Deja Blu – ‘Crash’
Dream pop artists Deja Blu have released their latest single, ‘Crash’ – with mournful melodies sprinkled over skitterish electronic beats, the duo has proven themselves to be one to watch.
Formed in 2016, Deja Blu comprises of producer Benji O’Dell and vocalist Jasmine Reed. The pair met in college, and their debut single, trip-hop track ‘Lake Song’, amassed a cult-like status online, with over 2 million streams and counting on Spotify.
In 2021, the pair regrouped to work on new music, and chose to work with producer Chris Ryan, who has worked with groups such as Just Mustard and NewDad, on ‘Crash’.
Vocalist Jasmine Reed said that the track is more personal than anything the duo has written before, with inspiration coming from the poetry of Sylvia Plath, and the entangling of nature and psychological well being.
Their raw approach to songwriting is evident, with an ethereal, frenzied soundscape crafted by the stitching together of hazy, misty vocals and celestial, colourful electronic instrumentals.
The track pushes the boundaries of electro-pop, combining the genre with themes of folklore, magic, and mystery. There’s a ghostly, otherworldly quality to the tune, echoed in the perfectly shot music video, which encapsulates the feel of the song without going too over the top, or leaning into lazy clichés.
Speaking about the track, Reed stated: “Crash was cathartic to make/write. It was an outpouring of everything. Probably the most vulnerable I’ve been when songwriting. I/we see it as the complete destruction of something. You never believed it could happen, but now in retrospect, it was always destined to be.”
On the music video, the pair commented: “The idea for the Crash music video was a journey through different places using a portal. We knew it was going to be a challenge with editing, but we were both eager to give it a go. We made this mossy stone frame with a blue screen which acts as the portal the viewer gets transported through. The main setting is in the ruins of Waverley Abbey.”
Words by Tabitha Wilson
