Project Description

Interview with

Dylan Joel

By Brianna Denmeade

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Dylan Joel

Dylan Joel // Run To The River

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Melbourne singer-songwriter Dylan Joel recently premiered his new single Run To The River on triple j, with the official video released shortly after.

It’s quite a change of direction for Dylan musically. The track is super catchy, blues-tinged pop… somewhat of a departure from his hip-hop past. This is the first new music from Dylan in two years, since his 2015 album Authentic Lemonade, so it’s very exciting! Dylan’s an amazing artist, I caught him live back in late 2016 when I first started at Warner and I was really impressed.

Amnplify writer Brianna Denmeade got the opportunity to chat in-depth with Dylan Joel about his creative process for Run To The River, and how he manages to keep his cool when the industry gets crazy…

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Hey Dylan,

Hey, how are you doing?

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I’m good thanks, how are you?

I’m really good.

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So you should be, where are you right now?

Actually, just in my backyard, at home. Which is good to be home. Just chillen, sitting out in the sun. Life is good.

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Before I get into your recent release Run To The River, can you tell me more about your journey in music and how you got to where you are currently?

Yeah, um…Where do I start? Well, I started playing drums at twelve. I did drum lessons for three or four years, and then I bored of drums and picked up a guitar at sixteen and taught myself guitar. And then I got bored of playing the guitar so I taught myself how to produce when I was about seventeen. And then, I put all those things together and taught myself how to sing and rap around probably eighteen, which is pretty late. It was funny I just kind of put out demo recordings when I was like nineteen on the internet and people just really seemed to like them. So…it kind of just kept happening. Now fast-track a few years later and I am still doing it. So that is kind of how it all started musically.

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So from a young age, you were inclined to be around instruments and music?

Yeah, it’s really funny, I just always had a feeling I would do something with music. Since I remember I had that feeling. Like I have this memory from when I was six or seven at primary school they had these drum workshops where they just got the class to play with drumsticks on mini chalkboards. And I just remember feeling so comfortable and confident doing it and learning all the patterns. I thought “This is sick, I could do this all the time.” Rhythm is something that has always stuck out to me like rap is literally just like drums with words. So there is kind of just this rhythm in me and I always wanted to do music.

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Are there any artist’s who you can remember having a crucial impact on you as an artist?

Yeah! And there are even some that have become more so relevant now. I think one of the main influences for me was an artist called Tracey Chapman. I grew up listening to Tracey in my family home, my Dad will tell you I have always loved Tracey. But I am finding that this record is more heavily influenced by her than any other and I have gone back to my grassroots. So she was a big one. But then when I was a teenager I really liked Jack Johnson, I listened to heaps of Jack Johnson. He was a big deal back then for me. Hip-hop kind of kicked in when I was sixteen and my first exposure to hip-hop was literally the Hilltop Hoods. And then my homies were like, “You got to listen this American shit too.” Which is why I am a bit of a paradox of genres.

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Yeah, your last record Authentic Lemonade seemed to emulate that with a combination of that American and Aussie hip-hop style.

Yeah, exactly. And this time with Run To The River I feel I have gone back to my grassroots with Tracey and Jack Johnson so my career has been a big culmination of all of it. Which is funny.

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It all comes out in the washing machine. Haha.

Yeah, that is exactly it.

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You have had a few years between releasing music. Was there a reason for that?

It was a personal thing. I don’t think I had spent enough time crafting and working on my songwriting. Rapping was so natural to me, so that was all super easy to put together. And producing, again, was so natural to me. But I have always admired and respected songwriters A LOT and I wanted to be better at songwriting. So I was like, “You know what? I don’t want the expectation of having to force out the record.” So I kind of took a year while I was still touring part of the last record to work on songwriting, and then during the second year before Run To The River, I really put all my effort into writing music. So I took a whole year off of social media like I just had to hide so I did not feel like anybody had any expectations of me. I had so much fun doing it too, it was a real refreshing moment when I realised I don’t have to work on the clock of other people. I can take out time for myself to do the right thing for me. Forced creativity is always a bit whacked too.

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I’ve had a listen to both your recent releases Hola, Hola and Run To The River and I would agree with you that they are more grassroots. But still not really genre-defined. Did you go into this record planning to change your music style up a bit?

There was no intention behind any of the songs to lean them one-side or the other. I have just wanted to do what feels right for each song. And for Run To The River when I came up with that chord progression and chorus melody, it just felt… right.

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Dylan Joel

Dylan Joel

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It’s awesome how you can blend genres so seamlessly that would not usually be meshed.

Aw, thanks! Yeah, I love that. For me, that has been a huge goal. All my favourite artists are the ones that are not easy to define. They aren’t easily put into a box or a genre. I want to do that.

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Can you explain what Run To The River means to you, what do the lyrics mean to you?

The chords are actually pretty much a flip of a blues song. So it was like a typical blues progression, so I took that influence from songs written for gospel and blues. And the theme is really the desert and the devil. So I took that foundation and wrote this song about temptation. Run To The River is about falling into temptation, but wanting to escape it.  The river is the escape when life feels pretty dry.

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I like the metaphors you use.

Yeah, and I have never really done that before. I like that this tells more of a story than my past tracks. I’d love to more of it.

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Well, the song is brilliant, so I think you should.

Thank you.

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With the release of Run To The River, can we also expect an album or Australian tour in the near future?

Yeah. I will definitely do a tour pretty soon. I don’t have any dates yet, but it’s happening. And as for an album, that a yes too, there is an album coming but I can’t tell you when just yet, haha. But what I can guarantee is there is at least another five singles coming out this year.

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So 2018 is a big year for you!

Aw yeah, it’s been well worth the wait. We may decide to release it single at a time to let people digest it.

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Yeah, I get that. And then you can decide as you go which song you want to release when.

Yeah well for me picking the order of the songs tells a lot of the story. For me personally, I know the order of the album, but sometimes it is nice to let what’s happening during that moment to decide what happens creatively.

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What has been most important for you in your life when it comes to keeping your shit together?

I feel really like, but I have an amazing community around me. My parents are very social people so we have so many family friends and relatives that are a huge part of my life. They come to all of my shows, they are an incredible support. I have had mentors my entire life, and I grew up going to church. I have had a lot of privilege with the people around me. I’ve been doing music for five or six years, and now I like mentoring younger kids in music. Everyone should have a mentor or a really good friend that has their back.

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If you had one-hour studio time with any muso that is no longer alive who would you choose?

Oh crap! I would say MJ (Michael Jackson).

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I love that answer!

Yeah, I know right.

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Thank you for your time.

Thank you for your time as well, wonderful to speak to you.

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FOLLOW DYLAN JOEL
OFFICIAL WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | SOUNDCLOUD | YOUTUBE

www.warnermusic.com.au

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AMNPLIFY – DB