Q&A: Devan On the Importance of Perspective and Her Latest EP, “Liquid Sunshine”
ALIGNING DIVINE SENTIMENTS OF OPTIMISM AGAINST A BACKDROP OF AUTHENTIC INTROSPECTION — Devan’s latest EP, Liquid Sunshine, serves as a lyrical homage to artistic liberation. Writing unapologetically and openly, Liquid Sunshine adopts a conversational style embedded within Devan’s distinctive creativity. Present within songs such as “Without You” and “Feel Better,” Devan’s poignant lyrics are intimately confessional yet distinctly relatable to listeners, owing to Devan’s courage to be as open and honest as possible throughout her writing. In this sense, Liquid Sunshine is overtly illustrative of an artist who dares to create a space of introspection for herself and her listeners alike.
Devan sonically crafts her music to produce a discography of dreamy indie pop, inspired by the likes of artists from Fleetwood Mac, SZA, and Holly Humberstone. Synchronously created with visuals in mind, Devan creates a visual side to accompany her music that evokes a sense of familiarity and captivating realism which embody the core conversational feel to Liquid Sunshine. Whilst the EP is more than just an ode to the past year for Devan, Liquid Sunshine is synonymous with a new and powerful beginning which has been born from a journey of self-discovery and compelling self-reflection.
Read on below to learn more about Liquid Sunshine and Devan’s upcoming projects for the year ahead.
LUNA: First off, huge congrats for the release of your upcoming EP Liquid Sunshine. What inspired you to create the EP and venture into music in the first place?
DEVAN: Thank you! I’m so excited about it. The majority of songs on this EP were actually written and produced during quarantine. Being forced to be still and reflect on things was honestly kind of torturous for me, but very necessary. Last year taught me that I can be a pretty avoidant person when it comes to uncomfortable emotions, and I wrote this EP in the process of having to face them. To me, the EP is about the importance of perspective — “liquid sunshine” is a term my dad uses to describe the rain. I’d always complain about it as a kid and he’d say, “Oh come on, it’s just a bit of liquid sunshine.” It’s a lesson in optimism, but also a reminder that sometimes you have to do uncomfortable things in order to grow and benefit from the experience. (Plus, I grew up in London, so you really can’t be bothered by the rain, otherwise you’d never leave the house.)
As for getting into music in general, it’s been something I’ve been drawn to my entire life. From a really young age, I’ve been saying I’m going to be a singer/musician when I “grow up,” and I’ve never wanted to do anything else. My parents both played lots of music in our house growing up, and they exposed me to a wide variety of artists and genres, from the Jackson 5 to Cat Stevens. Everybody in my family loves to sing, so it was a big part of my and my sisters’ childhood. I’m really grateful that I was exposed to so much music when I was young. My parents were also really supportive, so whenever an opportunity came up to sing or perform, whether it was choir or talent shows or school plays, they’d encourage me to do it.
LUNA: Your music appears to embody a particularly dreamy feel to it. Sonically and lyrically, are there any artists that have shaped or inspired this element of your music?
DEVAN: I listen to all sorts of music, so my inspiration comes from a few different places. I grew up loving a lot of the classic singer-songwriters of the ’60s and ’70s (James Taylor, Fleetwood Mac, Cat Stevens), as well as a lot of soul artists (Marvin Gaye, Jackson 5, Bill Withers). My current favourite artists are Frank Ocean, Phoebe Bridgers, Holly Humberstone, Coldplay, SZA, Daniel Caesar … it’s a big mix of super emotional indie pop and R&B. I’m realizing while I say this out [loud] that you’re right — I’m always drawn to dreamier-sounding music, with lyrics that hold some emotional gravity.
LUNA: How has your style evolved over time within your songwriting? How do you see it changing as you continue to grow as an artist?
