More about: DEIJUVHS

A revolutionary in the underground scene, Deijuvhs found his audience in London’s eclectic rave sphere. Leading Lamesfest to showcase underground talent put the East London native at the centre of a movement he has proclaimed himself a king of. “I just made it my priority to actually unite the underground in any way that I could so I got into events and put on my own shows as a way of connecting people together through music,” Deijuvhs says.

“I made so many real ones by doing that and I know others did too. I crowned myself king of the underground and others who know me started to call me king too. I’d say there are multiple kings and queens of the underground but to have that title you’d actually have to do stuff for people”

Deijuvhs blends a variety of genres and can’t be categorised into any of them. His influences range from Tyler, the Creator to Dev Hynes and Deftones, but he says Kurt Cobain’s “honesty and lyrics really influence my music”. “My main inspirations come from within. Everything I write is quite introspective so whatever I’m feeling at the time becomes the song. I like to write relatable songs so I do try and make sure every line is memorable,” he adds. “I wouldn’t say I have a main message but I’d like to think my music inspires people to be themselves and also let people know it’s okay not to feel okay all the time.”

He describes his shows as a “beautiful mess” in which he turns into a “mad man” with his band the Lameboiz, and now that live music is back in it’s pre-pandemic form, Deijuvhs is “tryna crowd surf and stomp on peoples heads”. Capturing that euphoric chaos resulted in videos like that made for 'Postman Pack' that do justice to London’s beautiful underground culture and put Deijuvhs’ visual artistry on display. “When I make a song I instantly see visuals so when it comes down to making a music video I let the director know what I see and they put in some of their input,” he explains. “I’m very hands on with everything I do. It’s got to be my art.”

But Deijuvhs’ inspiration does not entirely stem from the good times. He has also tapped into his dark times and put those experiences into words—something that morphed into his most intimate output. “I’ve got a song called 'Moonlight In The Rose Distance' which is a freestyle I made after a mental breakdown on the bus. I was heavily addicted to Valium at the time so my brain was scrambled,” he recalls. “I belled my friend and told him to meet me, I waited about an hour for him so I sat outside in the cold drinking a bottle of rum. My phone died and everything was quiet then I looked up at the moon and felt peaceful. My boy Saif pulled up and we went to a dude called Brnsrghts studio and I free-styled the song. It was like a weight was lifted from my shoulders after that. I didn’t want to re-record the song so I left it as raw as possible. The beat was worked on a lot though.”

Looking further back, Deijuvhs recounts making music from a young age and evolving as the years went by. “My love for music started very early on. I remember having some Michael Jackson tapes that I’d play on repeat for years and that’s where my love for music stemmed from,” Deijuvhs says. “Before I started making music properly I’d always create melodies, I remember doing that from as young as five or six. I don’t think I really have a sound. It’s ever-changing. But I’d say I finally started to kind of make the music I wanted to in 2019 when my first mixtape Forever Hoodpunk dropped.” His stage name is also tinted with nostalgia, he explains: “The ‘Vhs’ literally stands for video home system. Watching VHS’ when I was young was literally my happy place and the quality represents my life: dusty and beautiful.”

But Deijuvhs is currently gearing up for more exciting news and an upcoming video release. “I’m working on like two projects at the moment,” he says. “I’m planning on putting on more shows with My boy Ben from Fuzzbrain Studios.”

More about: DEIJUVHS