Ottawa neo disco funk band DeeDee7 and their freshly minted self-titled EP will tease the heck outa ya because its contents are tailored made for getting sweaty and mashing up on the dance floor and well….
Is the band a septet? It certainly is! We have a drummer AND a percussionist, a singer-synth player, singer-violinist, singing-bassist, a righteous guitar player and me, DeeDee Butters out front :)
That being said, the band is actually named after an old stain remover called DiDiSeven that came out in 1987 (I was 7, so I thought it was the best thing I'd ever seen). It was one of the very first viral infomercials.
Describe your sound?
We're channelling Nile Rodgers meets Chromeo meets Thelma Houston and Donna Summer. Toot-Toot-Beep-Beep.
Who does the songwriting?
Andrew Burns, our bassist, and I wrote the bones of the songs. Then we played them live with our awesome bandmates so that they could add their own flavour to the tracks before we went into the studio. Just like touring bands used to do back in the day.
How has the virus most affected daily life?
We all miss gigging SO much. It's strange not being able to 'talk' with each other musically. When we get together to play or rehearse, it's really a conversation with everyone adding their own voice to the story. I guess we miss story-time.
What’s your summer plans?
We've been talking to a lot of people about the record and sending it out. We've got a video for the next single that's just getting polished up to release soon, so keep your eyes out for that. And we're holding our neon purple vinyl up to the sun because it makes us happy.
Dream collaborator?
Janelle Monae, Chromeo, and Lizzo! With Nile Rodgers producing! Swoon.
Hardest part of being in this band?
We're a pretty new band so the hardest part is that we were looking forward to our first big summer, releasing our album, and building our fan base. We decided to trust that putting our EP out despite Covid19 was the right thing to do. People need to be cheered up and we hope our crazy neo-disco tunes help to lift their summer spirits.
For more visit:
deedee7.com/