are without boxing us in. Genre-wise it's all over the map, but the constant is us. Singles and music videos drop soon, complete with lore, Easter eggs, and a disassociation-themed storyline.
Breakbone: Any shout-outs?
My Daydreams: Sebastian and Tony, first fans who told us we made them start writing music. Dan from Trinityde/Tomahawk. And our parents, who drive us to shows, critique demos, and preach consistency over fleeting motivation.
Breakbone: Do you kinda feel boxed-in with the 'tortured artist' cliché like that of Kurt Cobain or literally any emo band?
My Daydreams: It's rubbish. You don't need to hit rock bottom to create meaningful art. Yes, acknowledge darkness, but don't romanticise it. Growth, consistency, and confronting yourself honestly will take you further than any self-destructive spiral.
Breakbone: This has been one of the most genuine interviews I've done. Thank you for letting us see into your daydream.
From the archive. Interview · September 2025 · edited for audio issues, transcribed otherwise verbatim.