Dear Dea - Sage (Single)
“Sage” is the new single from Helsinki-based artist Dea Juris aka Dear Dea, taken from her upcoming EP “When You Go Home Again”, released via Boston-based independent label EveryDejaVu.
While the EP takes inspiration from her multicultural roots – born to a Syrian mother and Ecuadorian father – and deep love of jazz, “Sage” speaks to the reggaeton and Latin music Dea was listening to while writing; the melancholia of the subject set alight with a calypso-soca-inspired bassline and groove.
The “When You Go Home Again” EP is a cathartic journey through letting go, acceptance, and moving on, exploring what it is to call somewhere home. After nearly a decade living in New York, in 2019 Dear Dea had her artist visa denied and was given six days to leave the country. She returned to Finland, to her childhood bedroom for the first time since she was 19. Devastated and heartbroken, unable to visit the city she loved and in turmoil over her now crumbling long-distance relationship, Dea found inspiration to write for the first time since before putting together her visa application.
With a driving bassline from Tapio Backlund which transpired organically in a recording session, the track was produced and features keys/synths from Kasperi Kallio. “It wasn’t recorded in a studio because I couldn’t afford it,” Dea adds. “I recorded vocals in my closet, we did drums in Eliel [Viitala]’s basement practice space, and piano in Kasperi’s work studio”. Having bonded over Laura Mvula’s “Green Garden”, Kasperi became Dear Dea’s main collaborator on the project. Following their intuition, the pair crafted a sound that threads between the EP’s lyrical journey, capturing a warmth and closeness.
Dear Dea spent most of her early life in Helsinki while spending long periods of time in Damascus and Quito. This multi-cultural upbringing can be heard in her sound, alongside the music that was constantly playing at home; “mostly classical, because the rest of my family are classical musicians, but also legends like Stevie Wonder and Chick Corea, and Arabic gems like Fairouz, thanks to my mom”, she explains. From Lauryn Hill, Destiny’s Child and Aaliyah to Aretha Franklin, Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan, Dear Dea eventually found herself fascinated by jazz, working with a vocal teacher who cultivated her love of the genre. Having always struggled with feeling “Finnish enough” in Finland and dreaming of seeing the world, Dea moved to New York for jazz college aged 19 and began collaborating with other musicians and exploring songwriting. While there, Dear Dea met Emiliano Flowerman who encouraged her to develop her songwriting. As the duo Eda Wolf the pair released two EPs (“Slow Speed” and “Spring Came Slow”), performing several live shows around the city.
Since completing the “When You Go Home Again” EP, Dear Dea has continued to write new material, attending song writing courses with the LA-based School of Song hosted by Kimbra and Adrianne Lenker, and begun piecing together a new album. Alongside her solo project, she teaches vocals and band at the Pop & Jazz Konservatorio, Helsinki and recently made a trip to Ecuador with her dad, visiting Quito and absorbing the art, her dad’s home, and her relatives with grown-up, fresh eyes.