ALTHOUGH DEB NEVER BEGAN WITH ASPIRATIONS OF A CAREER THAT WOULD KEEP HER BEHIND THE SCENES, THE SINGER AND SONGWRITER HAS EMERGED AS A DISTINCTIVE VOICE IN MUSIC — BOLDLY EMBRACING VULNERABILITY ON A GRAND STAGE INSTEAD. THROUGH HER MUSIC, DEB, KNOWN FOR HER INTROSPECTIVE WORK, HAS NAVIGATED THE COMPLEXITIES OF EMOTION AND EXPERIENCE, ALL WHILE FINDING A BALANCE BETWEEN VULNERABILITY AND SELF-PRESERVATION. FOLLOWING THE RELEASE OF HER THIRD AND FINAL EP, THANK YOU FOR ATTENDING, DEB IS PREPARING FOR THE MUCH-ANTICIPATED RELEASE OF HER DEBUT ALBUM — THE NEXT STEP IN HER JOURNEY AS AN ARTIST. A JOURNEY THAT EMBODIES A COMMITMENT TO AUTHENTICITY AND THE TRANSFORMATIVE POWER OF ARTISTIC EXPRESSION.
Was there anything specific that inspired you to pursue a music career?
When I was younger, I'd watch music videos and live performances of bands. Watching videos always made me want to perform, which is funny because I have the most stage fright, and I didn't perform for the first time until 2019.
How was that first performance? Conquering your fear?
To be honest, I can't tell you because I think I completely blacked out. Afterwards, it's almost like this adrenaline rush. I just remember being so nervous. I thought I was going to throw up, and then afterwards, just feeling this rush of dopamine. But not remembering anything in between. I was so nervous and scared. And because it was something I was so scared of, I wanted to do it so badly. Or maybe vice versa, and I was terrified because I wanted to do it.
How do you feel about performing now?
I still love it. Performing now still makes me really nervous, but excited. I try to be intentional with what I'm doing on stage. I definitely don't black out as much anymore.
Earlier this year you released your third and final EP. How has the response been so far, and what has been the most rewarding part of having it out in the world?
The response has been great, and the most rewarding part of it, of letting it go, is knowing that I can go into albums. It was important for me to release small EPs in steps and let myself grow, so my fans and listeners could grow with me. That leads to this album that I'm working on. It feels good, honestly. The last EP, Thank You For Attending, was the end of an era and a step into the next.
You're working on your debut album now — how is that going for you?
It's really good. I'm going back to my roots and how I started. To me, sonically, it sounds a lot different, but it feels good. I'm tapping back into being a lot more involved and playing my guitar riffs for the album. I'm leaning into it and going back into playing the instruments a lot more.
Are there any particular themes that you're exploring? Do you have the album mapped out? How's the creative process going?
There's definitely more of a plan. I've always known what I wanted to do with the album and the world that I wanted to create with it. I want it to feel like a soundtrack. Growing up, I've always wanted to score films or make soundtracks for films, and I feel like I get to explore that with this album. Growing up, whenever I listened to music, the things that I connected to the most were the things that connected me visually somewhere. Where I could see a whole world with just the song. That's something that I'm leaning into with the album with every song.
Your music videos have a unique visual aesthetic — it sounds like visual storytelling is important for you as an artist. How do you approach transforming your songs into visuals?
It comes with the song first — the feeling of the song is the most important thing. Whenever I approach making music, it's like what's the colour of the song or where does it put me? Does it feel like a night drive? Does it feel like a walk in the park during the day? I connect the feeling of songs to a visual element, and I think that naturally creates an idea in my head of what it looks like. Of what the song looks like, and that helps with the music video.
Your music often blends different genres. How do you approach genre-bending in your process? Or is that something that you don't think about?
To be honest, I genuinely have never really thought about that. I think it's such a subconscious thing. That's the thing about music that's so fun to me, is that at least to me, it feels so subconscious. I'm not trying to reference anything. I'm not trying to make it sound like a specific thing. I think I'm just blending in the sounds that I like. The influences that I grew up with just naturally bleed out into what I'm making. It’s an accumulation of so many different genres because I listen to everything, so I think naturally it just ends up in songs and sound.
