We’ve become marginally obsessed with Nick De La Hoyde and his EDM-infused pop here at Your EDM over the last few years, and recently the obsession grew when he introduced his group project, D.E.L, with his brothers Joseph and Timm. The flipside of the same coin, D.E.L makes equally beautiful pop-infused EDM.
The trio have gotten into the habit lately of dropping tracks close together on their respective Spotify pages. The newest, semi-acoustic pop love song “About U” released on Nick’s solo stream on September 3, while “Yoko” just hit D.E.L’s page about a week later and could be the progressive house anthem of the fall. Both with corresponding videos, “About U” and “Yoko” make it clear that no matter what genre the De La Hoyde boys are working on, they work together and it produces amazing results.
De La Hoyde’s “About U” is a bit more acoustically-tinged than some of his recent solo work. With a lyrical verse structure that follows the same pattern as Love To’s “Habits (Stay High)” but in every other way is the antithesis of the 2014 hit in both subject matter and key. Underneath the vox and acoustic guitar ornamentation, the brothers laid down a slower yet nonetheless recognizable drum & bass beat with some trap ornamentation in the chorus and codas. This is what the De La Hoydes do so well: mixing and blending a number of different styles and genres well enough that they’re interesting to underground music nerds while still having mass appeal.
“Yoko,” on the other hand, is more solidly in the EDM camp. The chill yet fervent and danceable prog house beat drives the tune rather than the vox. The vox, by the way, are once again impeccably done and add the pop cachet to the track that would otherwise render it more lofi than anything. The future bass-style effects and rendering on those vocals is, somewhat ironically, what turns “Yoko” into a Chainsmokers-style beauty banger. Pop, pretty and uplifting, “Yoko” shows the real potential of the brothers who call themselves D.E.L.
If you’re trying to get a more pop-inclined friend to cut their teeth on EDM, artists like the De La Hoydes, either solo as nick or D.E.L as a trio are a good bet. Bringing the melodies of pop and lofi indie pop together with EDM beats and sound design the way that they do, it’s only a matter of time before the rest of the world joins YEDM in our obsession over these Aussie artists.
Both “About U” and “Yoko” are out now on Nick De La Hoyde’s and D.E.L’s Spotify pages, respectively. Make sure to check out their YouTube channels as well for some great videos of their previous work.