BLUE DINER

Writer: Joe Maranta

Photographers: @bluediner & Kelsey Doyle @kjdoyle

Wandering through Indooroopilly station, the fluorescent lights illuminating the underground tunnel strobe relentlessly. Walking up the stairs and perusing the timetable, any regrets of leaving the party early are vindicated as the final train on the Ipswich line is mere minutes away. 

Allowing herself to briefly simmer in her romanticised solitude, she observes the poetic chaos which comes with a midnight visit to her favourite west Brisbane station. Teens sprawled across silver benches decorate the platform with empty goon sacs and cigarettes while lads in matching Nike tech-fleeces blast music to the dismay of the other late night nomads. 

Once the train arrives she dawdles into the carriage and slumps into an unoccupied window seat. Paying no mind to the rest of the passengers onboard, she gazes out into the expanse of suburban Brisbane and lets her mind wander free. Exiting at a nearby station, the amber hue of the street lights provide the perfect lighting to pinpoint the root of her melancholy. Despite this, her walk home brought to light more questions than answers. Discouraged by her failed self psycho-analysis she resides herself to bed. Seeking an 8-hour reprieve from her turmoil, she comes to terms with the fact that a pensive outlook on life will bring more comfort than a clear mind ever could. 

This is the aesthetic of Blue Diner. 

An homage to the comfort of a rainy day inside, Blue Diner paints colourful monochrome soundscapes that are as poignant as they are heavy. The ambient-shoegaze project fronted by Rosa Chen (Vox, Bass) is buoyed by Jack Lenstone (Drums), Jarren Abraham (Guitar) and Tim Johnson (Guitar). 

Dabbling in themes of isolation and growth, the quartet are akin to the familiarity of a first love and its subsequent heartbreak. 

JOE: So how did the band form?

ROSA: Mutual friends basically. 

TIM: Jack and I have always been doing music together, but we had another band with Jarren where he was a session player. 

JACK: That band ended up going separate ways, but then we just brought Jarren along for the ride with this. 

JOE: Your debut single Bearings has done incredibly well, did you anticipate it having this much success?

TIM: To be honest, not at all. We were really surprised seeing all of the Triple J reviews it got. 

JACK: You go into every single release trying your best and hoping it all works out, when it does it’s great but when it doesn’t, it’s still fine since you still put music out there - and at the end of the day that’s what you’re doing it for. 

JOE: Bearings has a motif of being scared of change, what was the philosophy behind that decision?

ROSA: I don’t even know what I was writing about to be honest. I guess it’s referring to the change from when you’re a child to an adult. Like coming out of your shell a bit, that’s what the ‘little bird hides away’ lyric refers to. 

JARREN: Rosa used to live in China and then her parents moved away to Australia for a few years. So that was upsetting for you [Rosa]. 

ROSA: Yeah they left abruptly, and didn’t tell me. I got home from Kindergarten and they were gone. Then my Grandma was like ‘oh yeah they left for Australia’. 

JACK: Did she say they were coming back??

ROSA: Nah, she was like they’re gone forever. Yeah I sort of forgot I wrote about that, trauma blocking I guess haha. 

JOE: You’re fresh off the single launch of your latest track ‘Morningside’. How satisfying was that gig after working on the track for so long?

TIM: Well we’ve been playing Morningside since our first show, and we’ve changed it a lot over time. But it was exciting to play it for the first time since it's been out. 

JACK: At the launch it was probably the best performance of it we’ve ever had. 

TIM: It was special to see people singing along, knowing the song fully - that was really cool. 

JOE: Bearings and Morningside both have a noticeable shoegaze influence, is this something you think you’ll incorporate in your future releases?

TIM: We have heavier songs coming, Bearings I think is pretty far from what we have in store. 

JACK: I’ve been getting into ‘bad’ or ‘looser’ songwriting, a bit unorthodox. I think bearings is conventional as far as the song structure goes, but some of the newer tracks are like two-parters. We’ll have some noisier stuff for sure. 

TIM: If you ever see us live you’ll be able to see that we tend to lean into heavier and noisier renditions of our tracks. 

JOE: You’re signed to the Omiya label which is home to some amazing artists who are doing really well, how did you get involved with them?

JACK: Rei [Founder of Omiya] came to see one of our shows, then I just started liking all of his Instagram stories from our band account.

ROSA: He was trying to slide into his DMs

JACK: Then he started liking our stories back, he didn’t have the label at that point but eventually he founded Omiya and then asked to manage us. He actually overheard us talking about him at Junk Bar, and we were like “OMG the guy from Sweater Curse is here holy shit!” Then he walked out of the bathroom.

JOE: Looking towards 2025, are there any goals you four are hoping to achieve?

TIM: Another tour would be pretty sick, an east coast tour would be ideal. 

JACK: I’m keen to not headline though. I just don’t like the pressure of headlining, it’s hard enough doing it for one show. I’d be keen to just jump on supports and grind it out. That’s the goal, just to keep putting songs out and trying to play outside of Brisbane - not saying we’re tired of playing here, we’re just keen to expand. 

TIM: It’s a lot of pressure worrying about ticket sales as a headliner.

JOE: If someone makes a viral Tik-Tok dance to one of your songs and you’re able to go on a big national tour, who would be two Brisbane acts you’d love to bring on tour with you?

JACK: Snowg

um opened for us at the launch gig and they’re just so cool. Snowgum for sure. I’d also say special features too. 

JARREN: Special Features are bigger than us though. 

JACK: Nah we blew up on Tik-Tok remember. 

TIM: Sure, we’ll take Powderfinger then.

JOE: Are there any venues left in Brisbane you’re still hoping to play at?

JACK: We haven’t hit Black Bear yet. I go there heaps and always end up staying all night. 

TIM: We saw Spacey Jane in the crowd there once. 

JACK: I was really drunk there one night and we saw the singer [Caleb Harper] there and he was talking to us. I pretended I didn’t know who he was, he was like “Oh I just came back from LA” and I was like “Oh cool what were you doing over there” he was like “Oh yeah I do music” and I was like “me too!”

ROSA: Jesus Christ Jack.

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