You sing, you produce, you play guitar and piano. How did all this happen? Did you take lessons when you were younger?
I never really took lessons or learned properly. Everything is by ear. Even with production. When I become interested in things, I become super hyper-fixated and obsessed with it — to the point where I just have to learn how to do it and get good at it. That's what happened with the guitar. I picked it up, and I liked it so much that I would just spend hours playing chords and learning techniques. I think to make something special, you have to put in the time with the craft. It wasn't a conscious thing, but I loved it so much that I couldn’t help but dive into learning everything about it. Even beyond music. Whether it's playing foosball or something. If I like something, I need to get good at it and that's how it happened. I like to immerse myself in whatever I'm doing and learn everything about it. I might not be the best at it — maybe I'm not the best guitar player, but I know that I have a specific way that I play just because of the way I taught myself.
How have you evolved as an artist, since you first started putting out music?
I think I've evolved musically, and even as a person. Before, it felt like I was just experimenting. I’m still experimenting, but I'm getting more honed into the sound that I like and what represents me the most — as a person and an artist. I've evolved even in things that I want to talk about or what I'm willing to share through music.
How has it been managing the balance between being vulnerable and your artistic expression? You touch on personal experiences and emotions a lot in your music. How do you balance that in your songwriting?
That's the hardest part that I still don't really have a grasp on. I think it's so cool that as artists, we get to express ourselves — to talk about personal things and let that be an outlet. It's a catch-22 because the other part is that everyone else gets to hear what you're thinking or feeling. It's like letting everyone read your diary. That's a hard balance because there are certain things where I'm like, "Damn, I really want to talk about this and I want to express it, but do I want people to know this part of me?" I think that is a tough balance, and I'm still working on that now. I appreciate the artists who speak so vulnerably, honestly, and unfiltered — especially in songwriting. I'm still trying to find that balance. I'm like, how much of myself do I want to give to people? But then how much of my expression am I robbing of myself? I honestly think vulnerability is a skill or a talent — a huge part of a great artist is their willingness to be vulnerable. It's a lot harder than people might think. In real life, I'm such a private person, and I don't really express myself that much. So it's funny that it's the opposite side of me that I let everyone see. That's the tough part for sure.
Is that part of why you've gravitated towards becoming a music artist? Is this your outlet for expressing yourself?
Yes. It was by accident. Growing up, I always made music in my room. It was always just for me. It wasn't for anyone else. I liked making music, and that was my place to express or let it out. So it becoming a public thing, was an accident. A happy accident.
How was it an accident?
I initially wasn't planning on releasing music myself. I was always happy making songs behind the scenes, for other artists or with friends. My old manager, who was also my friend, heard a couple of things I put out on SoundCloud. He was like, I think you should release these. And I was like, no. I got bamboozled into it, and now I'm here. But it was a happy accident. I'm always grateful for that.
Before this, did you have other career plans?
Yes. Songwriting or going into film or making music videos — something behind the scenes. I was so shy. Something where I could express, but I wouldn't have to be at the front and centre of it.
How do you see your career evolving in the next few years? Are there any other adventures that you have your sights on down the line? Any other passions?
Music-wise, I just want to keep growing. I want to keep making music. I hope that if people listen to it, they like it. Beyond music, I have so many ideas that I want to explore. Especially community-based things. I'm in such a lucky place, where I get to just talk about myself, my feelings, and have people hear that. It's important for me to give other people a place to do that. I want to create a place where people who, like me, have a bunch of special interests can also have a place to be able to explore. I know when I was growing up, something like that would've helped me so much.
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Discover the full story in our SS24 CRAZY LOVE Issue .
Interview by Jameelah Nasheed
Photography by Jenn Kang
Fashion by Jonathan Huguet
All clothes Givenchy
EIC Michael Marson
Casting by Imagemachine Cs
Production by Production Production
Hair by Lauren Palmer Smith
Make-Up by Courtney Perkins
Set Design by Kelly Cole
Photographer’s assistant Linh Tang
Stylist’s assistant Rebecca Perrier
