Interview: Philly Based Artist/Producer Dev Patrick Discusses His New Single "LOVE SONG"
What are some things/people/places that inspire you when you are working on new music?
It's hard to say what really inspires me because a lot of times ideas come to me when I’m not trying to create anything. I’m always humming melodies into my phone, on the run. I’ll be in the moment, feel something come over me and ideas just start popping up in every direction. It comes in many forms, in different places so I couldn’t really tell you. Because it's inconsistent. But when it's there, it's there and I don’t want to miss the moment to capture it. Because it never comes back.
Salute to you on the release of your dope new track "LOVE SONG"; tell us about your creative process for its development and what inspired you to write it.
The process for this song was pretty interesting. I found this beat on YouTube and liked how it sounded initially but figured it could use some enhancements.
I consider my production style to be fusionist; I have a hip-hop base but I like genre bending a lot! Give the listener something new to listen to.
A lot of producers use the same sounds you hear in other places but the product always feels limited in the way they use them; they like to keep it simple. I’m the opposite.
The beat was tagged as a Playboi Carti type beat so I bought it, then swapped a bunch of sounds, added an 8-Bit arp, this post-rock guitar and a bunch of background synths you might hear on something like “Purple Rain”.
The lyrics I was never crazy about but my friends liked it so I dropped it. I was just sitting in my dorm, had a girlfriend at the time and wrote a song about her.
Can we expect a music video for "LOVE SONG" to follow the single? Also, will the single be appearing on an upcoming EP or album this year?
There actually is a music video out right now, You can find it on YouTube as we speak! I just shot it with a friend on my webcam and went berserk with the editing. Shot it myself. As far as where the song ends up next, you’ll just have to see! Have some plans in the tuck.
How did you get started writing and producing music; and were there any artists/producers that you looked at as influential when you were younger?
I’ve been making music since I was 13. Been at it for about 11 years now. Producing, writing, rapping, singing, everything. Made a lot of projects I later took down when I went to college, rebranded.
The artists that got me into music mostly are Kanye, Black Eyed Peas, and Gorillaz. 2009 was a hell of a year for me. Pop was going in a different direction that was completely unfamiliar and I fell in love with it and wanted to emulate it.
I started out trying to be a YouTuber and wanted my friends to make a mixtape with me for the channel. We finished it but it was awful lol. But my heart stayed in it. My love for film transitioned into a love for music by my teens and the rest is history.
With "LOVE SONG" now released, what are some of your goals musically for the rest of 2022?
I don’t want to give away too much, but there will be a lot more coming. I have the next 3 years mapped out. I have plans. Big plans.