Five Favourites: DEHD

Set to release their new album later this week, Chicago’s DEHD have been impressing us this year with a series of gritty singles. With a raw edge, brooding basslines and sultry vocals, they create instantly infectious indie-pop, and we can’t wait to hear the album in its entirety.

We think one of the best ways to get to know a band is by asking what music inspires them or influences their writing. So, we caught up with vocalist Emily Kempf to find out her “Five Favourites” – five albums that she loves more than most. Check out her choices below, and keep your ears out for DEHD’s new release on Friday.

Broncho – Double Vanity /  Bad Behavior
I’m obsessed with Broncho, I think they are a perfect band. I can put them on in any place with any group of people and they just fit in. They are the band everyone wants to know – like a secret you find pride in knowing about first and can’t wait to tell your bestie. If I could marry music I would marry Broncho.

Emily Sprague – Water Memory
I’ve listened to Emily’s ambient masterpiece Water Memory more times than maybe any other record. The amount of times I’ve tucked away in the corner of the tour car with Water Memory in my headphones is countless. It’s my go-to to feel calm, to feel safe, to fall asleep or to mediate with. It’s a beautiful peaceful sweeping record that brings you somewhere far far away and then all the way back home again. It just washes you right out.

Jah Wobble & The Chinese Dub Orchestra
A special choice, several years ago this was a record I originally picked for its cover at random in a record shop in Seattle. It’s best listened to while laying on the floor alone or with a pile or friends. Make sure to have either a ceiling fan or the windows open wide to invite a light breeze. This record is to be listened to with intention – and buckle in, it will soothe and surprise you.

Sibylle Baier – Colour Green
This is a record to cry to, a classic cry album for sure. Her melodies and lyrics and lilting breathless voice make you feel like you’re all grown up and alone in a cottage someplace cold and quiet, with snow on the ground. She’s a secret tear on the pillow late at night when no one’s paying attention. Beautiful and heartbreaking and worth every second.

Sunglow – Hog Heaven
Daniel is a mastermind producer of playful, inspiring soundscapes that energize and incite. I have been a fan for a while and also could put on any of his records to shift a mood in the room instantaneously. It’s fun, fresh and pure freak mode. Don’t shuffle! Play in suggested record order, the songs are all “holding hands”.

Huge thanks to DEHD for sharing their Five Favourites with us! 

Flower Of Devotion, the new album from DEHD, is out this Friday 16th July via Fire Talk. Watch their latest video for ‘Month’ here:

Photo Credit: Alexa Viscius

Get In Her EarsLeave a comment

Track Of The Day: Dehd – ‘Flood’

A captivating observation on the volatile nature of love; Dehd have shared their latest single, ‘Flood’. Lifted from their upcoming album Flower of Devotion, set for release via Fire Talk on 17th July, the track is a sultry blend of brooding bass lines, emotive vocals and melodic guitar riffs.

Based in Chicago, Dehd are formed of Emily Kempf (vocals/bass), Jason Balla (vocals/guitar), and Eric McGrady (drums). The trio explored how minimal they could make their sounds on previous album Water, but on Flower of Devotion they’ve leaned more towards the ethos of making something “that’s really powerful”, whether that’s minimalistic or not. This seems to be the case on ‘Flood’, which explores the strength and vulnerability that comes with opening yourself up to new love.

“Falling in love with someone is like becoming water” explains vocalist Kempf. “A flood is powerful, uncontrollable, devastating. Water can nourish or destroy.” These themes are reflected in the accompanying video to ‘Flood’, directed & choreographed by Kempf and Andrew Miller. The cinematic visuals show Kempf by the sea, adorned in a beautiful white dress and gracefully moving in and out of the water.

Watch the video for ‘Flood’ below and follow Dehd on Instagram & bandcamp for more updates.

Photo Credit: Alexa Viscius

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

Kate CrudgingtonLeave a comment

Track Of The Day: DEHD – ‘Loner’

After touring Europe with Twin Peaks last year, Chicago’s DEHD are coming to the international stage for the first time. This week the trio announced their new album Flower Of Devotion alongside killer lead track ‘Loner’.

‘Loner’ examines lead singer Emily Kempf’s need for isolation and time to focus on herself, following the band’s recent extensive touring period. Rather than focusing on the negative, ‘Loner’ speaks to the often cyclical nature of life. It’s a theme that runs throughout the album; at every turn, sadness is countered by joy, joy is tempered by sadness. Explaining this theme, Emily says:

“Being alone and grieving is very isolating… but then you come out of your little cave of grief, and your friends and family and partner are all there to pat you on the back and hold you until you have to go back into the cave of grief alone.”

Accepting your own need for isolation, especially during hard times can be liberating. A bittersweet sentiment we can all get behind at the moment.

‘Loner’ certainly provides us with a more polished sound than any of the tracks on the band’s 2019 debut Water, but it still packs the same raw edge that fans have come to expect from the trio. Emily Kempf’s vocal cuts through as distinctive and gritty as ever, backed up by spirited guitar and pulsating drums.

The accompanying video is a trip. Directed by Kempf with collaborator Ryan Hart and shot on location in Joshua Tree, and at beloved Chicago venue The Hideout, the video is a highly surreal clip and well worth a watch.

DEHD’s upcoming new album Flower of Devotion is set for release 17th July via Fire Talk, and is available to pre-order now.

Ellie Ball

Photo Credit: Alexa Viscius

Get In Her EarsLeave a comment