Dusty Colours is a British acoustic duo made up of Ed Burgon and Dan Triance, which formed in November 2001 in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, under the name Retro Conspiracy (an earlier incarnation was Abyss, dating back to 1999). The name was changed to Dusty Colours in 2006 after stripping back their sound from an electric four-piece including drums and keyboards to an acoustic duo. They had been writing songs, solo and combined, since early childhood. However, while they had been recording since 2001, only since late 2006 did the quality of recording equipment and production substantially improve.

This allowed for greater experimentation when it came to arranging their songs, incorporating ambience such as wineglasses and poured water and later samples such as waves, wind and vinyl crackle. Similarly it allowed for more harmony parts rather than just the two that they had originally arranged in earlier recordings. Most importantly, however, was the way in which the new recording system changed their attitudes towards recording in general, motivating them to produce and arrange their music to as near to perfection as possible. The addition of bouzouki in 2007 and ukulele in 2008 added further dimensions to their songs and arranging capabilities.  This period of heightened creativity led to the formation of a side project, The Puctuation. This proved a good testing ground for more daring recording styles and innovations.

While predominately a studio-based band, 2008 saw Dusty Colours rearranging previously recorded songs to fit with live performance. Still unsigned, the duo released their first album The Tree Between Twelve and Twenty Four in 2010.