After delivering his incredibly well-received studio album ‘Tides’ earlier this year, Belgian singer and songwriter Diego Philips has been steadily unveiling captivating videos for his latest work ever since, and now returns with the new clip for his latest single ‘In The Dark’.
Directed by Iranian director Amir Mahdavi, ‘In The Dark’ looks to set the isolated feel of this new cut with its solemn and brooding atmosphere. As the final track on his latest full-length, this new delight gives us a perfect curtain call to his most recent material, filling it with a rich and warming texture throughout.
So with his new release filling us with a euphoric sense of wonder right now, we sat down with him to find out more about his new song and what he has planned for the future.
Words by Chris Bound
Discovered via http://musosoup.com
Chris) Hi Diego, how are you today?
Diego) I’m good thank you, trying to keep busy and sane in this uncertain period.
For those that haven’t heard of you yet, how would you best describe your sound and who have been your biggest influences so far?
I would describe my sound as warm and filled with emotions. I have been trying to paint songs like portraits of human emotions. It has quite an eclectic range of influences. From the soul of Michael Kiwanuka to the intimacy of Leonard Cohen and Damien Rice. Musically we’re getting close to something like Radiohead with a sprinkle of The Beatles and Bob Dylan but also the non-seriousness of Devendra Banhart sometimes, it’s a big mix!
You have just released your new single ‘In The Dark’. Can you tell us how that track came about?
I was watching the last season of “Strangers Things” and how some of the protagonists fall in love whilst going through some tough times and it resonated with me. As a starting musician, I believe there is that element of “leap of faith” you’re taking as you put your soul and heart into something you have no control on but there is something that pushes you to do it and to keep going. You’re “In the dark” and you don’t know where you’re going. And whilst you’re doing that, one of the things that can keep you going is holding the hand of someone that means something to you and diving together in the unknown knowing that you are there for each other.
And was there a particular style you were looking for when you wrote it?
I wanted the song to be intimate. Something you would whisper to your soulmate during a late-night pillow talk. Words from your naked soul with nowhere to hide. It’s something I have been lucky enough to experience and I wanted to portray it with a warm and soft sound.
The coronavirus outbreak has obviously affected everyone’s plans, but what have you got in store for the rest of the year?
I have already finished the next album; it’s just sitting on my hard drive. It is a different project, more like a concept album. I want to organise listening experience sessions for it, with visual support. So, I am waiting for things to come back to normal before making a move. Everything is ready, I am just waiting for the right time.
And finally, standard interview question, where do you see yourself in five years?
I don’t know, the last few months have shown me that your entire world can flip upside down in a second, and I don’t know what tomorrow is going to look like. In total honesty, I just want to be happy and I’m setting this as a priority now. I want to keep doing music and be free as we are because we are unsigned, but I also want to help other artists that deserve it so I will see where this will take me.