We caught up for a chinwag with electronic-pop rising star Djanaba ahead of her appearance at Laneway Festival to find out what life is like on tour.

What’s on your rider? My rider is honestly not for me, it’s for guests and plus ones. It includes: six Somersby apple ciders, six berry Cruisers, one corn chips and guacamole, one green tea, one V energy drink, one Monster energy drink (White ‘Zero Ultra’ version), two mango juices, a water jug and cups (no water bottles preferably), two stage towels (black hand towels, please), one meal per person, and one bottle of Patron Silver with four limes. I don’t even drink, but that guacamole, and corn chips that's 100% mineee.

Do you have any pre-show rituals? My preshow ritual is becoming more distinct recently – I’ll do vocal warm ups for about an hour, around five hours before a show; drink heaps of water (l get a terrible dry mouth); two hours before the show, I’ll often go nonverbal (this honestly wasn’t even intentional at first, but I’ve got to try and really preserve my energy so l can lock in on stage without being overstimulated, or overly anxious); around about an hour before a show I’ll listen to a lot of Megan Thee Stallion – I’m just hyping myself up, so mentally I’m running that hype on stage.

 

 

 

 

 

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What has been your wildest tour experience? My wildest experience on tour was when l was touring at the start of 2025. I’d just finished a tour of Wildlands and a bunch of other shows over the NYE period. My DJ and l were waiting at Perth/Boorloo airport for a flight, and a fella came up and asked for photos with us. He had literally printed off photos for me to sign. The guy was an absolute sweetheart, but literally came through security and into the airport just to get a photo and my signature. I was genuinely so shocked, and also thankful – after such a huge tour I was so rundown and to see this person go out of their way just to get a photo with me blew my mind. I was extremely grateful – as a smaller artist, you really don’t get to see if your music is being received until you meet the community that goes out of their way to share their time and love.

Describe your new track “Buster” in a sentence. If they wanna behave like dogs, let them bark.

Do you have anything special planned for your Laneway sets? For the Laneway sets, I'm doing a couple of new things working with live production – which is a little daunting but also exciting! I’m honestly just bringing all the fucking energy for these sets, and there’s no way to describe that in words. You are just gonna have to come, watch and find the fuck out!!!

If you could tour with any musician, dead or alive, who would it be? Bro this is so fucking hard to answer, but l feel like in this very moment I’d say Amaarae – she’s fucking incredible and everything she releases I eat the fuck up.

 

 

 

 

 

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How do you wind down after a show? Winding down after a show can sometimes be dependent on how l felt the show went, or how my energy levels are after a show – sometimes I’m really hyped, and sometimes l get into my head and get really anxious. Either way, it’s really important I surround myself with positive people – my energy is quite easily drained so that can quickly fuck with my vibe. Also, it’s really important l do a lot of self-care after a show – do a face mask or some shit, and have a large meal afterwards cause the last thing l want is to crash.

What’s your favourite song to play live? My favorite song to play live is more than likely a song that is either unreleased or freshly released. Currently it’s my new single “Buster” – the vibes are just so high. When l feel good about a track, it’s almost effortless for me to put on a killer performance.

If you could collab with anyone on the Laneway line-up, who would it be? If l could collab with anyone of the Laneway line-up, it would 100 per cent be Chappell Roan. I think if l said anyone else it would be sacrilege.