Following on from lead singles They All Come Out at Night and Drive, DEF NEON have announced the release of their long-awaited third album, NEONIZE.
As well as building a profile that garners them their own headline gigs across the UK, DEF NEON have captivated audiences at events as varied as Infest Festival, Threshold Festival, Landed Festival and Loopfest. In recent years, Emily and Mickey have supported Republica, Pop Will Eat Itself, Alabama 3, 65daysofstatic, The Orb and The Birthday Massacre.
Fans will be pleased to hear familiar elements from the band’s self-titled debut and War Beats albums, but on NEONIZE the duo showcase their musical dexterity - as well as giving listeners greater insight into what influences the two people behind the DEF NEON sound.
Emily’s high-energy bass lines and poignant, powerhouse vocals – the latter given added impetus with a chorus of massed backing vocals – are the focus of many of the album’s ten songs. On the music and production side, Mickey and Emily look to the dancefloor as much as the mosh pit, with bassline, nu-rave, electro-house, dark wave, and DnB influences making their presence known.
Says Emily, “With NEONIZE, we didn’t really aim for a specific sound. We just are who we are and continue to just do what we do. We created what we enjoyed and just kept doing that, and that seemed to work.”
She continues, “Both of us have very diverse musical influences and ideas that merge together as one. It's a messy process, but eventually we come out with something we hope people enjoy.”
Outside factors have also influenced the changes in sound as well as partly affecting why they make the music they do: “We always want tracks full of energy and big sounds. Lyrically, the songs on this album are about truth and authenticity. In a world that is pretty chaotic right now, we can only be who we are and embrace that, despite the expectations and demands from others.”
