Grammy-nominated artist Julian Lennon has been friends and collaborators with producer and songwriter Gregory Darling since the early 1990s. They met in Los Angeles, where Darling was performing with his band, Darling Cruel. The two artists reconnected in Europe a few years later working on Lennon’s ’98 album Photograph Smile. Over the decades, they have toured the world and worked together on numerous projects, including tracks on Lennon’s albums 2011’s Everything Changes and 2022’s Jude.
Now, the friends have a new single called, “A New Dream,” released on January 24.
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The song—written in the South of France in collaboration with their friend Anthony Caligagan—first appeared on Darling’s debut album Shell. Now reimagined with a fresh production, “A New Dream” offers an even deeper significance given Lennon’s role as the founder of the White Feather Foundation and Darling’s position as the head of artist outreach for Reluvotion. Both organizations are committed to global change and supporting human potential.
Their collective goal is to uplift those who might feel limited by life’s challenges, inspiring them to turn dreams into reality.
What’s the most important aspect of your friendship that each of you holds dear?
Gregory Darling: Honesty! We’ve been very truthful with one another from the beginning; so much to the point where it can be extremely annoying at times. For example, I ask him for his opinion on a musical idea or tune I’ve written and he tells me the flat-out truth whether it’s good or bad and I do the same. In the early years, the truth would sometimes separate us for a time but at the end of the day, we know that the truth and history between us is our bond, whether we find it annoying or not.
Any favorite stories from your time together over the past few decades you can share?
GD: Oh my, there’s so many, as we go back 34 years. I suppose the one story that will never fail my memory is the time we reconnected in Monaco in the ’90s. I had just finished recording a record in Italy, and I came back to Monaco to celebrate with Julian after a listening session. He took me around town where I had one too many drinks. I woke up the next morning in an unfamiliar room. Julian popped in and said, “Cup a tea, mate?” and I said, “Sure, but where am I?” He said, “You’re at my place. You’ve got to get packed, as our flight leaves in a few hours.” I said, “What are you talking about?” He said, “Don’t you remember? We booked a flight to Barbados.” And I said, “I don’t remember a thing,” Then we were off to Barbados, which was the birthplace of the first record we would write together, Photograph Smile.
Gregory, tell me the story behind writing the original version of “A New Dream.” What made you and Julian decide to reimagine it?
GD: The song was conceived in the South of France with our friend Anthony Caligagan at Julian’s Treehouse Studios. In a conversation, Anthony mumbled “I need a new dream,” and the melody to his words came to me in an instant. Then we got on our guitars and wrote down what we were feeling and somehow it all made sense and it was finished in a flash. It was featured on my Shell album but the record company oddly decided not to release the song, yet releasing many others.
Years later, COVID times had arrived and business and time were slow like molasses. I went back into the archives and listened to “A New Dream” and my son gravitated to it instantly, and it sparked a new interest and inspiration for me. So I reimagined the whole arrangement and production, which put a whole new twist on the song. I sent it off to Julian, and he’d chime in with a few key changes here and there, particularly on vocal balance, sound, and effects.
However, with so much going on in his world and me personally, we never got around to releasing it, until now.
Julian, what was the collaboration and recording process like for this new version?
Julian Lennon: It was so many years ago, I forgot exactly how it was conceived, but it was in my Treehouse Studios where it all began, with our dear friend Anthony.
As for the new version. Greg was in his studio during the COVID lockdown rearranging and re-recording various parts etc. I had no idea what he was doing until he sent a rough mix to me. The key thing for me was getting our vocals to sit right on the track, as our vocal styles are so different.
My key contribution to the new version was the balancing of our vocals and the atmospheric approach to the vocal effects.
Julian, tell me about the White Feather Foundation. How did it start and what’s your mission? What are some of the projects that the foundation is currently working on that are close to your heart?
JL: Dad once said to me, that should he pass away, if there was some way of letting me know he was going to be okay—that we were all going to be okay—the message would come to me in the form of a white feather. Then something happened to me whilst on tour with the album Photograph Smile in Australia. I was presented with a white feather by an Aboriginal tribal elder, from the Mirning people, which definitely took my breath away.
The White Feather Foundation was created for the purpose of giving a voice and support to those who cannot be heard. The tribal elders asked for my help, as I could bring awareness to their plight and to others who were suffering the same. Having had the white feather bestowed upon me, I knew this endeavor was to be part of my destiny. One thing for sure is that the white feather has always represented peace to me, as well as communication. Our mission is we embrace environmental and humanitarian issues; and in conjunction with partners from around the world, we help to raise funds for the betterment of all life.
Gregory, tell me about Reluvotion. What is it and how is it helping people? Please describe your role as the head of artist outreach.
GD: Reluvotion is a love, positivity-driven, hate-speech-free social good mobile app built and designed for all forms of global change-makers, nonprofits, government agencies, and companies working for environmental and social good. Reluv was built to provide a nontoxic, purpose-driven space to gather, connect, share information, and create change. We are also aligned with the Gift Of Love Foundation, founded by Jody Folz. As head of artist outreach at Reluv, it’s my role to cultivate the art and activism scene and to share Reluv with my fellow artists!
How does “A New Dream” encapsulate the mission of both organizations?
GD: Both are cause-driven organizations determined to do good around the globe.
What do you hope listeners will take away from this song?
GD: We’re never too young or too old for rediscovery, reimagining, or reinventing ourselves and it’s not impossible to rekindle those childhood dreams and creativity we’ve all had as children. Society has a way of reshaping the mindset, heart, and soul at an early age, thus diminishing creativity, which I believe is in all of us. A beautiful dream is a mysterious form of creativity and we don’t have to be famous to enjoy it!
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