TEXAS R&B SINGER DENDE [@DENDEISME] ON THE CONCEPTUAL WORLD BEHIND HIS LATEST ALBUM, ’95 CIVIC’

GUAP chats to Dende about his latest album, ’95 Civic.

Texas R&B singer Dende’s latest Ep ‘Before We Crash’ and following album ’95 Civic’ delve into the nuances of heartbreak wrapped in his silky smooth voice and charming lyricism. With hooks sure to get stuck in your head and a strong storyline bound to get you whipped he’s and R&B star in the making who should be on your radar. We sat down with him to discuss the art of conceptualising his projects, touring and collaboration.

How was SXSW Festival? 

DENDE: It was amazing. This is my second year doing it in a row. I did it last year. Last year, I kind of burnt myself out – I took too many shows. This year we only did four, so it was pretty good. I made a lot of new fans. I got to hang out with people, meet some online artists that I already knew. So it was cool. 

Where did the concept of ’95 Civic come from? Why did you pick the car out of all the other details in the story? 

DENDE: That idea came from my A&R, Miz. We were just listening to the project and I was having a hard time figuring out a name and he was like “Well, you’ve already talked about a car numerous times in some of these songs, maybe we should latch onto that part.” So we kind of just came up with ’95 Civic, because me and the person that all these songs are about, were born in ’95. She used to drive a Honda Civic, so we kind of just pushed those together and made the car almost a metaphor for the relationship. 

I adored how you told the story of the relationship that ’95 Civic is about by dropping Before We Crash prior. It sets the story in the happier moments. Did you write the songs on the EP before you crashed or after the crash? 

DENDE: I wrote most of those songs after I made the songs for the album. 

That’s really interesting because I feel like it really teased the album and I have to say it is a genius marketing concept and it tells the story so well. Which song was the hardest to write emotionally and which song was the most fun to write? 

DENDE: I feel like ‘Lost’ would might be the most fun to record, just because of all the extra stuff that was going on inside of it and me trying to make it like a trance track – you get stuck inside of it, but the hardest one to write probably ‘Nightmares’.

What was it like working with Eimaral Sol, Chris Patrick and Lily Aviana on the album and Deante’ Hitchcock and Erykah Officer on the EP? Were you a fan of those artists prior to working with them?

DENDE: So, Erykah Officer is part of the management group I’m part of –  CXR, so we’re really cool. We had that song and I was like, “Yo, I would really appreciate it if you let me put it on my EP.” She was like, “Bet, that’s perfect.” I’ve already worked with Deante’ in the past and he’s a really cool dude. I met him a couple years ago when I went to Atlanta and he’s been nothing but welcoming as a person and as an artist, so it’s always really cool to work with him. Chris Patrick is also part of the management group, he’s one of the like original members of CXR. He’s one of my best friends too, so that’s easy. Eimaral Soul is actually the reason that I know my producer, Billy Blunt – I met him in a session with her, so I’ve known her for a long time and I’ve been a really big fan. And then Lilly Aviana, I’ve also known her for years now. She’s been one of my best friends. So honestly, all those features are people that I’m really close with. 

What are your favourite lyrics that you wrote on the album and what’s the story behind them? 

DENDE: I’ll say my favourite lyrics are in ‘Perspective’ – “My cup’s half empty / Hope I’m enough / Your cup’s half full” – basically, that song came out of me and Billy being in Atlanta and literally sitting in chairs at like 4:00 AM and like falling asleep in chairs and I really felt like I was drained and I just kind of started writing the first thing that was popping into my head. We woke up the next morning and we listened to what we recorded and it was very bare bones. It was nothing like the actual song, but I was just like, “Nah, this is something!” It is a feeling that I was having after the relationship. I did feel like I probably wasn’t enough for somebody and that I did look at situations kind of [like] the glass half full, [half empty] type of person, ’cause I am kind of a pessimist sometimes, but also in the moment of making that I really felt extremely drained. That was the story beyond that song. 

How did you work with your team to come up with the creative concepts, visuals and album rollout? 

DENDE: One thing that has always been apparent is that people really loved seeing live content from me, like live vocals and visuals. So, that was one thing that we kind of came up with from the jump, that we we’re gonna make sure that we incorporated live versions of songs specifically for the EP to help roll it out as opposed to doing a bunch of music videos, which we didn’t really have the, the resources for. Making a bunch of short form live performances for people that looked visually appealing to get them to latch onto something, to put a face to the song almost. That really started off with me and KB sitting in a room and her asking me what I wanted to do for the project, and then me and my videographer Austin really locking in and getting those visuals to put together ready for everyone to see. 

Has putting this out in the world helped you heal from what it was about? 

DENDE: I feel like I was already moved on from it in a sense, but putting it out is definitely letting go, I will say. That situation is no longer a part of my life.

Understood. What’s something you wish you could say to your listeners after they’ve heard ’95 Civic?

DENDE: I would say goes to it again, but this time this time start from Before We Crash and just listen straight down. 

Do you plan to do a headline tour with this album? Like how would you translate this story onto the stage? 

DENDE: I actually do plan on doing that. If anyone saw me at SXSW this past week, they kind of got a taste of what we’re planning on doing for the tour. We’re working on it now, but yeah, look forward to a headlining tour for ’95 Civic for sure. 

You better come to London!

DENDE: I really want to, my fan base is growing exponentially in London. 

My last question was, do you think your next project will be as conceptual as this one? And are conceptual projects something you wish to continue making throughout the rest of your career as a musician? 

DENDE: I don’t know if it’s gonna be as conceptual, but I do plan on making conceptual things. I like it, I like telling a story and my A&R, Miz loves telling stories too. I like immersing somebody in the world that I’m in – or was in – when making the project, so I don’t think that’s gonna stop anytime soon. I really enjoy it. I’m a very dramatic person so I like to bring that into the music. 

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