IN CONVERSATION WITH DEL WATER GAP

interview JANA LETONJA

Fresh off touring with Niall Horan, and with major festival stops at Lollapalooza, Reading & Leeds and a sold-out London show. Del Water Gap is back with a powerful new single, ‘How To Live’, which just dropped as BBC Radio 1’s Hottest Record. With a growing global fanbase and a gift for turning vulnerability into anthems, Del Water Gap is entering a bold new chapter — and we’re excited to dive into it with him.

Your latest single ‘How To Live’ blends existential themes with a sweeping, melodic sound. What inspired the lyrics and emotional core of the song?

I made this song on a two-week writing trip to Mexico City this past January. We were staying in this beautiful 19th century mansion in San Miguel Chapultepec, owned by a friend of a friend of a friend. I was training for the LA marathon at the time, so I’d go on a long run through the Bosque in the morning and then we’d eat some tacos for breakfast, and have a walk and a chat and start writing around noon. I was sorting out this situationship I had been in and out of for a while at the time, and was feeling a bit spiritually confused and quiet and regretful. The song came out of that feeling. It’s a song about trying to be better. It’s also about trying to be vulnerable without being self-pitying, and about trying to have fun and have dignity as well. It’s about getting everything I ever thought I wanted and still not being the man I thought I’d be. 

There’s a line “But there’s something in the rough / Figuring out just how to live,” that really sticks. What does that lyric mean to you personally?

 That line is about growing through the messiness of life. You can be going through hell and hate it and hate yourself in the moment, but look back on that hell in six months or in a year and be really grateful that it hit you the way it did. James Russell Lowell has this quotation “One thorn of experience is worth a whole wilderness of warning.” I remember finding that a few years back and holding on to it. I’ve had a few streaks of self-destructive behavior over the years and in those times, I’ve found myself knowing full well that I’m leading myself into the lurch. 

You’ve had huge stops this summer: Lollapalooza, Reading & Leeds, and a sold-out headline in London. How do you prepare for shows of that scale while keeping things emotionally grounded?

 I try to take care of myself. I don’t always do it right, but I try my best. Sleep is medicine. Exercise is medicine. I try and stay off my phone and get a good meal and a chat with a friend and that can help. 

Is there a specific city or festival crowd that surprised you with their energy or connection to your music?

I had one of the best shows of my life in Minneapolis a few years back. It really surprised me. I had broken up with someone on the phone that day, sitting in Mall of America. It was kind of funny and dissonant and sad. I walked out on stage on the verge of tears and really rattled. I think the crowd picked up that something was going on with me, and they just held me through the show. I’ll never forget it. 

After this tour run, where do you imagine finding inspiration — on the road, or by taking time to pause?

I find inspiration in quiet and alone time. I like reading and watching movies. I need to be a little bored to feel inspired. Being in a routine helps me. I’ll try and get out of the city and up to the woods and let the noise come down. 

Do you tend to write from a place of resolution or while you’re still in the mess of whatever you’re feeling?

I think it usually takes me a few months or years to start processing something enough to want to write about it. I’m a slow processor and a slow writer. I have an easier time idealizing people and situations in retrospect. I can romanticize a bit easier when I have some runway. 

What’s next after ‘How To Live’? Are we heading into a new album era?

I’m putting out a song very soon, called ‘Marigolds’. It’s a song about regret and the LA fires. Playing some shows in Australia. Trying to catch some time with friends. 

CREDITS

photography ANTHONY WILSON