Digital Cover: Dreamer Boy

Photographer: Adam Alonzo

Shape-shifting the landscape of pop with his signature nostalgia-inducing sound and immersive visual world, Dreamer Boy is the one to watch.

On his latest singles, we see the genre-bending star venture into new territory both sonically and visually. Blending together influences from his beloved city of Nashville, lush lo-fi beats, and everyday experiences, we’re invited into the eclectic world of Dreamer Boy. “I want to spread love and light and joy,” he says, matter-of-factly. And that is exactly what he’s done throughout his journey, whether it’s on the themes of his album or his upcoming tour with friend and frequent collaborator, BENEE. 

When asked about his latest sound, the rising star describes it as “exploratory.” Which is probably the best way to describe this new chapter in his artistry. This eccentric, emotive, and experimental sound is best evident in his latest releases. “OVER EVERYTHING” is a unique synth-driven tune that begins with a mellow and emotional melody, eventually building up to an electronic dance-break. While “JUMPSHOT!” rides a fluid midtempo groove, the Y2K-based track is the type of sun-soaked anthem meant to accompany an extremely carefree summer. 

We had the opportunity to chat with the legend in the making about the one-year anniversary of his album All The Ways We Are Together, along with the feeling of constantly experimenting with his ever-evolving soundscape.

I'm happy to be talking with you. I'm such a huge fan.

Are you in New York? 

Yeah. Where are you right now? 

I'm in Nashville, Tennessee. I've lived here for quite a while. And, uh, just it's about, it's like, kind of like an overcast day in the sixties. So, I mean, it's a similar vibe over here.

That's cool. I had, I assume that you moved to LA. I don't know why. 

I'm moving to LA tomorrow actually. 

Wow! How are you feeling about it?

I can't wait for a new chapter. I think change is good. I feel like life is kind of in these cycles and these little hills and valleys. I'm just right at the perfect place for a new environment, a new change. I'm gonna miss Nashville so much. I love it here. And I'm not like running away from here by any means, but I'm just like, you know, something new out there, so recording is in progress. 

I haven't been to Nashville yet. What are some of your favorite places? 

I love walking around east Nashville and going into some of the coffee shops over there, getting matcha and waffles with friends. Going out to Percy Priest Lake. It's like an outdoor vibe, just set up some blankets and be by the water.

I can't wait for it to be warm here this summer. I'm gonna come back and visit it for sure. I mean, there's so many things that I love about here and like, especially right now, the trees about to get their leaves back and like I live in this house that's like in the woods, it's got a lot of trees and stuff.

Like I love it when all the leaves come back it feels like I live in like Central Park or something.

Every time I think of Nashville. I just see that one image where it's like the strip of bars -

Oh yeah! The neon cowboy! I liked that part too, it's really funny. It's really goofy. I like going down there sometimes and getting a kick out of it like it's crazy. 

Photographer: Adam Alonzo

I want to talk about your first release of the year, "OVER EVERYTHING.” Do you mind telling us more about it and how you're feeling about it since its release? 

I feel so good about it. It just feels good to be releasing music and this song is an exploration of myself. I was really inspired to fully send it into the pop sound. I wrote this song with a couple of friends and it was very seamless, just the collaboration and one of the first times I really co-wrote with people.

I wrote with my friends, Will Taylor and Jackson Morgan. This song is just sort of like a neat exploration into the type of music I like. It feels good and with the video and the way we were able to kind of showcase what the song looked like and felt like. It feels great. It feels really good. 

I wanted to bring up the videos, they all feel super cinematic and they all feel like they tie into this bigger world that extends outside the music. What's your visual process like?

Thank you! It's always a really intentional effort every time. Me and my good friend, Adam Alonzo, make visuals together. And this time we had help from our friend Tanner Deutsch, they are some of my best friends and frequent collaborators.

I think “intention” is always the word that we go into something with. I always want to surround the music with an intentional world and each song I think deserves a different feeling or a different approach so it doesn't always look the same. 

But it usually starts with listening to this song and closing my eyes and seeing what naturally comes up and then start having conversations with collaborators and every time I think we're trying to push ourselves to be better than we were before too.

So it's like a fun competitive spirit with ourselves. We definitely look at ourselves and try to be as scrappy as possible and try to make something that we didn't think we could make. Like we shot on 16 millimeter film, which was really fun to explore, it was our first time using that.

That's kind of brought to every video. But this video specifically we were trying to make a very warm video on film. With lots of different individuals, couples, and friendships and showcasing those relationships. It was really fulfilling to make. 

The “KEEP THE PACE” video was insane. I feel like “OVER EVERYTHING” AND “KEEP THE PACE” are different yet still similar. 

Beautiful. I'm glad to hear that. A lot of the music that I've been putting out, like last fall, and now the spring isn't really tied to like an album, but it is sort of from this period of time where I'm just kind of exploring and like experimenting.

Before I really liked to get started on the next project, because I needed time and space. I feel like I shed a layer of skin. So with the “KEEP THE PACE” video and song, it really is just like a full world in itself. That was just one of my favorite things to make and explore and just kind of came from the anxieties and pressures of keeping up with the modern cycle of information and the modern cycle of content and all that stuff and everything. You know these days everyone has a brand. I think that song and video came from this real exhaustion of all of that and keeping up with all of that.

