Dylan Sinclair
The Orchard
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More of Sinclair’s background is rooted in the church where he sang solos as a part of the choir from as young as five years old. It’s also here that Sinclair, who is Filipino and Guyanese, cites his earliest interaction with music, that being the moment he sang with his grandfather and father for the first time. “In hindsight, I can look back and be like that was very special because it’s not as often that I get to do that anymore,” he says. For Sinclair, making music has always been a family thing, it circles back his “less poppy” approach, and it’s one that’s focused on chemistry, connection, and pure love. “It was important to sing with your heart, Filipinos sing from the heart, they’re very genuine people,” Dylan says. “That was always a part of my music, even from a young age. My grandfather – I call him ‘Lolo’ – he’d be like, ‘Yeah, I’m singing at church on Saturday, and I would love it if you’d sing this song with me.” Nowadays, his family consists of his friends, homies, and people from church, all of which he truly desires to create music with.
These backgrounds as Sinclair once knew them are fading away or changing as he prepares to release his third independent project, No Longer in the Suburbs, due for release on May 11, 2022 via The Orchard. In its entirety, Sinclair’s latest project is reflective of what was, acceptable of what is, and optimistic for what’s next. While the project certainly signifies his departure from his suburban hometown to his present life in the city, No Longer in the Suburbs is also a leap of faith for Sinclair. Leaving the suburbs and the protection and comfort that comes with it presents new freedoms with new risks and new dangers. It’s all something that the young singer is ready to dive headfirst into. On one of the earliest lines on the new EP, Sinclair sings, “To be free is to feel the pain, with no sense of fear / That’s what I learned this past year.” Freedom has its pains as much as it has its rewards, and at just 20 years old, Sinclair realizes it’s all open how you look at it.
“No Longer in the Suburbs really represents the search for that stimulation, that faster life or those experiences that when you’re old, you get to look back on them and be like, yeah, I did that and with people that I love.”
The adjustments to life outside the suburbs are alive on efforts like the EP’s lead single “Suppress,” which Sinclair admits is his attempt to comfort his girlfriend as she adjusts to his lifestyle as a growing star. “As a man, I want to be reassuring of the fact that yeah there’s all these girls around – but it’s you,” he notes. “A weak man will make a girl feel insecure and I don’t want it to turn back on her if it’s me that’s the problem.” Elsewhere, “Lifetime” presents his conscious effort to remain grounded and tethered to his roots and values without losing sight of it all due to fame. EP focus track “Open” passionately lays a promise to be more reciprocal within a relationship while “If You Feel Like Leaving Me” reluctantly opens the door for his partner to leave if they are no longer satisfied with their love. With No Longer in the Suburbs, Sinclair not only adjusts to his new world, but his new world also becomes more accepting of him.
