INTERVIEW: DELUNE

DELUNE

By: Hailey Hale

Sister duo DELUNE recently dropped their new single ‘Those Days’ along with a visually stunning music video to accompany it. The alt-pop group set out to illustrate the feeling you get when you just don’t know who you are anymore, and you are longing for a time that has long passed. The lyrics that are full of confusion and heartbreak and the unrelenting tempo adds to that disorienting feeling the sisters have, and with the visuals of the two attempting to break free of their invisible restraints, you can’t help but feel for them. Throughout the whirlwind of the two new releases, I got to chat with the sisters to get their insight on the creation of the song, and much more.

HEM: First off, I want to say congratulations on the release of your new single ‘Those Days’, I thought it was a totally real and sort of heartbreaking look into the longing for days that have past, and was wondering if you wrote this song from experience?

DELUNE: Thanks so much! This song is about loss; not one specific instance of it, but rather, a reflection on many forms of loss we have both experienced over the past couple of years. How do you move forward into the present when you are leaving people from your past behind? The song was originally inspired by a deeply felt loss of community. Kate founded a music program in an emergency refugee camp in Berlin. We both worked there for months and felt the powerful love of this community of asylum seekers, Germans, and volunteers alike. When we moved home to DC after the program ended, we felt whiplashed -- what happened to us? As we worked on the song it began to encompass other forms of loss as well.

HEM: With the release of the single, you guys released a music video that is very visually stunning. What inspired the visuals and what was the process of creating the video?

DELUNE: We’re glad you liked it! We worked with LA based director/DP Katherine White on this vision. Here are her thoughts on the inspiration for this video: “Conceptually, I wanted to explore the idea of how we often have to free ourselves from the burdens of our past in order to flourish in our present. In the video, DELUNE progress from statues to art in motion - it’s a process of awakening, of honoring your history, your losses and regrets, while still allowing yourself to step forward into the joy of the present.”

HEM: I’ve seen that you both have played for refugee camps and incarcerated people in Rikers, how does it feel playing music in these spaces? Are you planning on continuing to play for these sorts of crowds in the future?

DELUNE: We think it’s important to share music (be it performing, collaborating, listening, etc.) in places where people don’t have much access to it. This is an integral aspect of our happiest and most fulfilling creative experiences have transpired in community with others that deeply appreciate the outlet to express themselves through music.

HEM: Something that is unique about DELUNE is that you guys are sisters. Do you think this gives you an advantage when creating music? Are there any hardships that come with working with family?

DELUNE: We’ve been creating together since we were kids - putting on plays, musicals in our childhood living room, exploring our imaginations together. In this way, we feel very free to create with one another. Free from judgement, free from embarrassment. This of course cuts both ways. As some people may have discovered while working with us, we are comfortable being blunt with one another, it expedites the creative process to be direct.

HEM: Before DELUNE, I saw you both participated in a cappella groups, so when creating a song do you start off with an a cappella version?

DELUNE: A cappella music is special to us. We grew up singing in choirs. Our high school choir teacher, the late Benjamin Hutto, was a formative artistic mentor to both of us. There is something sacred about singing in harmony with others. The last chorus of our first single, Wild West Side Highway, concludes with a three part choral arrangement. To be honest a lot of the time we write for more voices than we have, oftentimes writing five or six vocal parts for our duo.

HEM: So, I know that this group is fairly new, but you guys have amassed thousands of fans across the globe, so is there any talk of touring in the near future?

DELUNE: We are currently experimenting with our live performance. Most of our experience performing live is acoustic, in unconventional, low-fi performing spaces - detention centers, subway platforms, schools, houses of worship, etc. We are exploring possibilities with live music in the pop/electronic soundscape on Ableton. We want our live sets to be cohesive pieces of art, so we are taking our time to write and design our show. Readers, send us your favorite live shows! We’d love to see what inspires you.

HEM: Is there any insight about a new project you are working on that you can give me?

DELUNE: We’ll be releasing our third single, Casanova, this spring. We’re really excited - it’s a spring/summer bop! Kate’s also writing a musical theatre piece, inspired by her time in Berlin working at the emergency room refugee camp. It will be workshopped throughout the year in NYC. For more information, check out www.notesfromthebasementmusical.com .

HEM: Finally, is there anything you would like to share with the readers of Heart Eyes Magazine?

DELUNE: Thanks for having us Heart Eyes Magazine! Readers, feel free to reach out to us -- we love hearing from you! DM us on insta:  @deluneofficial.

With the optimism and dedication that the sisters show, you can tell the only way for them to go is up. Not only is their music stunning but their morals and the goals they have set are equally so. DELUNE is on the rise and as of right now there is no ceiling to hold them back from accomplishing their dreams.