IN CONVERSATION WITH GREGORY DILLON

interview by MARIE-PAULINE CESARI

Gregory Dillon released his haunting synth-pop single "Catatonic" on August 16, listen to it here. Inspired by Donnie Darko, the track unravels modern anxiety into a cinematic narrative of inner demons, blending 80s nostalgia with Dillon's unique self-production. With over 5 million streams this year and placements on major TV shows, Dillon's genre-bending sound continues to captivate. We caught up with Gregory to explore the inspirations and eerie experiences behind "Catatonic" and his upcoming debut album.

Where does your passion for music come from, and how did you first get started in the industry?

My passion sparked from watching my mom teach '80s cardio step aerobics. We’d spend hours on her cassette mixes, and as soon as one song ended, she’d say, “Wait, we HAVE to play THIS one at full volume.” Then, she'd hustle us to the class where I’d sit at the back and watch all the women sweating to these high-octane '80s dance hits.

Through a friend’s dad’s wrestling coach, I somehow ended up with an internship at a major record studio on 26th Street. I was like your classic henchman for the engineers who were in charge of recording all the major pop acts the label was developing. I was like a male, redheaded Ariel: in awe from the shoreline, shyly daydreaming about what that might be like. I started sneaking into the studio after hours, running from my waitering shifts at Café Luxembourg to work on my own demos. Of course, my boss eventually walked in on me one night. But he was really blown away and helped me record and release my first single on Soundcloud. From there on, I kind of got a knack for self-producing my own records.

Who were your icons and inspirations growing up, and how have they influenced your sound and style?

I still have my black iPod classic, and under “top played,” you’ll find Gregorian Chant, Tears for Fears, and Metro Station’s "Shake It." I’ve always really related to the isolation and loneliness of the monks from medieval ages. It’s funny because I feel like that yearning for escapism is a throughline for all three genres. And I can happily say I own a monk robe, an '80s prom suit, and colored ice spike hair gel from 2010.

"Catatonic" draws inspiration from the cult classic Donnie Darko. What about the film resonated with you, and how did it shape the narrative of the song?

Sophomore year of high school, me and an emo girl would go to Blockbuster like clockwork on Friday nights, renting cult classics because we weren’t really invited to any of the senior parties. One October night, she told me about this film, and it really had me in a trance. I felt like I was watching an extension of myself, especially with the psychological horror. Just like Donnie Darko, we also grew up misunderstood in suburbia with paranormal experiences, and I felt like my loneliness fueled my night terrors and sleepwalking. Ten years later - right now - I find myself in a eerily similar predicament — I mean, even my sleepwalking came back after escaping a near-death experience - heavy stuff, I know!

Your music blends elements of electropop, new wave, and post-punk. How do you approach blending these genres to create your unique sound?

After enough time sweating in a hotbox bedroom studio, you forget where you are and end up producing something no one asked for but exactly what you want to hear. The more I’ve gone genre-fluid on this album, the more natural it feels to live in that liminal space of different sonic worlds.

Blending genres feels so natural to me now because I’m so turned on by the contrast—like the nostalgia of the "American Dream" versus the nightmare of dystopian suburbia I find myself back in. So much of my production aims to capture that duality—this constant push and pull between escape and being trapped.

The themes in "Catatonic" delve into modern anxiety and inner demons. Can you share more about the personal experiences that inspired this track?

Not to go on a weird sci-fi tangent, but I get the feeling you’re open to this: Earlier this year, I walked away from a bad car accident. Right after, it felt like I was sent down an alternate life path with a lot of weird tests following. The darkest was my mom getting hospitalized, which required me to leave Brooklyn and move back to the suburbs to take care of her. It was a setback to be so isolated, and I spiraled.

What happened next is hard to explain, but I started experiencing extremely weird paranormal events in the home and neighborhood I’m now living in. I later learned from my boyfriend’s family that the place is very haunted. To cope, I began writing a concept album about being trapped in another timeline or dimension, inspired by Donnie Darko. The crazier part is, the more I’ve been leaning into the concept, the more extreme the paranormal experiences have gotten—I have a lot of footage if you’re ever interested in seeing it.

I know this all sounds a bit wacky, but I’m curious to share all these layers when releasing the music. It’s a different approach than your typical “breakup” album. Feel free to tell me I’m psychotic (laughs) but maybe you’ve also had the feeling that you weren’t in your own reality?!

Your self-produced singles have achieved significant streaming success and have been featured in various popular TV shows. How has this exposure impacted your career?

The horrors persist, but so does good TV. To be honest, having my track in a film might be more of an honor than even winning a Grammy. And though I'm still waiting for the call to score the new AMC-Nicole Kidman trailer, I’m mad grateful for the opportunities coming through. I remember my senior career thesis had points deducted because including “making music for HBO AND charting on Spotify” was considered an unrealistic goal… kind of feels epic to know I've proved a professor wrong. 

Can you tell us more about the creative process behind the video for "Catatonic"?

From the moment I wrote this song, I was determined to recreate Donnie Darko and found a small crew of cult-classic diehards in Poland brave enough to explore some abandoned locations to film the video with me. What I didn’t expect was for the creative process to have so many paranormal parallels along the way of filming.

On the first day of location scouting in Poland, we stumbled upon an abandoned building by accident, and it made Blair Witch seem like a Disney film. It was eerie AF. Often on set, we would have VHS cameras pick up weird light anomalies, blackouts on fully charged equipment, and at one point (we have it on footage), a '90s TV picked up the craziest signal out of nowhere, displaying what looks to be a face or silhouette. No amount of White Claws can keep your bravery up after something like that.

With "Catatonic" being the first single off your upcoming debut album, what can fans expect from the album as a whole? Are there any themes or stories you're excited to share?

If you’re not driving pretty and dissociating, then I don’t know what you're listening to. So much of this album is a burning desire for escape. We’re talking about Catholic school scars, leaving your hometown forever, dream sequences that don’t make sense. This project has been a personal exploration to help deal with this unexpected move to suburbia, which as of late, feels like a dystopian nightmare. To be honest, it’s a bit of a trauma bond to the conservative “American Dream” I escaped as a teen. This album is collecting up all my fucked-up/reckless energy, but I’m realizing it’s important to explore this for all the other kids out there going through the same thing.

Fashion plays a significant role in your music and public persona. How do you see fashion influencing your art, and what role does it play in your life?

I love pairing highs and lows. Sports car and tuxedo parked at Seven-Eleven, clearance Spirit Halloween costumes with a designer sneaker collab. One minute I’m in a motorcycle corset, chained to a dominatrix, the next I’m changing into a mundane, unwashed '90s long sleeve thrift find.