“If you don’t belong anywhere, it means you belong everywhere!” With these words, dery captures the essence of her multifaceted identity, shaped by a life spent between continents. As a self-described ‘third culture kid,’ dery’s upbringing between New York and Hamburg has deeply colored her musical identity, fostering a sense of adaptability and open-mindedness that reverberates through her work. “The diversity of spaces and people you navigate as someone with an upbringing across continents inherently influences your ability to adapt to most situations.” Her music, rich in emotional texture and crafted with precision, mirrors this journey, reflecting a world where boundaries are fluid and the notion of ‘home’ is continually redefined.
Her new single, ‘sparkle’, is a calm and dreamy track that places her serene and comforting voice in the foreground. It is a bittersweet reflection on a past relationship, characterized by its gratitude and grace rather than bitterness or sorrow. “I wrote myself this one to express gratitude for the entire experience,” dery explains, inviting listeners into her introspective world.
In our interview, she talks about her approach to songwriting, challenging music industry norms and her passion for analog photography.
photography by dery
The title “sparkle” evokes a lot of emotions and images. Why did you choose this particular word to encapsulate the essence of your song?
Until “sparkle”, I had only written break-up songs from a place of pain/sorrow/anger. I lived through a wonderful relationship that had ended and wanted to express gratitude for the entire experience. I generally hadn’t heard many appreciative break-up songs, so I wrote myself this one.
You mentioned that “sparkle” reflects on a past relationship with gratitude. How challenging was it to capture such a nuanced emotion in a single track?
Although there is a part of myself in every song, I predominantly write from the perspective of a fictional protagonist, which gives me the ability to set smaller parameters for each character. It feels less overwhelming than having to encapsulate everything. The expression of gratitude in this song is just an exploration of a sliver of the emotion, thereby not presenting the greatest challenge.
Music often captures the unsaid or the unseen emotions. How do you hope listeners interpret or connect with this sentiment of wishing well for an ex-partner despite past pains?
I hope for listeners to connect with it in a way that feels specific enough to their experience with the topic. Most relationship endings accompany some form of gratitude for the person and what was learned, even though we tend to fixate on the pain. There is still sadness in accepting an ending, but the protagonist’s focus on hoping for the best for their ex-partner overrules the sorrow in this case.
“I’d really love to see more women working in music. It’s not easy to find many options for female instrumentalists, producers, engineers, …”
Your work often emphasizes that despite our differences, we all share the same emotions. How do you hope this message resonates in today’s divided world?
I find that music generally explores emotions all humans possess, so customarily it’s the details of lyrics that present difficulty for listeners to resonate with across the board. Focusing on the fact that we do indeed share our basic human emotions/needs with everyone can be helpful in reaching across the divide – however, it only becomes a constructive tool if true listening is present.
How has your upbringing in both New York and Hamburg influenced your music identity?
Growing up between countries as a “third culture kid” means perpetually being a fish out of water. And yet; if you don’t belong anywhere, it also means you belong everywhere! The diversity of spaces and people you navigate as someone with an upbringing across continents inherently influences your ability to adapt to most situations. It has given me multiple perspectives on things, which is useful for lyric-writing.
You’ve always challenged music industry norms. What’s one change you’d like to see in the industry, and why?
The industry is in need of overhauls since there are tons of archaic aspects still at play, but at the moment I’d really love to see more women working in music. It’s not easy to find many options for female instrumentalists, producers, engineers, etc.
“Most relationship endings accompany some form of gratitude for the person and what was learned, even though we tend to fixate on the pain.”
While scrolling through your Instagram recently, I was drawn to your shared film rolls and noticed your profound love for analog photography. It got me curious: How did you first get into analog photography, and what about the medium captivates you?
I started with analog photography as a kid at summer camp, where I fell in love with the darkroom and developing my own photographs. I then moved on to digital camera work and have been active as a freelance photographer since 2014 (mainly press photos for musicians, album covers, portraiture, etc.), but only recently returned to using a small film camera. It’s been fun and easy to travel with a point & shoot, and there’s something about the nostalgic grainy texture that I really appreciate. In 2021 I began photographing my own portraits, which has since become my favorite way to create album covers and press photos.
Sharing film rolls with fans offers a unique and intimate peek into your life. What inspired this decision?
One of the exciting things about having a film lab develop your rolls is that you forget about some of the photographs until you receive your scans back. It’s such a treat to have that experience in a world where everything is instant. I loved sending my friends the rolls once I got them back and figured I may as well share some of that joy publicly.
“Writing music is often a long, arduous process, more thoughtful than the spontaneity of a quick film snap.”
There’s a certain rawness and authenticity in analog photos, not dissimilar to the narratives in your music. Do you see any parallels between composing music and capturing moments on film?
Writing music is often a long, arduous process, which feels more thoughtful than the spontaneity of a quick film snap. When I plan, digitally photograph, and edit photo shoots for clients, there is more creativity and visual composition similar to auditory compositions. By comparison, analog photographs capture a moment so quickly that it feels like it breaks away from the other more thoughtful mediums I use, which is freeing.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Lost in an olive grove! I’d hope to still be creating things in whichever artistic discipline feels good at the moment – certainly writing and recording music as much as possible (smiles).
Thank you so much for your time!
Thank you!
