Q&A: “Miss Magdalena,” Deities, Desire and Eternal Damnation With dllfces
WRITTEN BY DEL HENDRICK
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California-based indie music artist Delilah Capulet, or dllfces, is releasing her first EP in July. This comes following her previous two releases, “Miss Magdalena” and “My Mother, Like Religion.” With soulful guitar and soft, ethereal vocals, dllfces constructs a beautifully haunting but irresistible energy in her music that curates a story between songs.
With overt religious imagery and bittersweet tragedy strung throughout in lyrics such as “bloody knuckles, torn and shredded, you’re my saint, my confession,” dllfces builds the world of “Miss Magdalena” around desire and the psychological dangers of experiencing temptation when your outlook is defined by the restrictions of religious doctrine. In her words, “yes, I know, I’m a sinner, I’d crawl out of hell just to kiss her.”
Whereas “Miss Magdalena” starts slower, “My Mother, Like Religion” ushers us in with a faster, richer sound on the guitar. It unfolds elegantly as dllfces begins to sing, voice airy and gorgeous. This song carries a generous, almost unnaturally beautiful sound that comes with a slightly melancholic feel. Something distinctly attractive about dllfces’ music is its authenticity— it sweeps listeners up and absorbs them into her psyche, but doesn’t sound obtrusively like it’s auditioning to be your next favorite song. It sounds like an artist dedicated to her work, allowing us entry into her perspective.
“My Mother, Like Religion” references prayer (now I lay me down to sleep…) in the same way the previous song alludes to the saint Mary Magdalene. In both of these inclusions is a throughline of sin and surrender to the divine. The narrator of this song struggles with both, posing questions to her mother figure like “Am I doing this right?” and “Won’t you lay with me?”
Life on Jupiter had the pleasure of asking some of our burning questions regarding these confessional songs to dllfces herself.
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LIFE ON JUPITER: First of all, it’s such a joy to have gotten to listen to your music. I deeply appreciate the intersections between religion and desire that you’ve brought forth. Do you want to tell us first about yourself as an artist, and why you chose to pursue these themes in your music?
DLLFCES: Thank you! I think the most important thing to know about me, as an artist, is that writing these songs acts as a sort of diary for me. Every song I write is significant to me in some way; although they may not all be literal, they all have some relation to my real life. I tend to write about religion and sexuality a lot - they are both something I've struggled with growing up. Religion in particular, I have spent a great deal of my life afraid that one day, no matter how “good” I am, I'll be eternally damned. There’s so much shame that comes along with religion (of any kind), and I wanted to share how it has made me feel.
You also mentioned there being a connection between these two songs in that they contain a story between them. I’d love to hear more about that and possibly also how this coincides with your upcoming music.
DLLFCES: Yes! Most of my music is written this way. Sometimes one song isn’t enough to capture the whole story or explain all of the context. In real life, we tend to go through cycles of emotions and feelings about one situation. These songs in particular are essentially the same song but from two different perspectives. Two girls, both alike in dignity, struggle with acceptance in their community. In “My Mother, Like Religion,” after years of shame and fear, she eventually decides to take her own life. In “Miss Magdalena,” she admits that her love is ultimately more important to her than God and decides to take her own life as well. That’s why I wrote semi-mirroring lines; “If I die before I wake, carry my body, look at my face, and swallow your pride” and “Death, much kinder than their stares; that’s my one and only prayer.”
What is your approach like when it comes to your art? I noticed that your songs have creative covers on Soundcloud and that you’re incredibly immersive—on your Spotify and Soundcloud, your description is cryptic and striking in the best way. “Are you alone, addicted, cheated, experiencing temptation, curious? needing purpose, forgiveness, god?” How do your vision and life experience intersect with what you create?
DLLFCES: I guess I'd describe my approach as…unconventional? At the end of the day, I don’t usually sit around and plan everything. When I'm writing my music, though, I sort of immerse myself in the lyrics and think of how to title or design a cover photo in the context of how I was feeling when I wrote it, and more importantly, how I want the listeners to feel when they listen to my song. There are some things I do plan, however. I’ve spent my entire life wishing on stars and dandelions that someday, my dreams will come true. I’ve always been a bit quiet and, admittedly, a little awkward. I grew up feeling ignored and overshadowed, like no one could hear me over the crowd. I don’t want to be in the crowd anymore! Along with everything else that’s happened to me along the way, that’s a big reason why I am who I am today. My bio comes from the beginning of a bible left in a hotel room. There are many reasons why someone might open it. There are many reasons why someone might relate to my music.
In terms of music— lyricism or instrumentals— or general aesthetic, who and what inspires you? Is there anything you’re reading, watching, listening to right now that’s left an impression?
DLLFCES: This is always such a hard question. Weirdly, my inspirations don’t typically lie in other music. Most of the music I listen to isn’t at all similar to mine. My favorite songs of all time are “Hotel California,” “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper,” “Girls on Film” and “Precious.” I am very heavily inspired, however, through other media. My favorite movies, particularly Satoshi Kon’s film Perfect Blue, David Lynch’s Blue Velvet, and Darren Aronofsky’s Requiem for a Dream are some that I think have influenced my general vibe. Another obvious inspiration for me is in literature, especially The Divine Comedy. Generally, I'm most inspired by memories, places, people and feelings.
The concepts that permeate in both “Miss Magdalena” and “My Mother, Like Religion” surround the forbidden, the act of sinning, repentance and blasphemy. The topics of motherhood and daughterhood are also present. All of these intertwined together make for a very vulnerable body of work. How do you feel about vulnerability as an artist? Have you redefined sin, forgiveness, or desire for yourself in the act of writing?
DLLFCES: I think vulnerability is a necessity as an artist. The act of writing a song and asking people to listen to it is very vulnerable in nature. I’m not going to pretend like I'm super nonchalant and chill all the time; if I were, I wouldn’t pursue music. I think I'm still coming to terms with myself, and admittedly, I still struggle with these feelings on a daily basis. I’ve redefined these feelings, though, in a way. Maybe this whole thing is just my journey to seek acceptance from within myself.
Dllfces; what’s the origin of the name for you?
DLLFCES: I’m very pale and have a round face. Growing up, people would always tell me I look like a porcelain doll. I ended up just kind of embracing it - not that it was an insult in the first place! For a while, I went by “DollFace,” but that felt too obvious. I wanted something different and something that could be consistent on every platform. I don’t know why I left the last “E” though. People ask me about that a lot. I don’t know!
What’s next? If there’s anything you want to share regarding your EP or other future projects, we’d love to hear about it and extend our excitement!
DLLFCES: My debut EP, I Told You I Was Sick, is coming out in July. I’ll also probably drop some more singles. I have over 120 notes in my phone of just lyrics and music ideas. I just need to record them. I also play live shows from time to time. Usually, they’re anywhere between SF and LA. I’ve always wanted to play out of state, too, though.