We had the good fortune of connecting with Dery and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dery, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
Growing up as a third culture kid certainly impacted my thought processes, perceptions, stories, ability to move between cultures etc. My mother is from New York and father from Zagreb, but I was raised bilingually in Germany before moving back to NYC. Music was a point of connection across whichever groups I was a fish out of water in – a good reminder that if you don’t fit in anywhere it conversely means you fit in everywhere. Writing music has been a tool of expression since I was a young child – something I could take with me wherever we travelled to and something I am very grateful to my family for nurturing.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Having a parent as a musician positively impacted my growth as a kid by providing songwriting as an outlet for my emotions, stories and expressions; while also being a challenge in that my art didn’t feel like much of a personal choice or discovery. In that sense it took years for me to discover whether I personally enjoyed writing music as much as I initially was supported to do. This remains a complex dynamic I’m not sure will ever be overcome, but I have resigned myself to the fact that I will always need/love to write, sing and record, regardless of whether I publicly release/perform music.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I’m a fan of Amara Kitchen and most likely would plan a day in the Angeles Mountains (possibly hike the Switzer Falls trail) post-Amara breakfast and end the day watching the sunset and possibly a seeing movie (:

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d like to shoutout the book “Through The Language Glass: Why The World Looks Different In Other Languages” by Guy Deutscher. This one really impacted my knowledge about how bilingual brains function, as well as other fun facts about language, communication and perception.

Website: www.derymusic.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/derymusic

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO-_wpZngub-r8-uDGUyp4w

Other: https://dery.bandcamp.com

Image Credits
self-portraits

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.