Dehd – Poetry

By starrymag | May 17, 2024

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

Q) How would you describe your sound?

 

A) Wiggle guitar and dueling vocals. 

 

Q) Who are some of your musical influences?

 

A) There isn’t really any one artist that influenced our music. If anything I find it inspiring when artists can create a world that is very much unique to them and their vision. I wouldn’t really consider them influential to Dehd’s sound, but definitely that accomplishment is inspiring to me. People like Caroline Polachek, Earl Sweatshirt, Dijon…

 

Q) Talk about the story behind your new song “Alien.”

 

A) “Alien” is really about feeling like an outsider, something otherworldly and also about the rarity of finding someone who reflects or maybe compliments is a better word, someone who compliments our own special little world. It can be hard to find people who are true matches and so I think the song also is about loving yourself and your friends in the face of that type of loneliness.

 

Q) What do you think it is about the song that fans connect to?

 

A) The heart recognizes the heart. We’re never trying to put on anyone or try to be something, someone else. We’re a true band, the combination of three people to make something bigger than ourselves. We’re messy, honest and like to have fun.

 

Q) The song is the third off your album Poetry. What are some themes you explore on this?

 

A) Poetry is about taking your life back. Taking down the walls we so often build around our hearts and opening them to the full range of life. Disappointment, pain, change, joy – it’s all waiting for us and I don’t think any is really better than the other. It’s all opportunities to learn and grow and also they both need to exist in order for some deeper balance to take place. 

 

Q) The songs off this album were crafted in Chicago at a winery. Why was this the perfect place for you all to work on new music?

 

A) That’s not actually accurate. We wrote these songs all across the country on a road trip, first stopping in Taos, NM, over the mountains to Bainbridge Island, WA and then on home to Chicago where we rented a room in a rundown warehouse. I think it was important for us to approach writing this time around with a sense of adventure. When you leave home, it gives new perspectives on your life that only distance can provide. We also took this trip over the course of an entire month, so there was no rush and nothing else to do, but make music. We were really able to enter a new place creatively because the sole focus was writing music and reflecting on our lives and experiences.

 

Q) What is your song writing process? Do you need music before you can create lyrics? 

 

A) Poetry is all around us, I don’t think music is necessary. We’re always jotting down little phrases or sets of lyrics. In a similar way melodies just float into my head and I’m constantly singing ideas to myself in my phone’s voice memos.

 

Q) Whitney’s Ziyad Asrar lent a hand with production on this album, marking the first time the band has worked with someone outside of the band for the recording process. How did you come to make this unique decision?

 

A) The decision was twofold. Recording your own band offers a true opportunity to capture sounds that really feel like you, but it adds a lot more work and requires you to record a record with two opposing hats, the artist and the technician. It can be pretty distracting and exhausting. By adding Ziyad into the mix, not only did I get to focus much more on being the artist and accurately performing and expressing myself, but we also gained an objective, unbiased collaborator. Ziyad is so talented and I trust his talent and his ears. We like similar music and we are inspired by disparate music as well. It was an excellent balance between the two of us when producing the record.

 

Q) What songs off your album are you looking forward to performing live?

 

A) I’m obsessed with “Hard to Love” and I can’t wait to bring that song to the stage. There also is a crazy energy every time we play “Dog Days.” Something just immediately lights up in the eyes of the crowd, even though it’s often the first time they’ve ever heard it (the songs not released yet at the time I’m writing this).

 

Q) What do you hope listeners take away from listening to your album Poetry as a whole?

 

A) I hope people can see themselves in some of the experiences we take on here, especially in terms of looking at the hard times in their life with a little more kindness towards themselves. It’s so easy to avoid painful feelings or feel like we failed when something doesn’t work out. In my case it was a romantic relationship, I thought something was wrong with me. But it’s really much more about being right for each other and finding moments to appreciate the time that was spent and how I’ve grown from having this person in my life.

 

Q) Where are some of your favorite places to perform and what makes those locations so significant to you?

 

A) Mexico City has been a new highlight in terms of cities to play. Chicago is also the best because it is home. There are some cities where people just care more about music and feel free to express that enjoyment. We might talk about heavy or light things in our songs, but I think there is an energy to express at a Dehd show that needs to be let out.

 

Q) What artist/musician are you currently listening to and why do you dig them? 

 

A) I like Chanel Beads. They sound like something new to me.

 

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?

 

A) Thank you and we’ll see you soon.

 

 

 

All Questions Answered By Jason Balla