PNAU STILL CHASING THE NEXT GREAT SOUND, 25 YEARS ON
Australian electronic powerhouse, Pnau, the band behind that inescapable Elton John x Dua Lipa 'Cold Heart' remix - plus collaborations with Coldplay and a 25-year run of uplifting, dancefloor-filling hits - are bringing 'The Nirvana Tour' to Toowoomba.
Written by Rowan Anderson
Imagery: Provided
10 May 2026
For a band that started out hunting through the Trading Post for cheap second-hand synths, Pnau’s rise from Sydney teenagers to internationally recognised electronic music pioneers still feels surreal, even to founding member Peter Mayes.
Ahead of the group’s upcoming tour and the release of its seventh studio album AhhCade, Mayes reflected on more than 25 years of music, collaboration and reinvention.
“We were those kids that were always in the studio,” Mayes said.
“It literally consumed us. We’d finish school and go straight into making music. We were signed to an indie label in high school and had access to a studio from 8pm until 8am, so for months we basically lived nocturnally.”
Since emerging in the late 1990s, Pnau’s sound has transformed across multiple eras from sample-heavy underground dance records to vocal-driven crossover hits and global collaborations.
But Mayes said the band’s identity has remained remarkably consistent.
“Our first album didn’t really have a lot of vocals and there was a lot of sampling because that’s what everyone was doing in the late ’90s,” he said.
“But I think the general feeling is still the same. We’ve always tried to make music that’s positive, uplifting and fun.”
Pnau’s longevity has seen the band attract fans across generations, with festival crowds now including listeners who were toddlers — or not even born — when some of the group’s best-known tracks were released.
“You realise some people in the audience were babies when those songs came out,” Mayes laughed.
“But it’s nice to have history. We love digging back into the archives while still keeping things fresh.”
That balancing act between evolution and familiarity has become central to Pnau’s success.
“In club music there are trends happening all the time,” Mayes said.
“But when you make albums, you can’t spend two years chasing a sound that might disappear before the record even comes out. We try to do what feels natural to us.”
The upcoming album AhhCade continues that approach, with Mayes describing it as a more energetic and beat-driven record than the band’s previous release.
Over the years, Pnau has collaborated with artists ranging from Elton John to Dua Lipa and Coldplay, while also championing emerging voices.
For Mayes, collaborations are less about fame and more about finding artists with unique character.
“It’s almost better for us if they don’t normally make dance records,” he said.
“You’re pulling a really different sounding voice and putting it over synthesised music. That can be really exciting.”
The band’s latest collaboration with Mexican rock group The Warning on Tu Corazon (Your Heart) came from revisiting material that had been sitting unfinished for years.
“Sometimes you just need time away from a song,” Mayes said.
“You come back to it later and suddenly realise what it needed.”
Now based in Los Angeles, Mayes said the city’s collaborative culture has only fuelled the group’s creativity further.
“There are thousands of studios here and everyone passes through LA at some point,” he said.
“It makes collaboration easier, and honestly, most really talented musicians are also just really lovely people to work with.”
Despite the accolades and international recognition, Mayes said the driving force behind Pnau remains simple.
“We still genuinely enjoy making music,” he said.
“There’s always something new to learn.”
PNAU bring ‘The Nirvana Tour’ to The Power House in Toowoomba on June 27 with tickets available at OzTix, here.
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