Getting Deep with Devon Again
Photo by Jacqueline Kulla
[UNPUBLISHED:] Hey Devon! How’re you doing?
[DEVON AGAIN:] I’m doing well!
[UNPUBLISHED:] Can you tell me a little bit about the inspiration behind your newest single “deep?”
[DEVON AGAIN:] Well.. I had a lot of feelings and also had a large desire to not feel them.
[UNPUBLISHED:] What was your songwriting process like for this single?
[DEVON AGAIN:] The day the song was started was during a session with Jon - who produced the record. It started with Jon putting his guitar in a funky tuning, creating the acoustic loop that starts and ends the song. We made it through the first verse and chorus the first day, which had us walking away having no idea whether it was really cool and different or if the chorus was too simple or boring. Weeks passed and I kept coming back to the demo and eventually, I texted Jon like “oh god we have to finish this.” For months to follow, we got to chip away at it slowly as the actual story of the song kept developing.
[UNPUBLISHED:] I know you also directed the music video with collaborator Ethan Frank, what inspired you to direct the video?
[DEVON AGAIN:] It just made the most sense I think. I knew how I wanted the video to feel and we shot all of the footage on an iPhone so it didn’t feel like directing in the traditional sense at all. It was super “run and gun.” Ethan and I just grabbing random shots we thought might work on the way to wherever we were headed next.
[UNPUBLISHED:] Do you have a favorite moment from shooting the music video?
[DEVON AGAIN:] Honestly the whole process was so incredible. It was both Ethan and I’s first time out of the US and we were with our best friends so it was kind of an unbeatable experience. Virtually all of the footage was impromptu (which in and of itself is so much fun) but we spent a few days on an island in Greece called Agistri where we got a big portion of the “performance” shots. We spent an hour or so running around one night after dinner filming the performance shot where I’m wearing a blue shirt and look scary as fuck, and I just remember that being the moment when Ethan and I really got excited about the video. The next day or day after that on the same island is when we got the underwater footage and it just really started to feel like it was gonna click. (Scary shot for context below)
[UNPUBLISHED:] I’ve been listening to you for a while now and love your whole discography. How do you think you have evolved as an artist over time?
[DEVON AGAIN:] Oh my goodness, thank you!!! I think over time my writing has become a lot more specific, and more vulnerable, the music itself is sonically a lot more tense. I love a journey, and I love a song that forces you to follow it so I’m really excited to keep exploring that.
[UNPUBLISHED:] Who are some artists you look up to or that inspire your sound?
[DEVON AGAIN:] It’s definitely hard to narrow it down, and it's always changing but I’m super inspired by 2017 Kevin Abstract, James Blake, Slow Pulp, and Portishead.
[UNPUBLISHED:] Who have you been listening to lately? What’s on your radar?
[DEVON AGAIN:] I’ve been on the road for a couple of weeks now and in the van we’ve been listening to a lot of Cr1tter (highly recommend) and oh, the new Mitski album. Also, an EP called Cali Cartier Best Dog which came out in 2020. It’s very good for staying awake while driving for 9 million hours and also just incredibly impressive.
[UNPUBLISHED:] What are you most excited about for the future? What’s coming up next for you?
[DEVON AGAIN:] Well currently I’m on tour for the first time ever and am so so excited to keep playing. It's been a freaking blast, hopefully up next is a lot more of that. Other than that I am writing, writing, and writing!
