Entering a New Era of Music With Devon
In his newest single “ONCE UPON A LINE,” standout artist Devon inspires a world based in the intoxicating glamor of Hollywood. Coming face to face with alter egos and questioning the meaning of success, the single is an introspective guide through mental health and isolation. Produced entirely by himself, “ONCE UPON A LINE” is a captivating force of a single with electrifying peaks and chilling lyrics. Partnered with a cinematically thrilling music video, the single envisions a distorted version of reality sewn with paranoia, reflection, and ego.
Hailing from the Forest of Dean in the UK, Devon is anticipating a new era of music with this single. He claims that “‘ONCE UPON A LINE’ is not just a stand alone single.” The shift in sound is palpable with a newer, dramatic effect to this latest release. Acknowledging that he is learning more and more with each release, Devon’s production has come to elicit emotionally rich and vulnerable themes.
In a conversation with Unpublished Magazine, Devon discussed this new era of music, inspirations for “ONCE UPON A LINE,” and reflected on his growth as an artist thus far.
[UNPUBLISHED]: How has 2023 been for you so far?
[DEVON]: It's been good. It's been exciting. It's been fun to dive into this new music that I have been sitting on for so long. I wrote it in the process of releasing the last mixtape. All the music that I did for the last mixtape I sat on for ages because the time between writing and releasing was just so long. When that tape was being released, I was just plugging away at this next thing. So, it's been good to start rolling it out into the world, which feels good.
[UNPUBLISHED]: You just released your latest single “ONCE UPON A LINE.” How are you feeling?
[DEVON]: It's cool. That's probably one of my favorite songs of the new batch that I did. I was always really excited about that song and when it came out, it felt like a step forward, it felt more mature for me. I was really excited to get that one out so the fans could really get an idea of where I was at.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Can you share with us the inspiration behind the song?
[DEVON]: I'm from quite an isolated area called Gloucestershire in the UK. I live in a place called the Forest of Dean. The song is written from the perspective of someone that's got everything they ever wanted to the point it's got a bit dark. But, it's like looking at that from a point of someone who is so far away from that kind of reality. It kind of talks about Hollywood and the cliches of celebrities. You know, they get to the top and it gets a little bit weird. It's from that point of view of someone who's so isolated in their little hometown. Gloucestershire is so far away from that reality. It's like looking at that kind of reality and being like, "Wow, I would go to the dark parts of Hollywood if it meant I could get out of the boring reality that is home life.” That's not what I want but it was how I was feeling at the time. I felt very isolated and felt that my dreams and everything was so far away and stuff was so far out of reach for me. I think it was just one of those moments where I was like, "How can I put these feelings into a song?" Kind of the need for more, that desperate want.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Have you ever been to Hollywood?
[DEVON]: I've not left the UK since I was in like year five in school. Yeah, I need to get out.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Is there a certain place in the world that you would like to visit?
[DEVON]: New York has always been a big dream. My distro team is all from New York. It's always been a dream to go to America. So, it kind of inspired the song I guess. America has always been a place I've dreamt of going. I don't know if I'll get the chance to tour there just because of how it is with money and stuff these days with the music industry in general. But, I made it one of my goals this year.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Do you feel like you took any new creative approaches with this single?
[DEVON]: I would say that I have learned a lot more since my last tape. I produce everything myself. So with each project, I naturally become a producer. I guess I know more stuff, I learn more things. I always say that my old mixtape felt very young and youthful in the way it was produced because when you first learn to produce, you usually throw all these ideas into the pot because you're like, "That sounds cool. Let's put it all in." And you sometimes get these songs that are just full of noise and it can take away from the song. I don't think that happened with my last tape. But, you can see the progression from that tape to the new stuff. It's a lot more minimal. I'm only using stuff that's needed and I've kind of honed down sonically my sound design and I've learned how to make stuff sound more unique and more myself. So, I think that's probably the biggest change.
[UNPUBLISHED]: If you had to describe “ONCE UPON A LINE” in colors, what would they be?
[DEVON]: I'd definitely say red. The video is graded in red and orange. Then at the same time, I'd say that's for the half of the song that's so Hollywood. It's that desperation that's the red kind of vibe. Then I'd say greens and browns for the other half. Green is a color that I've always associated with because where I live is called the Forest of Dean, we're literally in a forest. So, I definitely think the two main colors are probably green, brown, and then red and orange. I'm not one of those synesthesia people but if I had to put some colors on that, I'd probably say those.
[UNPUBLISHED]: So I was reading the description of the song and you mentioned this “alter ego.” Would this alter ego also be named Devon or what would you name it?
[DEVON]: Maybe like Kevin? But, I'd say Devon because as much as it's like an alter ego, your alter ego is still you. I think in some sense alter egos are just yourself but times ten. An alter ego is what you always wanted to be; but, the normal world kind of keeps it at bay. I can think about that all day like, "Oh, is that really myself speaking or not?" But, I guess we'll never know.
[UNPUBLISHED]: This song deals with a sense of fictional world building with the use of an “alter ego” and imaginative elements. Can we expect more of this kind of writing in the future?
[DEVON]: Yeah, that's really interesting. I've not intentionally done that. When I wrote the song it was almost like an exercise to be like “I’ve never written a song like this before." I was just trying to think of something that I could write about and that was the thing that inspired me at the time. I definitely think I'd be up for doing it again. It's not something I'm going to say I've done once and I'm just gonna stick it at that. It felt exciting and it felt really cool to do. It gave me a lot of confidence to write lyrics from a point of view that's super, super confident, almost arrogant. I will say that I listen to all types of music; but, I've always been really jealous of how hip hop artists can speak and be really braggadocious in their raps because they're saying so much and it's so fast. They can say so much in a short space of time and I've always loved that real braggadocious, confident energy that they bring to raps. And I've always been like, "How can I put that into my music?" And I think that was probably one of the ways of trying it for the first time and I definitely think I'd love to do it again. World building as well. I think throughout my whole music catalog, I've always had this over-running theme of the Forest of Dean and little things that the fans pick up on. Like the Nowhereland merch and all the things that they like to wear. I'm a big lover of little secret messages and little things that the fans can dig into and find out of the music. To have the music to listen to; but, if they want to go deeper, maybe find some cool little things that I've weaved into the production and stuff.