DEVAN: I’m definitely still finding my voice as a songwriter, and it’ll probably be a lifelong journey. There’s such a high ceiling for songwriting, and I don’t feel like I’ve even come close to mine. I was an under-confident writer for many years, and I gave into self-doubt and “writer’s block” a lot. Over the past few years, I have finally shed the fear of writing something shitty, which has been extremely liberating and really made the process of making Liquid Sunshine so much more enjoyable. My mentality was like, “Fuck it, let’s try this thing, and if it doesn’t work out I’ll just write more songs.” It’s nice to realize that nothing is the end of the world. Honesty is the most important thing, and a lot of the time the thing that makes you the most uncomfortable to write about is probably the thing you need to get off your chest.
LUNA: Your most recent release, “Feel Better,” talks about something that a lot of listeners can relate to, perhaps addressing someone else in their lives or even themselves. What kind of message would you like listeners to take from “Feel Better,” and what was the creative process behind this song in particular?
DEVAN: I wrote “Feel Better” during a period where I’d been seeing a lot of my loved ones go through some really tough times and mental health struggles. It’s difficult when you know there’s nothing you can do to fix a situation for somebody — you desperately want to put all the pieces back together even though you can’t. All you can do is be there for someone, even if it just means sitting on the couch with them or waiting until they’re ready to talk. This song is me trying to communicate my support.
I wrote it with my friends Jack Emblem and Jesse Gold last November after a long heart-to-heart soundtracked by some early 2000’s soft-rock. “Over My Head (Cable Car)” by The Fray came on, and we had all forgotten how amazing that song is. While we were talking, Jack started recreating the beat — really soft, muted drum sounds with a nice laid-back, driving feel. Jesse started laying down some more R&B-leaning chords, and the hook just kind of popped into my head.
LUNA: You released “Without You” back in July, which has an incredibly powerful feel to it. How did it feel to release a song so personal?
DEVAN: It felt so good. I was worried the song was too mean because I had never released a diss track before!! Taylor Swift must feel so liberated by releasing songs calling people out all the time. It felt like a concluding statement on a weird and emotionally burdening situation that had been drawn out for way too long.
LUNA: The visuals behind both “Without You” and “Feel Better” have a personal feel to them, centered around visuals or places that we see in our everyday lives. How do these visuals compare to the rest of the EP and what was the creative process behind them?
DEVAN: I love shooting in natural settings, especially given the conversational nature of these two songs — I think something hyperrealistic wouldn’t necessarily fit for them. For the “Without You” video (dir: nxtlvl studio), I wanted it to feel like I was “walking off” an old relationship — moving on and letting go of it with every step. The tempo of it is perfect for a mid-speed strut, and it felt celebratory and liberating. For the “Feel Better” video (dir: Kyle Laurin), since the song is about trying to get through to someone, I loved the idea of using a payphone, since nobody uses those anymore. The process behind that video was pretty hilarious since we were trying to film it in a single take on a busy street in Toronto, and people kept sneaking into our shots and we’d have to start over.
LUNA: The release of Liquid Sunshine is incredibly exciting and such a huge achievement. Are there any other future or upcoming projects you have for the year ahead?
DEVAN: Thank you! I released two solo EPs in 2021, so I’m definitely going to take a bit of a break and go out and live life for a while. I’ve been dreaming up my first album, visualizing what it will be like, so that’s definitely the next thing I want to work towards. I’m going to start chipping away at writing more songs for it.
My band, Wild Rivers, is releasing our sophomore album on Feb. 4, 2022, so the next few months will be busy with that, which I’m really excited about.
CONNECT WITH DEVAN
SPOTIFY
-
weekly tunes playlist has been updated! new tracks from @furtradeband, @pecqband, @garryfool & more! check it out! https://t.co/ToFU0R6YGo -
-
RT @oliviaborch: new @LunaCollective out todayyy shot by @alltookev ✨ @P1H_official editorial design by me ! https://t.co/cvSCKsWB5D
-
RT @rlyblonde: @AnnieDirusso for @LunaCollective shot by me #35mm #portra800 https://t.co/0UUJSCBGcH
