Premiere: Lost in a Daydream with Honey Gentry's Latest Single "Dreamlover"

A transient state of a song, Honey Gentry’s “Dreamlover” allows for both reflection and acceptance of something we long for, yet may never get to have.

interview conducted by Mitch Mosk

Stream: “Dreamlover” – Honey Gentry

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A siren song of sultry vocals and scintillating production, Honey Gentry’s latest entry is a brooding reflection upon a lover within a dream. Something that is both tangible, yet not completely real, the song acts as that moment of waking up and wishing you hadn’t.

Dreamlover - Honey Gentry Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering “Dreamlover,” the title track off Honey Gentry’s upcoming second EP due out on August 22^nd. The London based artist bringing that West Coast sound, Gentry calls to mind some of the early works from Lana Del Rey: A slow burn of a buildup that gets lost in translation when mixed with the breathy vocals she delivers throughout. It creates for a wide atmospheric template in which she is able to shape her own ethos.

As world renowned composer Gustav Mahler once put it, “If you think you’re boring your audience, go slower, not faster.” Honey Gentry finds a way to work with the minimal, not letting herself be crowded by an overwhelming amount of instrumentation, playing into Mahler’s philosophy well. The song itself is at times a nostalgia trip, laced with reverb-soaked guitars, dripping one after the other as Honey reflects, “In my dreams, in my dreams…”

“My main goal with music is to connect with others,” Gentry tells Atwood Magazine of her art and artistry. “To soundtrack a moment in someone else’s life using the stories from mine. To find people who are on the same page and experience life in the same way. My hope is that those moments will plant a seed to something bigger and maybe inspire someone else to tell their own stories. That’s what I set out to achieve with each new project and that’s my main hope for this EP.”

In our current age of streaming services, this outlook from Honey Gentry is a cut above. To see an artist who finds pure joy in honing their craft, hoping to inspire others in the same way they were is a wholesome dedication that can only lead to great things. Headlining Sebright Arms in London on the 6^th, Honey Gentry’s hypnotic vocals are surely to be remembered in the coming years.

Dream of another
Dreamlover

Dive deeper into “Dreamlover” with our interview below, and stream the song exclusively on Atwood Magazine! Honey Gentry’s Dreamlover EP is out August 22, 2019!

Stream: “Dreamlover” – Honey Gentry

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A CONVERSATION WITH HONEY GENTRY

Atwood Magazine: What inspired “Dreamlover”?

Honey Gentry: Dreamlover recounts a story of encountering a future lover in our dreaming world before we meet in the real one. I do believe we can cross paths with our soulmates many times before we finally meet.

They say less is more, and you certainly seem to adhere to that in this song. can you talk about your musical approach to space?

Honey Gentry: I value atmosphere. I think it comes from my filmmaking background. Beyond music, sound is incredibly powerful, it shapes the world around us. My ethos is the production must help build the world of the song rather than distract or overpower. Similar maybe to good sound design for a visual project. I use very abstract terms throughout production to convey what I want to achieve. During production I speak a lot in terms of feeling, mood, colour, texture – luckily Ruben can interpret me. Having a good collaborator in that way is really important. I also value his ability to appreciate the minimal, and to challenge me when I get tempted to build on tracks for the sake of building, when the beauty of a track is sometimes in the simplicity.

This is the title track of your EP, which often speaks to a song's significance. Why did this song get the titular role? What makes it special for you?

Honey Gentry: The most significant song for me is usually just the first one that’s written that I think is any good. Once I know I have a song that I could inhabit for a while and explore, it sets the tone for the release and other songs start to branch out from that initial mental space and that’s how an EP comes to life. Dreamlover felt new to me, although I couldn’t really put my finger on why – it just feels like it represents something very true about who I am as a songwriter, like a statement on the world of my work in general. Most of my favourite albums actually have titular tracks actually so it feels very natural for me to summarise the entire body of work through one important track.

You last released “Daydream Baby” a month ago; how does this song differ from “Dreamlover,” and show a different side to your artistry?

Honey Gentry: Daydream Baby is completely different to anything else I have ever written. In respect of the production it’s the first time we’ve actively acknowledged those folk and country and pop inspirations within the music. When I sent the demo to my sister she responded, “It’s SO THE PIERCES” who are a huge inspiration for me but previously maybe hadn’t been apparent in the music. When I write something with those pop sensibilities I feel like I sometimes inhabit a different aspect of my personality, it helps break free from previous work or notions of what I “should” sound like. I learned a lot and I love how Daydream Baby sounds. Dreamlover (and the other tracks on the EP) do feel a lot closer aligned to who I “truly” am though.

Who have been your influences recently? how do you view your sound?

Honey Gentry: I go through cycles of listening to new music and then coming back to old favourites. Lately I’ve been reconnecting with the music of my teenage idol Jeff Buckley. His song Dream Brother is one of my all time favourite songs. Someone asked me via Instagram if Dreamlover is inspired by Dream Brother. Subconsciously I think it is, although it wasn’t at the forefront of my mind at the time. As for new music I’ve been living inside “Titanic Rising”, the new album from Weyes Blood since it was released (my favourite tracks are Mirror Forever, Movies, and Wild Time) ; and I love the new album from Max Jury, “Modern World” (fav tracks are Sweet Lie and Gone). Both of those artists have reinterpreted classic sounds from the 20th century and reimagined them in their own modern way, which I really admire. In terms of how I view my sound, I definitely hear the rock and alternative music influences in my music and lyrics, but perhaps softened, with a touch of the ethereal. I’d like people to see my sound as being like water. Deeper and darker than it might first seem.

How might you describe your upcoming EP Dreamlover to a stranger?

Honey Gentry: Dreamlover feels like exploring the Californian coast, late summer, rental car, road trip; thinking about where your life has been, and where it’s going; dreaming out the window while your lover drives. That’s where and how the songs were written, it’s referenced in the songs themselves and that’s how I feel when I hear them. I hope to soundtrack your late summer dreams.

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