Today must’ve been a pretty busy day for Emily Kempf, Eric McGrady & Jason Balla - better know collectively as Dehd. The band started the day with the release of a new music video (co-directed by Emily) for their track “Haha” - a stand out from the band’s critically acclaimed new album Flower of Devotion. Then tonight, in just a few hours in fact, they’ll be celebrating on the stage of Lincoln Hall for their official record release show - which will be live streamed as part of the Audiotree-backed STAGED series. Amidst all that, the trio found some time to sit down & chat with us. Dive into our quick Q+A with Dehd below, and be sure to grab your tickets for tonight’s performance.

The new album is spectacular! How have the months since the mid-July release treated you?

It’s been so awesome! We are all just buzzing that folks are buzzing about us. Can’t wait to shred live again one day.

We understand that not all the songs made during the Flower of Devotion sessions made the album - was the process of selecting the 13 songs that made the final cut challenging?

A little, but mostly because we really wanted it to be short and sweet, so we kinda bounced around from 11-13 songs. 13 seemed like a devilish and charming number to land on in the end.

For the majority of 2020, many artists and bands have used their platforms to encourage their fanbases and communities to support certain initiatives, causes, and organizations. Are there any organizations or efforts you’d specifically want to encourage others to help or participate in?

Chicago Food Depository (they are accepting volunteers now to help pack food boxes! easy to sign yourself up on digital calendar, links on their insta), Assata's Daughters & Brave Space Alliance.

We’re curious to know a bit more about your secluded summer cabin trip in Michigan (“Camp HAHA”?) you shared on Instagram back in August. It looked like a ton of fun and there were even some hints of a visual being produced. Can you tell us more about that?

Ya! We made a wholesome light hearted camp themed music video for the world to enjoy as summer closes its doors and fall is upon us.

Speaking of music videos, Emily you have a large role in the execution of visuals you’ve released and we’d love to know more about your background in directing/producing. How did you get your start there and would you consider it a passion of yours?

(Emily) Absolutely!!!!!! I’m obsessed w film and plays and performance - most my family works in the film industry and I grew up on set essentially. I was the eldest of 3 and always had a very expressive active imagination, was always thinking of games for us to play and characters to be. Built a lot of forts and played a lot of dress up. “Directed” my siblings in small plays caught by parental cam recorders. I love organizing large groups of people to work and play together it’s the best thing ever.

Your upcoming live-stream set with Audiotree will be a bit different from other virtual performances we’ve tuned into, such as your Pitchfork Livestream set on IG and your KEXP studio set. How does it feel to be playing at a music venue again for your STAGED show?

Absolutely thrilling! Can’t wait to have a monitor and a real stage to shred upon, really looking forward.

What can fans expect from Dehd in these upcoming months?

A music video, some secret outdoor shows, and maybe a couple remixes....hehe.

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In Conversation With Dehd