Gregory Dillon: ‘Describe myself in four words? Cries after sex often’ | My Life in 20

14 December 2020, 17:44

By Woodrow Whyte

Rising synth-pop star Gregory Dillon spills it all in My Life in 20.

You could argue there's already enough '80s indebted pop to go around but you're going to have to hold that thought and make room for Gregory Dillon.

The 27-year-old, originally from New Hampshire but now residing in New York, has been steadily churning out singles since 2018, but found a new legion of fans thanks to his debut Sad Magic EP, released in November.

Over dreamy synths and propulsive pop beats, Gregory revisits the formative years of his adolescence, "as a lonely teen struggling to discover himself with secret romances set in suburbia." Tracks like 'Plastic Ferrari' and 'lovely' evoke a heady nostalgia and quiet euphoria that, if we could, we'd inject directly into our veins. Fans of Robyn's Body Talk era, Hurts’ early singles and Troye Sivan's Blue Neighbourhood will find a lot to enjoy here.

Speaking about his latest music video for the EP's title track, released last week, Gregory writes: "My gay film 'Sad Magic' is for all the LGBT kids listening to synth-pop alone on their rooftop. Though this aesthetic edit explores my lonely teenage past, I hope it reminds you that you're always surrounded by angels."

To celebrate the video's release, we asked Gregory to answer our My Life in 20 questions to get to know him better.

20) Describe 2020 in a word.

I drew a picture of a burger holding a cute purse and stealing his ex’s car  ✋🍟 🤚 🏎  🔫🍔

19) What was your favourite album from 2019?

I got to see MARINA perform her Love + Fear tour at the end of the summer. I’m a sucker for dark archetypes and campy personas and she brings them all out. Half my brain was drooling over the performance, the other half is desperately taking mental notes for my own gigs.

18) What was the most important thing to happen in your life when you were 18? 

So me and my mom had a lot of stage fright growing up, and my senior year we somehow decided to overcome our fear by performing together in a talent show in front of my whole high school. We were TERRIFIED, and I almost chickened out, but having each other to overcome that was a really beautiful experience. I may not have become a performer if I hadn’t taken that first step. It felt like walking on the moon.

17) Who was your crush at 17?  

I had two. I had a crush on Danny Phantom the cartoon lmfao (it was the silver hair for me) and my real life crush was this guy Nick who I shared my notes with in Math class. He once asked if I golfed and I lied and said yes and then instantly regretted it when he invited me to go. Screw the talent show; that was the single most embarrassing moment of my life when we got to the driving range and all I could do was move grass chunks with the club. My swing hasn’t improved FYI.

16) What did you do for your sweet 16th?

According to photos, I put on my lucky flannel and drove to the beach at night! 🌜🏖

Gregory Dillon - Sad Magic (Official Music Video) | Synthpop Gay Film 🐶🌹

15) What did you hate at 15 which you love now?

Acting gay, HENNEY. 👁👄👁💅

14) What TV show were you obsessed with at 14?

Specifically the ‘Chocolate Lady’ episode of Spongebob…  “WHAT ARE THEY SELLING?!?!?!” Also Avatar: The Last Airbender because I was taking karate at the time and it’s all about bending the four elements and I’d practice my moves on the trampoline and pretend I was an airbender.

13) 13 is unlucky for some, what's the unluckiest thing that's happened to you? (and how did you style it out)

A few years back, I’m shopping Etsy and find this killer deal on contemporary modern chairs. Not wasting time, I went straight to checkout. Weeks later I get this tiny package and when I open it up, I find these two miniature chairs. I ACCIDENTALLY BOUGHT MINIATURE FURNITURE ON FINAL SALE. Funny enough I ended up using one for the album art of my first single so I guess it worked out.

12) If you could live the life of any person for 12 hours, who would you be?

A suspicious and sweating Elon Musk is now speed walking to his spaceship saying “start the car!” 👽🚀

11) Who was your best friend when you were 11?

I befriended this girl Tammy because she had this beautiful rainbow ribbon. I remember asking my mom to set up a playdate and the moment I got to her house I made a B-line for it. I’m pretty sure I locked her out of her room so I wouldn’t have to share it. 🎀

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A post shared by Gregory Dillon 🦋 Synth Pop (@iamgregorydillon)

10) Where do you think you'll be in ten years time?

I just started Sad Magic Records to help other independent artists, so hoping that manifests into something cool. Would love to finish a classical piano concerto for full orchestra, and be the head teacher of an elderly cardio-step class. What a life! 

9) What was your biggest fear when you were 9?

When I was nine, my dad thought it would be a good bonding experience to bring me to an IMAX movie called “Killer Bees of Africa” at the Museum of Science. SCARRED 4 LIFE. I, to this day, will run away from a kid I’m babysitting if/when a bee lands on them.

8) What job did you want when you were 8?

I wanted to be a dolphin trainer!

7) Which of the seven deadly sins are you most guilty of?

Gluttony has nothing on my ability to eat 20 hot pretzels from Auntie Anne’s. And yet it manifests in my day to day (will share some with you, PopBuzz) 🥨 

6) You can invite six people to your dream dinner party (dead or alive), who would you invite?

Pikachu, Mozart, Hilary Duff (playing Lizzie McGuire), Joan Rivers, and my sister. We would have sushi and store-bought rotisserie chicken.

5) Name five things you can't live without.

Dog parks, hair gel, my home studio, old family photographs, and a good thrift store.

4) Describe yourself in four words.

👏🏼 Cries 👏🏼 after 👏🏼 sex 👏🏼 often 😂

3) Your top three songs of all time.

'Shake It' - Metro Station. I got hit in the head with their drumstick at a live show. 'Sail Away' - Enya. My dad would drive me around the neighbourhood playing that song on repeat until I would fall asleep. And then 'Nothing In This World' - Paris Hilton. It is the ultimate drive to the mall shopping song.

2) Can you love two people at the same time?

I think the harder question is can you vogue with two people at the same time 👯

1) What or who is your one true love?

Those nostalgic moments where you feel like you're in a movie and you look at into the Universe and feel infinite.

Sad Magic is out now on Sad Magic Records / Tunecore.

My Life in 20 series:

Maggie Lindemann: 'Describe myself in four words? All over the place' | My Life in 20

Gemma Styles reveals the 5 things she can’t live without | My Life In 20

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