Words by Mariana V. Honorato @marianavhonorato.
Photography // Didirri by Gil Gilmour.
We had the opportunity to speak to the Melbourne based singer and songwriter Didirri, who has just released a new (red and gorgeous!) EP called Sold for Sale. Despite all the weirdness of this year, Didirri has managed to take a virtual world tour and create a full EP from scratch, that talks about the impermanence of our feelings and states. Read the full interview to find out more about him and his inspirations.
You say you make music for lovers and overthinkers. Your compositions speak of melancholy in a light and inspiring way, and convey, at the same time, the feeling of confidence and vulnerability. What is the process behind your productions? Do your personal experiences play any role in your creative process?
I often write a big word “pool” to draw from when writing about a topic. Word Association about what I would like to write about. Absolutely I draw from personal experience, but of late I have been writing more from the context of telling the stories around me. Rather than my own directly. I guess I take a bit more of a narrator role on this record and try to learn lessons from my friends, family and others.
Still about the feelings transmitted through your music, what do you intend to convey with your new EP ‘Sold For Sale’?
We are all constantly arriving and constantly departing from some kind of achievement. ‘Sold for Sale’ is about that flux state. Sold, finished, done. For sale, ongoing, pending. All of the songs in ‘Sold for Sale’ are reflective of one, or both, of these states. The ending of relationships and the beginning of others, trying not to be let down the garden path by someone; and trying not to reflect too hard on your actions for fear of ruining what you have.
Who are your TOP 5 favourite artists?
Bon Iver
The War on Drugs
Julia Jacklin
Kraftwerk
Johanna Newsom
If you could meet Didirri from ten years ago and give him advice regarding his career, what would you say?
Keep writing bad songs till you write a good one and don’t smoke.
What was the most memorable moment in your career and why? What lessons have you learned from that experience?
I remember walking from one end of Latitude Festival to the other in the pouring rain trying to find where I parked the rental car. No matter how well things are going in your career you can always get rained on. Sometimes it’s fun to get wet, it makes you laugh at yourself and I think that’s pretty damn important.
Not too long ago you participated in the #TogetherAtHome mini concert series with Global Citizen and the World Health Organization. In times of uncertainty and fear at a global level, what is the importance of music, in your opinion? What thoughts and reflections has this period brought you?
It’s difficult to understand each other at the best of times. We live in a Global community now and I for the first time in decades a lot of people are noticing their local community a lot more. We are living in a unique moment in history where we can reach into each other’s living rooms with a guitar or just a voice and speak to them. It’s an oddly private, public moment to do a live stream for thousands of singular entity’s. It makes a huge difference.
Your trajectory has been pretty admirable, having participated in renowned festivals like UK’s The Great Escape and Latitude Festival, Australia’s Splendour In The Grass and Barcelona’s Primavera Sound, and close to 300,000 listeners on Spotify (with singles that surpasses 10 million!). But, as we know there are no limits for dreamers – what are your dreams, plans and ambitions for the future, as a person and as an artist?
I never thought I would miss the tour van or the long airport stopovers but to me honest and looking forward to them most of all. I’m looking forward to smiling at more strangers. I’m looking forward to playing for new ears. It’s one of my favourite things to see in real time a connection being made with a musician for the first time. I’m looking forward to doing that again but in the meantime growing a garden.
