Interview: Catching Up With Deidre & The Dark + Stream “Come On”

Blending a throwback style with pitch-perfect indie-pop stylings, Brooklyn-based songwriter Deidre Muro, AKA Deidre & The Dark, recently returned with a driving new single “Come On.”

To go along with a stream of the track and to get to know Muro a little better, we sent her some interview questions. Check it all out below and if you’re in Houston on 2/24 or Dallas 2/25, be sure to catch her label/collective performing as a part of YouTooCanWoo’s “Night Out.”

Hi, Deidre & The Dark! Congrats on your new single. Can you tell us a little more about who you are and how you first got into making music?

Thanks so much! I’m a singer, songwriter and musician, and I live in Brooklyn, New York. I love cats, interior design, vintage everything & my family at YouTooCanWoo. I first got started making music because both of my parents are musicians, and my brother and I followed in their footsteps.

What’s your songwriting process like? Who are some of your biggest influences?

I’m usually inspired by some small nugget – either a story or a sound – and I build out from there. There’s always an overarching narrative that’s really important to me while I’m writing. Other than that, it’s up to chance how the song is going to come about – either over a few months (or years) or all in one night, alone or with friends… Then in the recording stage, I usually consult with my brother Derek on arrangement, and my husband David Perlick-Molinari will mix and produce it with me. It’s a full-on family affair.

My influences change from month to month. I love the great standard singers like Ella Fitzgerald and Nat King Cole. Everything 60s, from French yé-yé like France Gall to the bombastic Tom Jones to The Zombies. Vanilla Fudge – I watch this live video of You Keep Me Hangin’ On at least once a month. I’m very into electronic and hip-hop DJs and producers that came out of the mid- to late-90s – RJD2, Cut Chemist, Amon Tobin, Mr. Scruff, Fatboy Slim… And then current artists like Nick Hakim that do a beautiful job of blending beautiful nostalgic sounds with a new approach.

What is “Come On” about? How did it come to be?

Come On is about running away with the person you love, to live exactly how you want to live, especially if that’s not really possible where you currently are. I always imagined it as an intergalactic love song.

The song was actually written about 5 years ago and has gone through a number of recording iterations since then. It’s always been a catchy favorite around our studio, so we were very excited to release it finally.

What artists inspired you growing up?

Growing up, there was a lot of Ella Fitzgerald, The Beatles, The Cranberries, Mariah Carey, French impressionist composers like Debussy and Ravel, and whatever my brother was listening to.

What message do you hope to get across through your music?

Delight, joy, beauty, curiosity, a little sass… I mostly hope to share what I get out of creating it.

Any new artists/venues/purveyors of the arts in Brooklyn you could turn our readers onto?

Visit the new venue Elsewhere, and come out to a YouTooCanWoo Night Out (where French Horn Rebellion leads an awesome late-night dance party filled with special guests and covers)!
Where can we follow you and where can our readers catch you live next?

You’ll find me kicking around Instagram, sometimes Facebook or Twitter. I’m taking a break from performing while my husband and I have a baby(!) but I’ll be dancing along at the next YouTooCanWoo Night Out in New York in May (details to be announced soon) if you want to come hang out!

Any parting thoughts? Open platform!

Thank you so much – we have a lot more coming up this year, so I’m looking forward to sharing much more music!