Hey there Our Basement,

“You’re a monster and I don’t forgive you,” was the sentiment I shared when I sat at a bar and cried to my friends about the end of my relationship. The next day, our producer, Maks Milczarczyk, sent a voice memo with the lyrics to “Monster,” and from there we turned my feelings into art.

The finished project is loud, energetic, and soaring. We recorded the vocals for the album at a family cottage in the dead of winter. I was excited to record “Monster,” but also nervous… For this particular tune, we waited until the sun had set, had a little bit of wine, and I asked myself to really go deep and give an emotional character performance. It was really cathartic.

Dilettante has transformed since For Jane (the original band name) and our first EP, Married With Dogs. As such, we used to be a band that sang jokingly about dogs and relied heavily on the guitar. Dilettante is the more mature, more excited to dance evolution.

As we were titling our album, I kept looking for common themes. Even though the songs were written years apart, I still found a few: first, felines, and second, the act of looking. “Blue” sings, as the tiger stares me down, “Monster” commands, feed me to the tiger, and “Tom” threatens the lion’s gonna find you soon. There’s a feline – perhaps metaphorically, feminine – presence that haunts the record, in all its pride and predatory nature.

Then, the looking – the tiger staring me down, but then again as “Donna” twisted her hips and stared me down and Tom ready to come out staring. But then again, songs like “Bonnie,” “Home,” “Stay,” and “Connie,” written primarily by Maks or Natalie, don’t share quite the same thread. Which is part of the mosaic charm of Dilettante, I’d say, and why the album was ultimately self-titled, Dilettante, rather than something thematically relevant.

This album taught me to just get things done. Natalie and I – two hot headed, passionate Aries – are both very excitable, always making plans and setting goals… But the act of finishing a project is a skill-in-progress. Getting this record out is finally a big, shared achievement we’re both proud of.

Affectionately,
Julia Wittmann of Dilettante
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