Grammy-nominated artist Julian Lennon has been buddies and collaborators with producer and songwriter Gregory Darling for the reason that early Nineteen Nineties. They met in Los Angeles, the place Darling was performing along with his band, Darling Merciless. The 2 artists reconnected in Europe just a few years later engaged on Lennon’s ’98 album {Photograph} Smile. Over the many years, they’ve toured the world and labored collectively on quite a few initiatives, together with tracks on Lennon’s albums 2011’s Every little thing Modifications and 2022’s Jude.
Now, the buddies have a brand new single known as, “A New Dream,” launched on January 24.
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The tune—written within the South of France in collaboration with their pal Anthony Caligagan—first appeared on Darling’s debut album Shell. Now reimagined with a recent manufacturing, “A New Dream” presents a good deeper significance given Lennon’s function because the founding father of the White Feather Basis and Darling’s place as the top of artist outreach for Reluvotion. Each organizations are dedicated to world change and supporting human potential.
Their collective objective is to uplift those that may really feel restricted by life’s challenges, inspiring them to show goals into actuality.
What’s a very powerful side of your friendship that every of you holds expensive?
Gregory Darling: Honesty! We’ve been very truthful with each other from the start; a lot to the purpose the place it may be extraordinarily annoying at instances. For instance, I ask him for his opinion on a musical thought or tune I’ve written and he tells me the flat-out fact whether or not it’s good or dangerous and I do the identical. Within the early years, the reality would generally separate us for a time however on the finish of the day, we all know that the reality and historical past between us is our bond, whether or not we discover it annoying or not.
Any favourite tales out of your time collectively over the previous few many years you possibly can share?
GD: Oh my, there’s so many, as we return 34 years. I suppose the one story that can by no means fail my reminiscence is the time we reconnected in Monaco within the ’90s. I had simply completed recording a report in Italy, and I got here again to Monaco to rejoice with Julian after a listening session. He took me round city the place I had one too many drinks. I awakened the subsequent morning in an unfamiliar room. Julian popped in and mentioned, “Cup a tea, mate?” and I mentioned, “Positive, however the place am I?” He mentioned, “You’re at my place. You’ve acquired to get packed, as our flight leaves in just a few hours.” I mentioned, “What are you speaking about?” He mentioned, “Don’t you keep in mind? We booked a flight to Barbados.” And I mentioned, “I don’t keep in mind a factor,” Then we had been off to Barbados, which was the birthplace of the primary report we might write collectively, {Photograph} Smile.
Gregory, inform me the story behind writing the unique model of “A New Dream.” What made you and Julian determine to reimagine it?
GD: The tune was conceived within the South of France with our pal Anthony Caligagan at Julian’s Treehouse Studios. In a dialog, Anthony mumbled “I want a brand new dream,” and the melody to his phrases got here to me instantly. Then we acquired on our guitars and wrote down what we had been feeling and in some way all of it made sense and it was completed in a flash. It was featured on my Shell album however the report firm oddly determined to not launch the tune, but releasing many others.
Years later, COVID instances had arrived and enterprise and time had been gradual like molasses. I went again into the archives and listened to “A New Dream” and my son gravitated to it immediately, and it sparked a brand new curiosity and inspiration for me. So I reimagined the entire association and manufacturing, which put an entire new twist on the tune. I despatched it off to Julian, and he’d chime in with just a few key modifications right here and there, significantly on vocal steadiness, sound, and results.
Nonetheless, with a lot occurring in his world and me personally, we by no means acquired round to releasing it, till now.
Julian, what was the collaboration and recording course of like for this new model?
Julian Lennon: It was so a few years in the past, I forgot precisely the way it was conceived, but it surely was in my Treehouse Studios the place all of it started, with our expensive pal Anthony.
As for the brand new model. Greg was in his studio in the course of the COVID lockdown rearranging and re-recording numerous elements and so forth. I had no thought what he was doing till he despatched a tough combine to me. The important thing factor for me was getting our vocals to take a seat proper on the monitor, as our vocal types are so completely different.
My key contribution to the brand new model was the balancing of our vocals and the atmospheric strategy to the vocal results.
Julian, inform me in regards to the White Feather Basis. How did it begin and what’s your mission? What are a number of the initiatives that the inspiration is at present engaged on which are near your coronary heart?
JL: Dad as soon as mentioned to me, that ought to he cross away, if there was a way of letting me know he was going to be okay—that we had been all going to be okay—the message would come to me within the type of a white feather. Then one thing occurred to me while on tour with the album {Photograph} Smile in Australia. I used to be offered with a white feather by an Aboriginal tribal elder, from the Mirning individuals, which undoubtedly took my breath away.
The White Feather Basis was created for the aim of giving a voice and help to those that can’t be heard. The tribal elders requested for my assist, as I might carry consciousness to their plight and to others who had been struggling the identical. Having had the white feather bestowed upon me, I knew this endeavor was to be a part of my future. One factor for positive is that the white feather has all the time represented peace to me, in addition to communication. Our mission is we embrace environmental and humanitarian points; and along side companions from around the globe, we assist to boost funds for the betterment of all life.
Gregory, inform me about Reluvotion. What’s it and the way is it serving to individuals? Please describe your function as the top of artist outreach.
GD: Reluvotion is a love, positivity-driven, hate-speech-free social good cell app constructed and designed for all types of world change-makers, nonprofits, authorities companies, and firms working for environmental and social good. Reluv was constructed to offer a unhazardous, purpose-driven house to collect, join, share info, and create change. We’re additionally aligned with the Reward Of Love Basis, based by Jody Folz. As head of artist outreach at Reluv, it’s my function to domesticate the artwork and activism scene and to share Reluv with my fellow artists!
How does “A New Dream” encapsulate the mission of each organizations?
GD: Each are cause-driven organizations decided to do good across the globe.
What do you hope listeners will take away from this tune?
GD: We’re by no means too younger or too previous for rediscovery, reimagining, or reinventing ourselves and it’s not unimaginable to rekindle these childhood goals and creativity we’ve all had as kids. Society has a means of reshaping the mindset, coronary heart, and soul at an early age, thus diminishing creativity, which I consider is in all of us. A lovely dream is a mysterious type of creativity and we don’t need to be well-known to take pleasure in it!
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