Britney, The Cure and ‘80s horror inspire newcomer keaton dekker’s sparkling debut “makeup”

A musical and visual artist, our first glimpse into keaton dekker's world is the effervescent “makeup” - a track that should remind you friendship works both ways. You can’t always let the other component piece of the puzzle do all the leg work. Friendship is push and pull and making up shouldn’t be one-sided.

Dekker explains, "'makeup' happened after I realised how unfairly I was treating myself in a certain friendship. I trusted this person’s idea of me over my own truth and it led me to hurt quite a bit.” Part of the process was a re-learning of sorts, abandoning so-called universal truths. "I used to believe that making up was so crucial when it came to friendships,” Dekker adds, “but writing the track helped me figure out that it’s super fine to not do that too sometimes."

Citing Britney Spears, The Cure, ‘80s horror classics and PS2 games as some of his key influences, Dekker blends this diverse nostalgia with his astute, observational lyrics. He adds, “I wanted the sounds to take me far away and sound exactly how I felt”, which is exactly what he achieves with “makeup”.

Accompanying visuals are on the way for the single, thanks to a team of his friends. “Everyone that worked on the project was either queer or POC which was important to me,” he adds. With more music on the way in the form of his debut EP the unwelcome series, Dekker will share more of his realisations and more of his story as the body of work unfolds setting himself up as a trailblazing storyteller for frustrated creatives everywhere.