An Interview With Daphne Jane

Interview by Alexa Hulse

Daphne Jane is an indie pop artist originally from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Known for her story-telling lyrics and dreamy sound, Daphne Jane has been writing music in her bedroom since she was 12 years old. For Crescendo, she talked to Wisteria about her creative process, fashion, being a queer femme in the Midwest, living a soft life, and the sweet spot where all of those things come together.

Photo Credit: Nick Greseth 

Alexa Hulse: Let’s start by talking about your songwriting process! What comes first? 

Daphne Jane: Usually an idea comes first and that idea usually comes from a feeling, a big feeling. It is usually the big feelings from small events that I want to delve into, it’s like accidental self-therapy because I’m digging deeper into a big feeling from a small moment to see what it was about. Sometimes it’s a happy feeling, sometimes it’s a sad feeling — the songs I release are usually happy because I feel they turn out better but I am including some more melancholy tunes on a new project though so that will be fun! Ideas come first, then melodies, and then lyrics that match both. I really love lyrics, it is my favorite part of writing songs and other people’s songs. 

AH: Who/what inspires you in your daily life?

DJ: All of the relationships I’ve ever been in inspire me a lot, whether that be positively or negatively *laughs*. Definitely my love life, my romantic life, the people I meet, my friends. Stages of my life have also been really inspirational in terms of songwriting like in high school I wrote a lot about high school and the emotions I was experiencing like feeling left out and being queer in a rural conservative town. Right now, I’m writing a lot about my early 20s and growing pains and feeling like an adult and a kid all at once and not knowing what to do with that. I always mix in a little love, I’m in a really happy relationship so I love writing about that and I’m continuously inspired by her. 

AH: Like you mentioned above, you often use your music and your platform to share about your experiences as a queer person and in a queer relationship. What does it mean to you to be femme? To be a lesbian?

DJ: I think labels have a lot of power to make you feel included and comforted in times of feeling like an outsider. In my rural conservative high school, I loved that the term lesbian existed because it made me feel really included in queer online spaces that didn’t exist in my physical proximity. But I also think labels have the power to constrict who you are and how you present yourself. To me, being femme means owning who I am and not allowing outside constraints to limit how I express myself. I can be feminine and I also can be queer, those two things don’t have to be opposites. I think it is very powerful to express myself in the way that feels right for me — in my gender, in my self-expression, in my creativity, in my fashion. 

AH: What are the highs and lows of being femme and queer in the music scene?

DJ: Connecting with and being able to give back to the local queer community in the form of music is my favorite part. I’ve met a lot of people locally who have come to my shows or know my music and being able to connect with them and create a space that isn’t always there for the queer community in Minneapolis is a high. Lows are that there is still a lot of sexism and homophobia within the local (and global) music scene. It is hard to appear worthy and “cool” within the music scene when that idea is rooted in such a white-cishet-indie-boy lens. Not letting that get to my head and diminish my own worth as a musician is sometimes the hardest part when I am comparing myself to other musicians who are not queer and femme. 

Photo Credit: Momosfilm (Margi Mosbeck-Morrison) 

AH: What does it mean to you to be from the midwest? To be an artist there? To be queer there?

DJ:The Midwest means two different things to me in terms of where I grew up and where I am now. I grew up in the upper peninsula of Michigan and I think being queer there has a tainted lens because I came out in high school — an environment where my peers were not supportive. The midwest, specifically Minneapolis, has a huge music scene. 80% of my college experience was during the pandemic so I didn’t really get to experience it then but now that we are able to play shows again it has been super awesome. To be queer and an artist in Minneapolis now is so beautiful because I get to share my music and play love songs about my girlfriend and talk about her on stage and be myself authentically in front of a few hundred people, so that is a really beautiful transition. It means a lot of different things to me but they all connect to where I am now in my queer identity, in my artist identity, and all the things that intertwine them.

AH: You mentioned earlier the importance of fashion to you — how would you describe your style? What is your process like for picking out something to wear in the morning?

