26 January 2018 - 0 Comments

Filmed around the sisters' Mangawhai stomping ground by Garth Badger of Thievery Studios, we are pulled behind two running silhouettes as they cross all kinds of terrain.

Listen to Cowgirl here on Spotify / Apple Music

"Cowgirl was one of the first tracks we wrote for this album that we felt achieved a balance of both our influences and really set a tone for the rest of the record," Jamie McDell reflects.

"For some reason Tess and I were having a conversation in our sisterly language, about what themes and ideals we felt we had in common growing up. Basically, we used to watch a lot of female-dominated country shows like The Saddle Club and Mcleods Daughters, so the idea of the Cowgirl was really our childhood hero.

"The song pays tribute to that strength and freedom she embodies but not without recognising the risks and hardships you often need to experience to have those things be prominent in your life."

Dunes is the creative pop side project of kiwi sisters Jamie and Tessa McDell, blending their uniquely different personal songwriting styles together as one. Their debut album will be released after a year of branching into the limelight with the duo's earlier singles Horses and Hard.


Produced and engineered by Thomas Healy (Tiny Ruins, Clap Clap Riot, Ha The Unclear, Paquin), Dunes' debut record is a melting pot of Jamie's penchant for strong, structured pop tunes, and experimentation with new and unique synth and instrumental layers inspired by Tessa's diverse listening leans.

The sisters started writing collaboratively when they realized how little involvement they had in each other’s lives growing up. With music being their common ground, writing and recording over the past year became their way of opening up to each other about some of their most difficult experiences.

While Tessa, like Jamie, has also grown up listening to country music, her influences expand further into Hip Hop and R&B, which pulled them further down the rabbit hole in finding and developing a sound that is Dunes’ own. The result is refreshingly honest and relatable, as much as it is autobiographical.

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