Exclusive Interview: Dre. Delves on His Creative Tastes, His Inspirations & His New Album “1984”

Welcome to the interview, and thank you for treating our ears to your latest album, “1984”. What prompted you to release such an exceptional album?

I love the 80’s I feel like it was a magical time in the world, very Iconic movies and music and Pop culture in general came out of that decade, Most of my favorite artist are from the 80’s like Michael Jackson, Prince, Rick James, Madonna, Bobby Brown, Phil Collins, ect. So I decided to make music similar to the music that I love.

How long was this project in the making, and what were your intentions or hopes in terms of what people will take away from it?

It took me about an entire year to make this album, I wrote every song, I composed almost every song, I did all the engineering myself, so to get it to sound right to me and my producer, IVNN I had to put in the effort and time. My intentions with this album is to hopefully open up to a new generation and as well as my own what our parents and Grandparents grew up listening to, the sounds and style of their era, I hope the younger crowd grow an appreciation for the music that came before them and I just hope the older crowd experience a sense of nostalgia.

How would you describe your sound to someone who just listened to your music for the first time?

New, yet nostalgic.

What is your creative process like? How do you start writing a musical piece? How do you begin your creative process?

Honestly I really can’t explain it, I always give credit to God, he is the one that gives me the gift or sends the inspiration my way, I could hear the oddest sound or be watching TV and a song or lyric will start to pop in my head, sometimes my songwriting or productions will come from a life experience or an emotion I’m feeling at the moment.

Can you see your finished product before you start?​

I’ll put it this way, I can see an outline but not the finished product, for instance, I knew I wanted my album to have a strong 80’s influence, but I had no clue on what the lyrics were gonna come out as or even some of the beats because I had to do some deep diving of what a person in 1984 would’ve been listening to at that point, which most likely would’ve been music from the late 70’s onto the early 80’s, that’s why songs like “An Evening Rendezvous” and “V.H.S.” Have a 1979/1980 sound with more acoustic instruments instead of songs like “Boy-Toy” or the Title Track where it’s very synthesizer and keyboard-heavy and closer to the music and sounds of 1983/1984.

Wow! Up until this point in your career, what would you describe as your favorite song you’ve recorded or performed live? What makes that song special?

My favorite song on this album would probably have to be “Boy-Toy”. I have yet to perform it live or make a music video but I plan to in the near future.

What do you enjoy most about being a musician? What do you hate most?

I enjoy the whole creative process of it, how something could be going through my head at the oddest times and watching it come to life is just Amazing. I wouldn’t say I hate anything but the fact of how difficult it is sometimes to get it noticed and in front of the right crowd.

If you could change anything about the industry, what would it be?

I would bring it back to the old school way, if you were actually talented and had the star power you got a record deal, nowadays it’s like anyone who knows somebody, who knows somebody, who knows somebody else will get a record deal even when they’re not all that good or exceptional, you got artist who are signed today that have 12 writers and producers for them, 2 choreographers and 5 fashion experts to make what you see today, while there are kids on YouTube who write, produce and edit their own content solely by themselves, the music industry today has more monsters than Frankenstein’s and what I mean when I say that, is when you ask who is Frankenstein? Or ask to describe him, almost everyone will describe a green monster with strictest on him when in reality they’re describing Frankenstein’s creation “the monster” the real Frankenstein who is actually the Doctor never gets the credit or notoriety that the Monster gets to such an extent that people call the monster “Frankenstein”, yet the he’s the sole creator and the monster is the made up product.

What’s your motto or the advice you live by? 

“Be yourself, love yourself and Trust yourself, no other person knows yourself better than you”

For our final question, is there anything else you would like to add? Any message to your fans?

Yes, I’d like to thank first and foremost Almighty God, who gave me this gift, I’d like to thank my Producer IVNN, he produced every song on my album, I’d like to thank my friends and family who supported me and also gave me constructive criticism to make the album become what you hear today and last but certainly not least I’d like to thank my incredible fans who show me so much love and support and I love all of you with the bottom of my heart, please enjoy my album “1984”

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