The Dharma Chain spent ten days at Funkhaus Berlin earlier this year, often working until three or four in the morning, recording their second album in a proper studio for the first time.
“Some Kind of Pure State” arrives today, June 5 via Spinda Records (Spain), with co-releases through Le Cèpe Records (France), Clostridium Records (Germany), Echodelick Records (US) and Dirty Filthy Records (UK).
The album is streaming in full below ahead of release.
Their first record had been tracked in a converted church across four days, with guitarist Ben Rompotis at the desk.
The shift to Stare Crazy, the studio inside the historic GDR broadcasting complex, made an immediate difference. “It gave us an air of confidence, being in a serious studio, as it made us feel as though the band is moving forward. Before this album, we had done everything DIY.”
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Producer Jonathan Dreyfus, a classically trained pianist, sat behind the desk for the sessions. They had never worked with an outside producer before, and the input mattered. One late night, with the closing track still unfinished, Dreyfus sat at the piano and started playing along to what the band was trying to figure out.
“That moment gave us a completely different vision for the track, and we were able to really flesh that out together in our final days in the studio.” Rompotis mixed the record. Carl Saff handled mastering in Chicago. Cover artwork is by Abbey Cleveland.
The version of The Dharma Chain that recorded “Some Kind of Pure State” looks nothing like the version that arrived in Berlin.
They were six when they landed from Byron Bay. The move, which they admit sounded romantic in theory, “was a bit of a nightmare.”
There were visas to sort, apartments to find in a near-impossible Berlin market, money running out, and a break-up inside the band. Bassist Emily was the first to go, which prompted Bronte (originally on synth and percussion) to switch to bass. Amanda McGrath shuffled between guitar and synth because three guitars suddenly felt like too many.
Mid-2025, founding member Jarra moved back to Australia. Another guitarist and vocalist joined for a short stint that didn’t take. By the time studio time was booked, they were four: McGrath (vocals, synth, guitar), Rompotis (vocals, synth, guitar), Aidan Stewart (drums) and Giulia Piras (bass).
The practical side of the move was grim. With no rehearsal space and no money for a van, the band hauled instruments and large amps across Berlin on the U-Bahn to play shows. “In many ways, the move nearly broke the band. But we persevered, even as our band mates began dropping off.”
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The four-piece arithmetic forced a months-long rebuild of older songs in the weeks before recording. European dates were already booked and the back catalogue had to work for the new lineup without canceling anything. “We had to reimagine our old songs, rearrange things to make sure they still sounded ‘full’, by taking away elements and in some cases, adding new elements in order not to cancel our upcoming tours. This happened months before heading into the studio, so it really cut into our writing time.”
What holds the lineup together is a democratic writing rule everyone signed onto at the start.
Songs usually arrive from Rompotis or McGrath, written at home, then the band tears them apart together. “Once a song gets brought to the band, we have to accept that it will get pulled apart and changed. If we can’t live with that, then it’s put in the bin or kept as a personal project.”
The four currently in the room come from genuinely different places. Stewart pulls hip-hop into the drumming, while Piras carries a metal and prog rock background into the bass. McGrath comes out of rock and roll. Rompotis sits somewhere between triphop and neo-psychedelic rock. The negotiation happens at song level, and the result often takes a song through a full circle before landing back near where it started.
“Some Kind of Pure State” is more cohesive than the first album.
In part because the band could finally write across actual time instead of patching things together in days. The debut was assembled in roughly four days with two core writers, “a more ‘Frankenstein’ coming together in terms of songs.”
This time they had moved through the personnel changes and the city, settled into Berlin life, and could be more intentional about what they were after. The most concrete change is in song lengths. Tracks that started at seven or eight minutes have mostly been cut down to five. The band’s instinct, by their own admission, is to hold a chord or progression “for an uncomfortable period of time.”
“Inside A New” opens the album, and they wanted the start to confront listeners rather than ease them in. “It’s very much a balls-to-the-wall opening.” The song’s concept anchors what follows. “Even within disorder there’s the possibility of renewal or a new beginning. That notion in many ways also sets the emotional tone for everything that follows. Not by resolving anything, but by throwing you directly into the chaos and clarity that is to come, much like our experiences.”
Berlin, after everything, has become the place.
“The scene here is huge, and we feel really lucky to be part of such a welcoming community, surrounded by friends who are constantly inspiring us.” European touring was the bigger surprise. Audiences with people of all ages, accommodation included in venue offers, music grants accessible to independent acts. Compared to Australia, where the distances between cities are punishing and bands fund accommodation themselves, the math finally works. “All of the above has helped make it possible for us to keep doing what we love, because the reality is that making a living from music isn’t easy.”
The rest of 2026 is already mapped.
A live session recorded in Barcelona during their April tour is on the way. Festival dates include Desertfest, Fuzz Club Festival, Brighton Psych Fest and Manchester Psych Fest. An October tour is booked. And, by their own admission, they’re already discussing the next studio block. “Things are moving quickly and we like it that way.”
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