In Conversation with Dill: On Her New Debut Single ‘Sale’

“Stendiamoci adesso sotto il sole,

Sulla pelle resta il sale,

Seccato il mare stammi vicino.”

“Let’s lie down now under the sun,

Salt remains on the skin.

Once the sea is dry, stay close to me.”

Salt is a symbolic substance in many ways: it remedies wounds, keeps us afloat in bodies of water, and teaches us to refrain from over-indulgence; only a pinch is needed to make a noticeable impact. Sale is the Italian word for ‘salt’, and is also the title of the new debut single by Italian model and singer-songwriter Dill. Like salt itself, the single is packaged in a short but healing sonic sublimity, forming a lesson in being hopeful, being present, and being at one with the people and things around you.

‘Sale’ is a blend of indie pop and dream pop, the verses sharing the etherealness of artists like Lush and Suki Waterhouse, and the chorus sharing the soulful swells of voices and strings seen in artists like Prince, who Dill tells me was her “recent big artist obsession”. All these combined, the song places you in a warm summer haze that perfectly encapsulates the feeling of opening your blinds on a sunny morning and being hugged by the light. Sonically, the song seems to symbolise the message found in the lyrics as Dill’s layered harmonies join together in a friendship. The song is sung in both English and Italian, the two cultures that have shaped Dill’s life; as she tells me, “I was really keen on singing both in my mother tongue and English for my debut single”. She speaks in a third language in the chorus, however: music. For those who cannot understand English or Italian, the chorus, composed only of “Oh’s”, can be sung along by everyone.

The music video which accompanies ‘Sale’ is directed by Brian Nasty, who is mostly known for his music including his latest EP entitled Growing Pains. A mixture of lo-fi and hip-hop, the album cover for Growing Pains depicts a wall adorned by childhood pictures showing Nasty’s own fondness for nostalgia. Nasty’s love for nostalgia translates the video for ‘Sale’’ into a visual warmth reminiscent of old home videos, where Nasty himself makes a cameo. Filmed around London with a 16mm camera, it’s like watching a moving postcard as we see the romanticised streets and pubs, ending on the final destination: one of London’s many hills that overlook the city’s skyline.

The synopsis of the video is simple: friends having a picnic together, and yet, the hazy, dreamlike visuals combined with the song itself make the video seem like a love letter to London and what it offers. The city’s possibility, potential and beauty are all celebrated, as well as the ability to be exactly who you want to be, constantly inspired by the friends you make. The video also seems to pay homage to all things vintage – perhaps stemming from her roots in the fashion world as a model who has walked runways in both London and Paris and featured in the likes of Vogue Italia and Vanity Fair – as she rides a roofless car and her hair flies in the wind, carrying a picnic basket like Jane Birkin, like in an old Hollywood movie. The sound, lyrics and music video altogether create an experience that embraces the peaceful freedom of youth.

Tell me more about your new single, ‘Sale’, I love it. What inspired you to write it?

I wrote ‘Sale’ last spring and it was during a time when I found a new sense of uplift in my life; a sense of hopefulness. It was a time when I really set my mind to allowing myself to be hopeful and enjoy the present in a way I had never done before. I feel like whenever something good comes into your life it can either make you feel happy and hopeful, or it can make you feel completely scared in fear you might ruin it or lose it, or both! At the time I had decided to allow myself to focus on being hopeful and happy. I felt like expressing this through music as I believe in its prophetic power and felt it really healing.

With ‘Sale’’ I really wanted to express this sense of uplift and motion towards something better with both the lyrics and sound. We recreated this with the music video too – very idyllic, a car ride with the hair out in the wind kind of vibe. A wholesome friend hangout, quite nostalgic too. Almost a return to childhood.

How was it filming the music video?

Filming the music video was so cute and fun. It really was what it looked like – a friend’s hangout. Everyone in the team was great, good vibes all around. We shot it on 16mm and had limited film so it really was all about catching the vibe in the moment. There weren’t many second takes. The most stressful part was setting a date for it as we were shooting outdoors and for the brief we needed at least a bit of sunshine. But we shot this in February London so you can imagine a day like that was very hard to find. Weather forecasts were also very unreliable and we had limited availability for the convertible car, so once we set the date it was set and we could only hope the weather would turn out fine. We got very lucky in the end as the sun was shining on shoot day!

How has living in Italy and then living in London influenced your sound?

I feel like this is something other people would manage to describe way better than I can. People come up to me after shows and tell me, “Oh, I could really see this 80s female Italian singer’s influence in the way you delivered that note, or the way you sang that song, or the way you wrote these lyrics or the way you carried yourself on stage”. But if you ask me personally, these are not necessarily things I do consciously, so I can’t tell you exactly where all my influences have come from. But I can definitely say that I have absorbed a lot from the culture I’ve seen and lived around in Italy and the culture that I’ve observed ever since I moved to London. All of it makes me who I am today, and I can definitely say one hundred percent I am made of all of it.

Who are some musicians that inspire you?

I listen to so much random music and so many artists from different genres that it’s hard to ever pick a favourite or a ‘main influence’. I often go through ‘one artist obsession’ phases where I rinse an artist’s discography and entire video, documentary and interview catalogue for weeks. My most recent big artist obsession was Prince. In this last week I feel like I’ve re-entered a Lady Gaga phase…

You are obviously a model as well. Is this something you have always aspired to be or has music always been the dream?

I actually rebuked the idea of becoming a model for so long in my life, especially as a young girl. People would always tell me “Oh, you’re tall and skinny, you should be a model!”, and in hindsight, I appreciate they were probably trying to compliment me, but at the time it would make me feel so weird and I really found being perceived so prominently by my physique depleting. I felt like there was so much more to myself that I would’ve rather had people notice about me. I think it was also all intertwined with internalised shame about my body and femininity.

I moved to London following my musical dreams and ambitions that I’ve had ever since I was a kid. I only started modelling about two years ago as I was trying to find alternative ways to pay my rent, but then it turned out to work great for me and I realised it can work extremely well alongside my music career too! Within a week or two of my debut as a model I found myself in the same room as Kanye West and Erykah Badu, playing my unreleased music during shoots and it was all very crazy!

As a model how important is image/aesthetic/style to you, particularly in your music? Is there a certain persona which you want to convey in your music and videos?

I definitely care a lot about aesthetics! This can be subjective, but I think that visuals and music videos can really make or break a song for me. Sometimes I won’t really understand a song straight away, but then watch the music video and suddenly get it – or vice versa, like a song and then be disappointed by the music video. An artist’s image can contribute to their music immensely. Some artists really wouldn’t be who they are without their artistic persona and their music also wouldn’t make as much sense without it.

I feel like my persona at the moment has a romantic quality to it, which comes from my Italian roots and the way I experience my queerness. It’s definitely expressed well through my music and the way I present myself.

I find a lot of artistic outlet through the way I dress or carry myself on stage, the way my music videos look, et cetera. They’re just as part of the picture as the music is. I think my ‘persona’ is continuously evolving and growing, but I hope one day I will do something so unapologetic and real that people will say “iconic”!

‘Sale’’ was released on August 1st and you can listen to it on Spotify, Apple Music and SoundCloud. For more information on Dill, you can follow her Instagram.

Edited by Oisín McGilloway, Editor-in-Chief