Louder Than The Music

DUPREE, an American Christian Pop/Rock band led by Dylan Dupree (son) and Lauren Dupree (mom), have just released 'Mighty', a pop/rock anthem with lots of energy and inspiring lyrics. Louder Than The Music chatted with Dylan to find out about their music, the dynamic of being in a mother & son band, and how they want to speak out against bullying.

For those who haven't heard of you before, can you tell us a bit about yourselves and how you got involved in making music?

First of all, we're a mother+son band! Many people are shocked when they find this out. It's not everyday you find this dynamic, and people are often intrigued, especially after they hear our music. It's definitely not what you would expect. Music has been an integral part of our family through many generations. There were always guitars, keyboards, drums, etc. set up in our home and live music on the daily. We started singing/playing in church & fell in love with Christian contemporary music. Eventually, we started writing and recording songs in a local studio, then grew to having our own studio because we wanted to produce our own music. Between the two of us, we play many instruments so it was a natural progression to forming a band. We just want to bring what we've been doing all of our lives to the stage. We never had any second thoughts of whether or not we should be doing this together. It was just always there. It is what we love to do. It is our passion.

You probably get asked this all the time, but we don't see many Mother & Son groups, what's that like and why did you decide to record music together?

We always love being asked this question because it allows us to explain what we stand for... belonging. Everyone matters and everyone belongs. What better way could we be spreading this message of inclusiveness than to be part of a family band that brings everyone together through our music? Using our God-given gift of music to evangelize and inspire is an amazing experience. As far as the recording process goes, we are super honest with each other. If one of us is tracking vocals and the performance could get better, then we say it. Being forthcoming brings our production/writing to a whole new level. This is the main reason we decided to record music together. It is such an easy writing process because we know each other so well. As far as the family dynamic, we focus on laughter so we try to have fun while we create. Humor is a necessity for us to alleviate stress, so in life's stressful moments we try to lighten up. We want to show other families that, hey, with hard work & a little laughter the family business can be rewarding and fun!



Tell us about your new single 'Mighty' and what the inspiration behind it was?

Our songs often come from personal experiences in our own lives, or people who have touched us in some way. This one is personal. “Mighty” is a high energy anthem to help push through our fears and not be afraid. God is always with us. In fact, not being afraid is mentioned in the Bible over 350 times! His mighty power is bigger than any problems we have. The uncertainty and anxiety people are experiencing can be overcome by focusing on God. Don't let anyone discourage you. Be unique, follow your dreams, and love those who are challenging or discouraging you. Let that fuel you, because you have His power on your side! Believe in yourself. You can do it!

What message would you like people to take from your music?

Everyone wants to belong, so we really like instilling in our fans "You Matter You Belong." We're really passionate about being a positive force against bullying. It's the worst feeling to feel like you don't fit in, you don't belong or make a difference. We want to reach out to those who are having these feelings and turn them around to feel confident and have self worth. God made each of us. We're perfectly made! We want our fans to realize that they matter.

How would you describe your style of music and what are your influences?

We would describe our style of music as heavy pop/rock with guitar solos. However, there is a country rock song in the works that we are really pumped about. Lauren grew up in East Tennessee so it is a given that we do a country style song here and there. We are making music that combines many different flavors. We have a very distinct sound from a number of musical influences over the decades. Dylan is actually an older soul inside and Lauren is actually the one who listens to the more current/modern music which is the opposite of what people would think.

If you could work with any songwriter, who would it be and why?

Well, within the Christian genre specifically, we would love to collab with TobyMac. We would jive with him musically and the electric guitar+rap+pop influence = an insane track!