Los Angeles-based singer, rapper, writer, and producer DEEGAN follows the flow of inspiration on dancy, experimental pop track “Make It Better”–track seven on HIGH FREQUENCY Volume 2.
Produced by DEEGAN, Eldar Zey, and Matt Allen, “Make It Better” sparkles with ethereal soundscapes, pop earcandy, and DEEGAN’s uncanny creativity in wielding his multidimensional vocal chops as his lead instrument.
After a session with Matt Allen who had written the song’s chord progression, DEEGAN and Eldar burned the midnight oil to follow a stroke of inspiration. “It was one of those where you download it from the universe and run with the momentum the second you’re inspired,” says DEEGAN.
Before calling it a night, DEEGAN took a voice note with an experimental idea for the chorus. “I was like, ‘I’m going to say each word individually, and then auto tune it really hard and chop each word short,’’' says DEEGAN. “I thought if I go to sleep and don't at least get some proof of concept, it's gonna escape me and fly off to someone else. I was able to achieve the next day with my microphone and in the DAW exactly what I said on the voice memo. Most times it's like, “I said I was gonna do this and then I start playing with it and it becomes something else.” But I remember the satisfaction of saying it out loud and then following through with that idea and it coming out exactly how I heard it.”
Letting the verse lyrics pour out over the beat, DEEGAN made room for the song’s thematic concept to reveal itself. “The overall theme, once I started letting it spill out of me was like, ‘through dark times your partner can be the stronghold or the rock for you. Other lyrics are the contrast of that when you become codependent and start dumping all of your trauma onto your partner. It's about the healthy balance of that spectrum.”
The song will be accompanied by a nostalgic, moody 80s-style music video, directed and edited by DEEGAN and filmed by Daniel Abary, capturing the duality of the Los Angeles landscape as a possible metaphor for the opposing nodes in love and partnership. DEEGAN plans to release “Make It Better” and mint the video on ZORA on DSPs November 22, where every Sound collector of the song will get a free edition of the video.
DEEGAN’s ability to use his voice in creative ways–whether singing, rapping, or as an experimental instrument–is the secret sauce to his music’s ability to reinvent and push boundaries. The infectious hook in “Make It Better,” being the perfect example.
Since DEEGAN was a kid, he’s found ways to channel expression and creativity through the instrument of his voice. “My dad was a voice actor in his youth and my mom was a linguist, so I got that ear,” says DEEGAN. “As a kid I was always imitating things like Cartoon Network, Spongebob, and even some of my friends. The voice has always been my creative pen and my outlet first.”
His talent for singing became apparent when he joined the middle school choir and was given the eighth grade solo, acing a rendition of “Somebody To Love” by Queen. His mother, recognizing his gift, encouraged him to pursue music in high school. At first he was resistant, and tried out for the basketball team instead. But as fate would have it, he got the flu and didn’t make the team. As an alternative, DEEGAN auditioned for the school play and landed one of the lead roles. He proceeded to devote his extracurricular time to music joining the advanced chamber choir competing in rigorous singing competitions where he performed acapella opera songs in quartets learning to sight read intricate choral songs, perform split harmonies, and master music theory. Meanwhile he started to produce beats, direct DIY videos, and write his own music inspired by his love for hip-hop and musical inspirations like Tyler The Creator and Frank Ocean.
By college, DEEGAN’s main concern was finding a way to set his music career in motion. Facing unexpected challenges with his physical and mental health during his junior year, he dropped out, moved home to Connecticut and enrolled in online school. Connecting over their similar circumstances and experience, DEEGAN became close friends with EDM producer Jack Book leading to a serendipitous series of connections. “When I got sick and went home and was working on music, I met one of my best friends Jack Book who is a pop EDM producer and singer. I had never made EDM or listened to EDM, I was always into rap and folk and indie, but we became besties. He had a really bad sickness too, and had dropped out, so it was like we were the two dropouts in our hometown who loved to do music and were both going through a really rough time, so we were hanging out everyday.”
In 2019 DEEGAN moved to Los Angeles, sharing a bedroom with Zack Ely (frontman of the band Petting Zoo, co writer for DEEGAN’s League of Legends song ‘You and me Makes Us’ and childhood best friend), in a house full of roommates, determined to forge ahead. Meanwhile, one of DEEGAN’s hometown friends kept bugging him to release “Sailor,” a song DEEGAN had made in 2017 while in school in Arizona. DEEGAN was hesitant, but decided to go for it. “I moved to LA, dropped “Sailor” on a whim and immediately got my first editorial playlist and people asking me for the song and stuff like that. I was following my gut and intuition and trying to just let the universe play out. That was 2019 when I was like, ‘Okay, we're going in. I got that first check of validation.’ So from 2019 to now it's just been full force trying to do the music thing.”
The stars continued to align when DEEGAN met Daniel Allan over Facetime through Jack, who had been working with Daniel on EDM music for years. Looking back, DEEGAN sees it as a butterfly effect, all the pieces connecting full circle to where he is today. DEEGAN ended up writing on multiple songs for Daniel’s groundbreaking project Overstimulated, throwing him in the creative mix of the web3 music community where he’s since released collaborations with Mija, Reo Cragun, bloodywhite, LNRZ, and Daniel Allan. “If I hadn’t met Daniel through Jack, he wouldn't have asked me to write on his beats for Overstimulated. Then I met all of his friends and now it's this whole friend group of people with bloodywhite, Eldar, Reo and Dave–all these wonderful people that I met just because of this butterfly effect. It’s just kind of beautiful how all that worked out.”
When the pandemic forced DEEGAN to move home again in 2020, his web3 community provided creative inspiration to help see him through. “I moved back home for COVID because I couldn't afford to live out here. I was working at The Cheesecake Factory and everything was closed, so I went back home during COVID and was collaborating through email, which I hadn’t done before. Having that network of people to take this journey with meant so much. It constantly inspires me and constantly pushes me to do more and be the best version of myself by absorbing all of their greatness and creativity.”
Now back in Los Angeles, DEEGAN continues to make strides in his music career. He recently released an EP with indie label Hit House, landing a major sync deal for his song “You and Me Makes Us,” as the theme song for the League Of Legends video game.
He is also the editor for the Invest in Music podcast, where he’s able to flex his video editing skills while collaborating on the editorial side of the web3 music landscape.
In the process of independently releasing a series of singles both on Sound and on DSPs, DEEGAN showcases his versatility and growth with a steady stream of delicious new offerings. Spanning from experimental, pop, rap, to R&B, DEEGAN never shies away from pushing the envelope.
Gearing up to launch a new series on his socials called “Deserves a Verse,” DEEGAN continues to find innovative ways to follow inspiration when it strikes. Taking ten minutes a day to write eight to 16 bars over miscellaneous beats, he plans to make a collaborative mixtape using these mini verses as a starter pack for new song ideas. “After about 13 songs, I'm going to give out those acapellas probably through web3,” says DEEGAN. “I thought it'd be a fun writing exercise–get the verse out, do it over the beat that inspired me and then continue that inspiration by handing off the acapella to someone who can reproduce under it, and then we make our own individual song.”
Humble, warm, and insatiably creative, DEEGAN’s talent and determination lights the way towards destiny’s call.
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Collect Music NFTs from HIGH FREQUENCY Volume 2. “Make It Better” is the seventh track to be released from HIGH FREQUENCY Volume 2. “Make It Better” is dropping via Sound at 2pm PST on November 09, 2023.
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Article by Wallace Morgan for HIGH FREQUENCY, NOISE’s weekly newsletter. Subscribe for more.