A punch to your gut and a moment of realization — Dehd serves you every emotion in a clean, yet do-it-yourself method. With a surf rock beat typically paired with overly joyous lyrics, Dehd subverts expectations by grounding their music in real human emotion. They don’t sugarcoat; they just tell.
Formed in 2015, Dehd consists of Emily Kempf, Jason Balla, and Eric McGrady. With Chicago roots, they represent everything the city boasts: talent, creativity and community. Not only do they serve up fresh music, they often directly send profits toward community resources and social causes. Equipped with the talents of vocals, guitars and drums, Dehd can truly blend all instruments into relatable chords. Heavily focusing on relationships, lyrics such as “I got a heart full of redemption” from their song “Bad Love” reflect the narrator’s longing to make up for past mistakes.
Dehd recorded their self-titled album in a Frank Lloyd Wright warehouse, along with using borrowed gear. This solidified their charm at the very start, a charm that’s too powerful to resist for long. The trio moves as one, being so in sync to the point it’s hard to imagine a time before the band’s inception. These unique methods were fully integrated during the writing process of Dehd’s album “Poetry”, with them deciding to fully embrace their innovative approach. Utilizing Kempf’s off the grid cabin, they fully immersed themselves in their art. Starting from scratch with their environment and their ideas, they created a new sound not just for themselves but for everyone else.
They haven’t just found success in the Windy City but also globally. Traveling with Chicago counterpart Twin Peaks, they have made waves. Audiences in the Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom nodded along to the familiar yet new words. Their music feels both intimate and expansive, proving that simplicity can carry profound emotional weight.
If their trajectory is any indication, Dehd will continue with their success. They won’t be forgotten anytime soon — and as they wrote, “Take me by the hand and make it last forever.” Last forever they will; they won’t be just a passing name.
