SALEM — Devin Pinkham (stage name Dev Soter), whose new indie project “The Dida Tapes” is dropping this week, credits the city of Salem for his eclectic taste in music.
“Culturally, how diverse we are has a huge influence on my sound. I grew up with a mom who loved the Backstreet Boys and a dad who loved rock,” said Pinkham, who grew up in the city. “Then going to Salem Public Schools, I got a lot of hip-hop and pop influences.”
Pinkham produced the new six-track project on Logic X in his home studio, starting with drums, then weaving in vocal lines, guitar and bass.
“I like to experiment with different things,” he said. “Whether it be adding an ’80s synth, or a distorted guitar. I like to air out my drums, or I add sub-bass to a song that really doesn’t need sub-bass, which gives it character to me.”
The tracks are mixed with the help of Tyler Leger, another Salem artist.
The craftsmanship and attention to detail is evident in every line of the “The Dida Tapes,” which blends several genres in a way that feels cohesive and new.
The project begins with “Careful,” which starts out sounding haunting and mournful before bursting into a distorted guitar solo.
The track “Brainless” has an evident funk influence, with a groovy, party vibe. Pinkham shows his vocal range here, delivering most of the track in a strong falsetto.
“Hills” is the most hip-hop influenced of any tracks on the project, as Pinkham’s voice slides over a boom-bap backbeat like fingers down the neck of a guitar.
“Too fast,” wraps up the album with a hard guitar riff and an infectious melody in one of Pinkham’s most dynamic vocal performances.
“You bend me til’ I break for you/I slow down, I hit the brakes for you,” he sings in the verse, powerfully hitting the line.
“It’s just how I was feeling at the time. Everything that I wrote was very present,” he said. “I wasn’t writing with the knowledge that I have now. Writing about it when you have those pure, instant emotions was important to me.”
Pinkham only began making music seriously about a year ago, and has thrown himself into musical projects during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I always wrote, and I used poetry as an outlet during school. But besides that, I never really put two and two together and made my own music,” said Pinkham, who cited artists like The Arctic Monkeys, The Neighbourhood, Dominic Fike, and Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers as his main inspirations.
“I’m just trying to make as much music as I can right now, so I always have something to look forward to,” he said. “And just so I can make it out, not of Salem but just of this specific spot I’m in. I feel like I’m just stuck. Most of it is probably the pandemic.”
Since he only really began his music career in earnest during the pandemic, he still hasn’t been able to perform live shows, but he is looking forward to eventually taking some of his music on stage.
Pinkham recently signed a distribution deal with Fashionably Early, a music company that partners with artists, and is hoping that his music can reach a wide audience.
He has already had success getting his music heard with “Brainless,” being chosen for the high-profile “Fresh Finds” Spotify playlist, and “Hills” garnering tens of thousands of views on YouTube.
“It’s stressful,” said Pinkham, of the unexpected reach of his music. “It’s a weird learning process that a lot of people are out there hearing my stories.”
He is looking forward to producing more music as the year progresses.
“I’m still experimenting,” said Pinkham. “And there’s so many things I still want to do.”
“The Dida Tapes” will be available on Soundcloud on February 10.
