Superduo Deliah Talk Creative Oppression of Female Artists

The British duo Deliah recently released their single ‘Better the Devil’ which received much acclaim for exploring the oppression of female artists in the music industry.

Deliah is fronted by lead singer Michelle Harris and instrumentalist Alex Dopierala who met at university in Liverpool. Before eventually meeting at university, Alex has been working behind the scenes in the biz from the tender age of 16. Beginning with sound engineering internships, then eventually stepping up to working as a roadie, and eventually a session guitarist. A few shows and recording sessions together were enough to convince the pair to make Deliah a full-time job and since then they’ve gone from strength to strength.

Their newest track ‘Better the Devil’ is accessible, yet raw vocal RnB at its finest. Keen to avoid being pigeon-holed, Michelle and Alex have created a rich tapestry of live instrumentation and electronic elements. Blending the rough with the smooth, ‘Better the Devil’ showcases the raw talents at play; Michelle’s incredible vocal range, Alex’s talented improvisation and the polished production of Tee Soulful (MiC Lowry). This is an anthemic piece of rough-pop, that’s oozing with confidence.

We asked Deliah about why they have chosen to take on female oppression as a subject in their music. “I didn’t know this when I ‘chose’ my passion, but being a woman in the music industry has opened my eyes to a world I thought we had left behind 50 years ago,” Michelle said. Alex continued, “It’s nice to finally see women like Nao, Alessia Cara, and Tash Sultana coming through and being widely successful without having to dispute their morals.”

“This is obviously not something that is limited to the music industry and that is why we try to address these issues in our own songwriting. ‘Better the Devil, for example’, does exactly that, it’s basically a satirical take on oppression in every respect,” Alex told us. “If you’re given an opportunity such as songwriting to speak to a wider audience and make an impact then you should use it.”