DEON Rationalizes Death and Renewal in His ‘Melancholic Pop’ EP 

With Focus Single ‘Why Do I Fool Myself’ off “Melancholic“

Singapore’s veteran singer-songwriter DEON has announced the release of his sophomore EP ‘Melancholic Pop’. Released under Where Are the Fruits, the EP is now made available on all digital streaming platforms on with its focus single, ‘Why Do I Fool Myself’. 

DEON details the focus single, ‘Why Do I Fool Myself’ as one that was exceptionally difficult to write. He shares, “In mid-2020, I missed a phone call from my nanny of 19 years (she was in Manila then). I took for granted that I had time to call her back (as usual) and it slipped my mind later. A week later, I received a call from her husband that she had passed from COVID-19. I’m a fool for missing her call and will forever regret this. It’s a scar I have been carrying around ever since. I initially wanted to wrap up the EP with four songs, but this tune came to me right after the incident, and was hard to leave out.” The electronic faltering pop single acts as a cold reminder for DEON to not take things for granted, and cherish what he has at hand. 

Previously released singles include the mellow ‘Breathe In’ that encompasses DEON’s personal mantra to take time to process feelings, while staying centered and calm in the eye of the storm, the heartfelt ‘Don’t Bother’ with fellow local Vaporwave artist, Don Aaron, that is based on growing pains of losing loved ones in recent years, as well as the recent release of soft pop earworm ‘Melancholic Weekends’ with vocalist, NyaLi that is a reflection of the songwriter’s coping mechanism with emotions of anguish and grief over the loss of precious ones. Grief, death, and regrets are the prevalent themes in the songs that make up the EP ‘Melancholic Pop’, of which thoughts have constantly haunted DEON since the advent of the pandemic.

DEON further explains, “In my head, I wanted to craft a collection of songs that were geared towards more commonplace pop characteristics. What started as a casual and fun project took a more serious tone and darker turn when these events started happening all at once. This was not a far stretch from my usual tonality, and with these events, I was prompted to return to my more downtempo and melancholic writing. What you hear, is really a projection of my state of mind in the past few years. In the spirit of my journey of ups and downs, I would encourage you to listen to the EP in its entirety, cover to cover, as a whole. I’m sure there’s something in there for everyone, after all we’ve been through recently.”

With every past single that has been released in recent months, DEON has worked with different individuals in the creative industry to launch exclusive merchandise, with stickers by tattoo artist, Wolfsloth, and local crafter Aidaville for t-shirts. Rounding up the ‘Melancholic Pop’ EP release, DEON will launch t-shirts designed by illustrator, Vivian Loh for the single ‘Why Do I Fool Myself’ on 25 March 2022. A limited-edition EP artwork poster by North-East UK-based illustrator, Hana Wolhf, will also be made available for purchase from 20 April 2022, together with the accompanying lyric video of ‘Why Do I Fool Myself’. The latter will feature a part 2 of DEON getting inked. As with past motifs used, this links back to the values, lessons, and memories committed to skin, and what the EP, ‘Melancholic Pop’ is all about. 

“As my work continues to evolve with personal growth and changes, it was of personal importance for me to celebrate these milestones and commit memory to skin. For this EP, the designs, motifs, and secondary works that came about were also linked to the tattoos recently done by Wolfsloth. They all stem from the music. I would like to thank and celebrate the creatives that have provided their craft in the interpretation of the music. Perhaps when things get better, I look forward to putting up a show to showcase the tunes live, and allow audiences to experience it in a different paradigm”, DEON adds.