equality factor: equality empowered in art, composition and respect
producer: The Flaming Lips
based in: Los Angeles - Oklahoma
label: Cooking Vinyl-Popstock
DEAP LIPS is the new joint project and THE self-titled debut album of the Los Angeles duo Deap Vally (Lindsey Troy and Julie Edwards) and The Flaming Lips (Wayne Coyne and Steven Drozd). This quartet is more than a supergroup - it is an equality group at its finest.
Every time one of our favorite bands goes on tour or releases a new album - or simply makes the news because of an important event - it is inevitable that everything we are doing at the time loses all interest factor. We don't just share it on social networks, or with our friends, we automatically align things in our minds in regard to the new piece of information. That element of hype around music and our favorite artist sparks an unlimited passion that makes us feel so good and makes music addictive. All that adrenaline that music content causes is doubled when you learn that your favorite band or your most beloved artists are going to join other great musicians to form a supergroup. In the case of an extraordinary event like this, the excitement reaches another level: you wonder, how will the group sound? How they will look? And the most important question of them all, if they’re going to be touring to a place near you!?
The vision of equality as transcribed in Deap Lips' freshly invented sound goes beyond musical composition.
Throughout this whole thought process, we must first ask ourselves: what even is a supergroup? It would usually be an ensemble of several musicians that, temporarily or definitely, put a halt on their usual artistic activities to dive into a parallel project with other artists. Deap Lips qualifies immediately as among members of the supergroup category. It is made up of more than two members, and all its artists pursue a musical career. However, the equality factor prevails in this case, not only because of the obvious gender-balance among the members but also because of the admiration and respect that one band shows towards the other, making equality a key element of Deap Lips‘ music. It goes beyond an even balance between male and female members.
It was in 2016 that Flaming Lips first made contact with Deap Valley.
It is 2016 when Wayne Coyne, leader of Flaming Lips, took advantage of a trip to Raleigh in North Carolina to see the Australian Wolfmothers on tour in the United States. The opening act of that tour was the female duo Deap Vally, a band that Wayne had never seen play live. That day, without knowing it, after an exchange of phone numbers, the spark that today is Deap Lips was first ignited behind the scenes of the event. Months later, Lindsey Troy and Julie Edwards traveled the 500-kilometre distance between Los Angeles and Oklahoma to enter the Pink Floor Studio of Flaming Lips. "It looked like Disneyland," said the Deap Vally's singer.
In May 2019, Wayne Coyne showed a collaboration with Deap Vally on Instagram. Six months later, Deap Lips' first single "Home Thru Hell" was released.
In May 2019, Wayne Coyne turned to Instagram to showcase a collaboration with Deap Vally as part of tracks for an album of collaborations by The Flaming Lips. Six months later, and already as a band with a name, Deap Lips released their first single, titled "Home Thru Hell", a single incorporating sounds from both bands. The tune kicks off with car engines and guitar riffs representing Deap Vally's rock sensibilities but soon moves into a more spatial vibe through the sound of bells, an ode to the psychedelic elements often found in Flaming Lips' music.
Fortunately, the announcement of the single was not the only news. The band announced the release of a full album consisting of ten original songs, titled after the homonymous name of the band. It is an album that began in Oklahoma with the recording of 4 songs and culminated by email. The result? An album that has the best of both bands. Sensual but at the same time childish, full of unexpected twists and interesting melodies.
The full Deap Lips tracklisting is as follows:
It's inevitable. We all like supergroups, no matter if it's just for a record, a show, or if it doesn't end up working out as we had hoped it would. We all like to see what can come out of that intoxicating mix that comes to be when multiple experienced artists work together - and in the case of Deap Lips, our hopes and expectations are beyond exceeded.
