New album and more – Interview with De Lux

how do you usually write the lyrics of your songs?

There are a couple different ways.

Can start out with mumbles of random words or non words from trying to form melodies off the track. And then we tend to write down what we hear from those mumbles.

Sometimes certain words and phrases stick out and we can work off of them. Just the other day we wrote down ” Bobble jumper canabie watsom”.

Who knows what that will turn out to be. Other times and sometimes more effectively, are previously written down lyrics just from day to day experiences like driving, toothpaste, breakfast, rite aid ice cream etc.

what inspired your latest song “875 dollars”?

Lyrically, it came from possibly losing a childhood home, that your parents may need to sell. It’s about reminiscing, and giving a reminder of all the memories surrounding it. The $875 part is the amount it would take to pay the mortgage split between 4 people. In this case, ideally your 3 best friends.

Obviously the real scenario is a bit more complex, but the song comes from a place of intense nostalgia and willingness to do whatever it takes to keep it.

Musically, Stevie Wonder was a big inspiration. In terms of how his vocals really takeover in terms of melody and direction.

Production wise, was very inspired by focus groups on video games. As songwriters, you forget what it feels like to just be a listener. But with video games we know exactly what we want from game companies.

So we sort of used that feeling and method to really hone in on songwriting. But what comes with that is embracing harsh criticism and hate.

Don’t think the song would have ended up the way it did without friends and family joining in with their honest opinions.

your new album will be released in January, what was the most difficult moment of its preparation?

Honestly, just waiting. We finished ‘875’ a year ago and the album in March. Not having much to do is the worst.

what is the best verse you ever wrote?

We’ve had talks with our manager about this and our personal favorite might be from our first record. On the song ‘Brighter End Of Dark’, the 2nd verse, “No I’m not gay, but if I was I’d be proud / There’s so much hate, at least it’s something to talk about”.

From the new record, one that sticks out to us is ” If I was wrong, then I would have to come clean / But only when I’m right about everything in between”.

Not saying which song yet though.

what was the best moment of your career?

The best moments are when we get messages from people about how our music has inspired or brought them comfort.

We’ve heard some really amazing stories about them being able to pursue a career or even just feeling comfort during depression. And while it is rewarding on our end.

It’s also just a sincere feeling of understanding where they are coming from since most of our songs come from a personal place.

So its a bouncing back and forth effect where listeners can relate, and we can off them.

do you remember the day you wrote “Cause for Concern”?

Yeah, it was right after we got kicked out from our rehearsal studio. In the month leading up to moving out, we wrote that song.

And that’s what it’s partly about.

and music snob?

‘Music Snob’ had actually been in the works for a while.

The idea started around late 2015 and finally got around to making it work for this record.

Remember trying to work out what the vocals should be and ended up talking with this really low voice. And then to put a contrast on it, we created these higher falsetto melodies to counter it. Super snobbish stuff.

are you planning a tour soon?

We’re planning to tour a lot this time around.

Hopefully before the end of the year we’ll have something, but if not, definitely a bunch next year.

what is your favorite song lyrically speaking ?

Ingrid Mansfield – Stop Wasting Your Time or Haruomi Hosono – Sportsmen

(there may be better ones, but those come to mind)