It’s still wild to us how your brain knows what it wants in tough times. During 2020 Loverboy’s most played took a hard one-eighty from the campery of Mariah’s Glitter to the intense industrial noise of Phase Fatale’s Scanning Backwards. It was Techno that healed our trauma…not ‘Twister’.
On his new album, Gregory Dillon, also finds comfort in Cold Wave, turning to the dark side to deal with disappointment. When the Hollywood dream failed to become reality, Gregory retreated to his native Connecticut, said goodbye to his ‘sad boy nostalgic’ era and embraced the euphoria of Darkwave Electronica with new single, ‘Drive.’
On the self-produced, ‘Drive’, Gregory mixes haunting Industrial synths with a pulsating electro beat and the greatest mid-00s guitar. Promising he’ll show us how to drive, he instructs us to feel the velocity. In channelling his rage, Gregory has totally switched things up and blessed with a banger. We caught up with him to find out more…
Gregory the last time we spoke was three years ago which is crazy to us. That time has flown by. Back in 2020 you were dropping ‘Screenshots’. What has been happening since then?
Time is indeed a vortex, isn’t it? The few brain cells I have left seem to dissociate, but in brief: I created ‘Sad Magic,’ my debut album, a nostalgic love letter to my suburban upbringing that landed me a deal with a French label. A rendezvous in Paris with a mysterious dominatrix spurred me to blow all my money on a Hollywood dream. Reality struck hard—I literally crashed the rental car. Then, unexpectedly, I had to move back to suburbia. What began as nostalgia spiraled into a dark frenzy, and now I’m penning a reckless album about longing to escape.
Back then we were spending too much time at home and overthinking life! What is the general emotion of 2023?
23’s like being stuck in a twisted Americana daydream. For a queer pop boy trying to make it in the Hollywood scene, the move to a straight laced small town felt more like a death sentence. I’ve been wading through a swamp of depression, honestly.
It feels like 2023 has been a turning point for you – specifically towards the dark side! What events have led to this moment? Has it been life events, listening to different music…?
I never thought a dark film from my youth would be my lifeline through depression, but ‘Donnie Darko’ has been a surprising anchor—Donnie’s rebellion against a town that demands conformity became a defiant blueprint. Initially, it was subtle—like wearing Shrek rave crocs and gargoyle wings to the store, braving the stares of judgmental dads. These acts of defiance have since fueled my current project, which channels the spirit of ‘Donnie Darko,’ aspiring to embolden queer youth bound by similar societal norms to seek their own liberation.
We love how every detail is so considered in your visuals and the song production. Your latest press release says you are ‘shedding the suburban sad boy persona.’ Tell us about why you gravitated to this character at the beginning and how you constructed that image?
The ‘suburban sad boy’ persona originated from a place of true isolation, but I’m now actively deconstructing that image. This new, darker alter ego signifies rebellion, a means to sever ties with that sense of stagnation.
How did you go about creating this new darker persona? Particularly interested in hearing about consciously changing the music production – what technical elements do you change to make the sound darker?
The emergence of this darker persona felt almost predestined, evolving naturally within my current, gothic neighborhood. Here, the solitude is thick—I dwell in a haunted house at the end of a road, surrounded by monotonous houses and silent churches, like a character in a suburban horror tale.
The process of sonically crafting this persona isn’t so much a challenge as it is a surrender to the eeriness. In terms of production, I’m gravitated towards a sense of cinematic foreboding. Layering synth-heavy melodies with the reverberations of deep bass lines, I introduced dissonant sounds that would unsettle, yet allure. Much like Donnie Darko and Mozart were acutely aware of their mortality, I too feel like I’m composing my own requiem. This ‘requiem’ isn’t about the end but is an exploration of the depth of both loneliness and the beauty that can be found in the dark.
And of course we are getting a new image in the video. Tell us about the styling.
The styling for the video deliberately contrasts my past with my current state. It’s an empowering reclamation of motifs from my youth, blending them with a gothic vibe, creating an image that’s both artistic and empowering.
This dark motocross theme infuses the raw adrenaline and edge of the sport with the deep shades and mystique of goth culture, as if the attire comes from a shadowy dimension where racetracks and Tim Burton’s imagination collide.
Do you see it as a permanent shift? Or more of an era?
Depends if I make it out of here alive…
This song gives us even darker ‘Shut Up & Drive’ vibes, which birthed one of the top five lip syncs of all time. Who would you like to see do a lip sync for your life to ‘Drive’?
As for ‘Drive,’ I’ve amusingly coerced my dad into reenacting scenes from my music videos, so perhaps I’ll have him lip sync to this one next.
What musical plans do you have for 2024?
My musical focus for 2024 is on releasing the album—my ‘red thread.’ I’m envisioning a theatrical tour spanning both album eras.
Last time we spoke, you said that Mariah’s Vision of Love was your favorite track from the icon. But as we also love synth wave/cold wave/industrial – we would like to know which is your favorite song from these genres?
Regarding my favorite synth wave track, ‘Head Over Heels’ by Tears for Fears reigns supreme. Its presence in ‘Donnie Darko’ paints it as the haunting hymn of an alternate existence, resonating with me time and again.
‘Drive‘ is out now.
Image by Robert Riese.