DJ: I would describe my style as very fairy-feminine-popstar-ethereal vibe. I really love to mix new and old things together, like a vintage or thrifted piece with something that’s newer or make something new out of something I’ve worn before like making a skirt into a shirt with a ribbon or wearing a shirt as a skirt to just be creative — that is one of my favorite parts about fashion and picking out my outfits, the creativity that goes into it. I would say the process of picking out what to wear in the morning is genuinely one of my favorite parts of my day. It never really stresses me out unless I’m in a time crunch because I like to take my time to pick out something that feels good and like an accurate representation of my style and what I like and what feels true to me. 

I usually go with a specific statement piece that I want to style for the day and build around that. I have a ton of craft store ribbon and lace and then tie or pin them in places to make an outfit really cool. I make a lot of TikToks (@daphnejan.e) about picking out my outfits which is really fun for me and to see how my style has evolved over time. Fashion is such a fun part of life to me!

AH: Speaking of your online presence, it seems like you lead a very soft life. Do you feel this to be true? If so, what does living softly/slowly look like for you or mean to you?

DJ: I think I definitely do give that persona online. I really love and appreciate the softness in life — the small beautiful moments and being in nature are some of my favorite parts of being alive. I don’t necessarily live a soft life because I do have anxiety and that sometimes prohibits me from appreciating the small moments and seeing the beauty in every day. I would love to just do music and art and fashion and spend time with my partner and my friends and my family but there is also the reality of life that definitely can get in the way of the soft ideal life I want to live. I don’t necessarily choose to show those online and that’s not because I’m trying to hide those parts but because I like to highlight the beautiful and special loving moments in my life to look back on. The harder moments or the less soft moments, I write songs about them or cope with them in ways that aren’t showcasing them on the internet. Overall, I definitely think I have that mindset of softness and appreciating the softness of life but I also am very realistic.

Photo Credit: Nick Greseth 

AH: Speed round time! To start, what’s a favorite ritual of yours? 

DJ: Specifically in the summer, taking walks with my girlfriend and dreaming about our futures together is my favorite ritual. It is cold in Minnesota six months out of the year so I try to soak up the warmth while I can!

AH: What’s your favorite thing about being a Gemini? 

DJ: My favorite thing about being a Gemini is making connections, being able to build authentic relationships, and being able to tell when a relationship is real pretty quickly — that may mean that my circle of friends is smaller but I know that they are very genuine and true.

AH: Dream music collaboration?

DJ: Beabadoobee!

AH: Favorite color? Favorite color to wear?

DJ: Pink! I’ve always loved pink and will always love pink, specifically a baby pink. My favorite color to wear rotates between pink, baby blue, sage green, and white but I love a pastel anything, obviously.

AH: Favorite season? Why?

DJ: Summer and it always will be! I love swimming and going to the beach and all of the beautiful flowers and green trees. And I love summer fashion, I hate having to wear big clunky jackets that just cover your whole outfit, it’s really upsetting to my fashion brain. So summer everything — summer fashion, summer activities, summer colors, summer foods!

AH: Go-to ice cream flavor?

DJ: Birthday cake!

AH: What’s bringing you joy and pleasure right now?

DJ: Working on and envisioning my next musical projects, it makes me feel very alive and energized! I dropped out of grad school this year to pursue music because it was not creating joy for me so I just feel really good about that decision right now.

AH: I’m so glad to hear that! I wish you the best of luck as you continue to chase your dream and thank you for taking the time to talk to me for Wisty!

Photo Credit: Momosfilm (Margi Mosbeck-Morrison) 

Keep up with Daphne:

Instagram: @daphne_jane_

TikTok: @daphnejan.e

YouTube: @daphne_jane_

Facebook: @Daphnejanemusic

alexa hulse is a poet, gemini, and the editorial assistant at lilith magazine. she loves the moon, little treats, and swimming. you can find her writing at linktr.ee/alexahulse and on instagram @alexabhulse/@t00.soft.