A little bit like relinquishing that to a feeling of more freedom. Not getting too caught up with that. 

Shooting them on film and going into it with more of an intention keeps it as an everlasting project. Like it will live on past the trends and past these cycles. In the outro in “OVER EVERYTHING” where it breaks down into an electronic dance break. Is that a sound we'll hear more from you? 

I've had a real embrace of my dancing spirit and my inner dancer.

Just has always been a place where I can just feel so free and comfortable and performing has always felt that way. Spending time in that space for me has been so important over the past couple of years. The end of that song came from just like a real urgency to display that. And even as people are gathering and dancing together, I just wanted something that for people to like, be able to really let loose and let their body, soul, and mind transcend. I love music that does that. I think a lot of different types of music do it for me. At least on that song, I wanted to explore a very electronic palette and baseline. The tones we chose and then infusing that with Prince.

And like the music that I throw on, like if I'm DJing a house party, I'm throwing on the Prince and The Talking Heads and like old Funkadelic. Even though I make pop music and venture into that sometimes, I feel like I'm always like, sort of trying to call back to that stuff. 

Absolutely. I mean, that's what it's there for. Your tour with BENEE is coming up. How are you feeling about being able to perform these songs live? 

I am over the moon. I cannot wait.

I've been looking forward to this tour since October of last year. It's been amazing just to have something to look forward to and know like, I'll have the space to perform my music.

As well as to share the stage with someone who I just really respect and love. Just excited for the experience of just doing a full US run. I have so much new music that I can't wait to see how it translates, and feel free to just experiment and play a bunch of different music will give me a chance to really tap into the connection you have with an audience.

I did some shows last fall and those were amazing. And like really opened up that, that part of this whole music-making journey. I just feel like getting to really see people face to face, a crowd, is so special and so important. I can't wait. I just feel like I'm this, like this empty cup that needs to be filled up, like with that. I genuinely feel whenever I get to play for people it just gives me so much of an energy boost and reminds me how much doing this means to me and how thankful I am to make music, express myself, and hopefully bring smiles to people's faces or like be a part of their life some way even if it's just for a night.

Photographer: Adam Alonzo

How would you describe your new music in three words?

The new music that's going to be coming up like before the tour is explorative in some ways. Familiar, I think at least one of the songs that I'm going to put out in the next few months just feels like I'm almost returning to a place creatively and sonically that feels very comfortable and familiar but also like I've challenged everything to get to this point.

So now it just feels completely new and fresh. I just feel sharper and more focused than ever. 

It comes with growth. I think you are saying that the new music sounds familiar and comfortable. I felt like when I listened to ALL THE WAYS WE ARE TOGETHER for the first time. With the album turning one this April, how are you feeling?

Wow. Oh my God. That's crazy. I think that All The Ways We Are Together marked a lot of challenges for me. I'm not like that. Not really in it's like creation or what I put into that music, but sort of just the way life was going around that time. It was just very strange and different than where I'm at now.

I feel very proud of that project and I think that it marked a lot of like necessary growth for me. What the album means to me has nothing to do with the music, if that makes sense. Releasing music to me is so personal and I have so much of my personal life wrapped up in it. This dream of mine of making albums I hope resonates with people. And now a year later, I think I have a positive outlook on everything. 

Oh, absolutely. When you brought up the point where it was like, it's sort of bigger than the music. I feel like the topics of like togetherness and fulfillment are just like some of the bigger themes of the album.

Was definitely what I wanted to put out in the world as badly as I could. I did feel like I was not equipped enough to really push that message as much as I wanted to, and I think that that's okay. At this point I've learned that, no matter what my intentions are, whether it's an album or a message or anything as an artist, I have to give myself grace for the human inside of me. And during that time I had this goal of this message and it did exactly what it was supposed to do. It's just like trying and trying and trying so hard to push that in. I think it's always been inside of me but it was really hard for me to gather up the energy during that time to push that message.

Because it really wasn't the easiest time to do that. 

The message was definitely received. 

That makes me so happy.

Which track from the album resonates with you the most?

I've gone through different phases. Once you put out music, I'm not really, I don't know—like it came from a place, and then I put it out, and then it's not really mine anymore, you know?

The music from that album I've enjoyed performing is "Don't Be a Fool." I love that song and I am glad that I pushed myself to sort of explore in that way sonically. I'm really proud of that. 

Solid choice. My last question is who are you listening to right now?

I love this question. I'm listening to FutureSex/LoveSounds by Justin Timberlake. I've been listening to Indigo De Souza. She's really sick. I've also been listening to a ton of early 2000s classics like JT, Ride, and Red Hot Chili Peppers.

I've been listening to a lot of Yves Tumor. I've been going back to N.E.R.D. Always listening to Fleetwood Mac. I'm always listening to Radiohead, Frank Ocean, and NIGO. Been listening to NIGO's compilation albums from the early 2000s and also his newest one. The last one I'll say is I listen to a lot of Jay Z.