[UNPUBLISHED]: I read about how fans are stitching “FOD” into their clothes and other things. That’s very cool.
[DEVON]: I often say that FOD is the abbreviation of the Forest of Dean. I think in the early days, the fans took it on and kind of called themselves the FOD because it also stood for “Fans of Devon.” It's like the stars aligning on that one. That's always been the little branding thing and it's something that they took on. They've definitely done the FOD things on the clothes. It's been cool. They've made little bracelets with trees on them and stuff like that at shows. It's really cool.
[UNPUBLISHED]: The music video for “ONCE UPON A LINE” had some awesome visuals. Do you have a favorite scene or memory made from the music video?
[DEVON]: I love how all of it looks to be fair. My favorite memory – I wouldn't say favorite; but, it was definitely something. I didn't hate it but it was hard to shoot. There's a scene where I'm wrapped up in my own grave in plastic and stuff. When we were filming, it was like nine o'clock at night, the middle of winter in the UK. So, it was so cold. I was only in that white shirt and some trousers and I just remember the runner on set was laying his coat over the top of me to try and keep me warm because my body was starting to shake loads. The whole process to shoot that video was a joy. I've worked with other directors before but the whole of the last mixtape I directed all the videos myself. This time, I got the chance to work with someone else and I met this guy called Zak Watson and his visuals and his video grading was on my kind of wavelength. I think we clicked straight away when we started talking about ideas. He smashed the video and we're gonna do more videos together I think.
[UNPUBLISHED]: You’ve been releasing music for some time now. What would you have told yourself at the beginning of your career?
[DEVON]: Be patient, stop rushing everything. I started very early on in my career to the point where I was not ready for anything. I could write a song, but I couldn't produce at all then. I found a manager and got thrown into the industry. I think that stuff kind of just went a bit mad when I first started. No one really knows this, I don't really speak about it too much. But, I remember we had a lot of buzz from a really bad little first single and I just was not ready for any of them. But in my head, because I was young and naive, I was like, "let's go, let's go, let's go." I ended up just dropping more songs that just didn't do well. All that kind of attention went. I had to start again and just build it from the ground up. I learned to produce, I learned to do stuff myself and direct my own videos and I learned to do it the proper way. Everything happens for a reason. I think if stuff had gone well back then, I would not have learned how to produce and be in the full control that I am now. Everything that goes on under my umbrella and my team, I'm in full control of. I know what I'm doing with production and videos and the design and stuff. And in that space of time, there was so much learning to be done. That'd be my advice, just chill out, stop rushing things, stop trying to go all guns blazing. It's better to do that work behind the scenes and then go, instead of just being impatient. And I guess that's something that all young artists want to do. They want to just go as soon as they launch their career. But yeah, I'd definitely tell myself to take the time and work in the shadows for a bit.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What has been inspiring you creatively lately? Has it been the place you’re from? Has it been people inspiring you?
[DEVON]: I think the place I'm from for sure. Someone called it my muse the other day. My hometown has always been this underlying theme that ran through my music. And I think with the new stuff, there's a lot more songs in there that talk about life in the sticks. It is in the sticks, it's in the middle of nowhere. It's looking more at that and dealing with feeling isolated and cut out from the world in a certain way, just dealing with isolation and mental health and stuff like that. I definitely think the area that I'm from and my experiences in my own little section of the world in the West Country, I've put that into my music a lot more than I have in the past. Some of my songs in the past I've written about personal issues and relationships. But, I feel like with this new stuff it's very focused on my hometown and my mental health and other people's mental health. Just that whole package.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What have you been listening to lately? Who’s been on your radar?
[DEVON]: Number one, Little Simz, she just dropped an album called NO THANK YOU and I've listened to that every single day, every single morning from the day it came out. It's been like my morning album that I just click play on. It's the first thing you press play on. I've listened to it the whole way through so many times. So Little Simz for sure, she's the goat. Then I've been listening to Pinegrove a lot. They're one of my favorite bands. And Unknown Mortal Orchestra. I've always been a fan of his. But, I think for some reason, as of late, I've been listening to all of his stuff just in the background of whatever I'm doing. I guess that's a nice healthy three.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What does the future look like for you? What can fans expect from this era of your music?
[DEVON]: I'm into releasing bigger projects now and I'm really taking bigger steps and more risky, bigger things. That's something I've always wanted to do. I want to drop full projects and build my fan base and build what I am, build our little community and really start shining the light. And just be a little bit of a beacon for the West Country. There's not many artists that come out of the West Country in the UK and I just feel like I'd love to just keep pushing that, giving this area a bit of shine. I want to play loads more shows and really start stepping it up on the live stuff because I love playing live so much. I want to give people this new matured, substance filled music and hope they connect. And just keep releasing music, that's all I want to do. After this phase, I want to drop another thing and I'm just gonna keep things rolling.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Anything else you’d like to add for readers and listeners to know?
[DEVON]: I've got new music coming out very soon. "ONCE UPON A LINE" is not just a stand alone single. I can't say too much other than that. But "ONCE UPON A LINE" is very much the start of this next kind of era for me. Yeah, I just hope they enjoy it and it won't be long before we see the next song. Yeah, I'm excited.
