Born out of a spontaneous moment in the south of France, Gregory Darling and Julian Lennon’s latest release, A New Dream, has been striking the hearts of listeners with its message of courage. Collaboration is key for the two and from a bond built on mutual respect, simple shared experiences have transformed into organically crafted tunes. Beyond the recording studio, they are committed to philanthropy. Through organizations like ReLuv and the Gift of Love Foundation, they have been working on projects that blend music with activism, using art to raise awareness and create a lasting impact. Read on to learn more about Gregory Darling and Julian Lennon.

Where are you based?
Prague, CZ.

What inspired you to pursue a career in the music industry?
When I heard an old 45 of my Dad singing Salve Regina. This prompted me to audition for a music school ‘The Mitchell Boys,” which I was fortunate enough to be accepted. This led to an early career working with Ennio Morricone singing “Regans Theme” for Exorcist 2, which was later featured on Quentin Tarantino’s “The Hateful 8”. So I realised at a very young age that it was possible to make a living in music but the key thing was knowing how to work with others, keeping my ego in check, and realising it’s more about we than me.

How would you describe your music style? How has it evolved over the years?
As I'm a fan of multiple genres, it’s become a collective mesh of everything and anything from the last 300 years. Through the years I’ve learned that less is more and that most humans don’t appreciate nor understand everything that’s thrown into the kitchen sink. In regards to my voice, I’ve learned not to over sing, which I had a tendency of doing in my earlier years.

How would you describe your musical partnership? How do you guys harmonize each other's musical styles?
Our relationship began as fans of each other's work, and our friendship is the key that drives the chemistry between us, which reflects on the music we’ve created. Through the years, Julian and I have always shared inspiring work from other artists, which subconsciously fused into our collaborations, arrangements, and production.

Congratulations on the release of “A New Dream.” Can you tell us more about the process of formulating this unique song?
Thank you! It’s an absolute relief to finally get this song out into the world. A New Dream was conceived in the south of France with our dear friend Anthony Caligagan at Julian’s studio, “The Treehouse”. In a conversation, Anthony mumbled, “I need a new dream,” and the melody to the 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.

Life these days feels very transitional. What does the song mean to you?
This is one of those tunes that constantly stays relative for me personally, and hopefully for other people as well. Like you’ve said, “life feels very transitional”, and I feel we’re all going through a series of tests and tribulations, particularly in this day and age. So basically, this song is my therapy song!

What do you hope listeners gain from hearing “A New Dream?”
I hope it gives people a sense that it’s okay to move on from something that is clearly not working, whether it’s your job, a toxic relationship, or even the place you live in. It’s never too late to dream, reinvent yourself, and act upon it.

We love that Julian Lennon is the founder of the White Feather Foundation. Can you tell us more about your foundation? What inspired it?
The White Feather Foundation was born out of a deeply personal experience I had after my dad shared something meaningful with me. He once told me that if he were ever to pass away, and if there was a way for him to reassure me that everything would be okay—that we would be okay—the sign would come to me in the form of a white feather. Years later, during a tour in Australia for the album Photograph Smile, I was given a white feather by an Aboriginal elder from the Mirning people. The moment took my breath away and confirmed that this message from my father was no coincidence.

The foundation was established to provide a voice for those who are often unheard, especially in communities suffering from neglect and hardship. The tribal elders reached out to me, knowing I could help shed light on their struggles and the struggles of others around the world. After receiving the white feather, I realized this mission was part of my purpose. To me, the white feather symbolizes peace and connection. Our foundation focuses on environmental and humanitarian causes, partnering with organizations globally to raise awareness and funds for the betterment of all life.

It looks like you work with a lot of causes. Do you have any favorite stories you would like to share from some of what the White Feather Foundation has done?
Being honoured with the international literacy award, writing the New York Times bestselling Touch The Earth Trilogy children, on behalf of the White Feather Foundation are one of the few that I'm very proud of.

Gregory, you are also the head of artist outreach for Revolution. Can you tell us more about your involvement with this organization?
Reluvotion is a love/ positivity driven, hate-speech free Social Good mobile app, founded by my mate Prof.Nicholas Dungey and co-founded by our other mate JR Smith. It’s built and designed for all forms of global change makers, nonprofits, government agencies, and companies working in environmental, social agencies, and private companies for nontoxic, purpose–driven space to gather, connect, share information, and create positive change.

We really love the idea of Revolution. Can you tell us a bit about how it works?
As head of Artist Outreach at ReLuv, it’s my role to cultivate the pro-activism scene and to share ReLuv with fellow artists. We are also a platform for donating micro grants for various foundations and causes and educating them on how to sustain success through innovative ways of monetising, such as carbon credits, for example.

How do you vet jobs to make sure they are green? How do you get companies to post on your site?
Great question!

Reluv’s sustainability and social impact jobs board exists to empower GenZ, less visible communities and anyone who desires to work in the new green and social good economies. Reluv invites companies, cause-driven organizations and government agencies to post their green and social good jobs on Reluv. People looking to work in the environmental and social good arena can search and apply for jobs directly from the mobile app.

In addition, Reluvers (our term for our community) can fill out their “My Green Resume” from their account profile page. Their resume is searchable by companies, organizations, and agencies looking to hire in the emerging doing-good economy.

Right now, we are working very hard to reach out to companies, organizations, and governmental agencies to let them know about Reluv and our sustainability and social impact jobs board. We are in the process of developing this element of our Reluv community. Right now, we individually vet the companies, organizations, and agencies that post jobs. However, we are currently developing AI technology that will automatically determine whether the company, organization, or agency is authentically working for green and social impact good.

This technology will enable us to do deep KYC (know your customers) validation to ensure that the companies are who they say they are.

You also work with the Gift Of Love Foundation. Can you tell us a bit about them?
Reluv is extremely excited to be partnering with the Gift of Love Foundation and its founder, Jody Folz. GOLF is a philanthropic organization that provides empowerment funds to support organizations working in a variety of environmental and social impact projects around the world.

Through our “Impact Fund,” Reluv and GOLF provide empowerment funds for organizations working in environmental impact, gender equity, youth and child development and well-being, and community development.

Given the recent cuts to USAID and the rising challenges of access to impact capital organizations around the world are facing, Reluv and GOLF are working hard to do as much good as we can. One example of these efforts is our collaboration with the White Feather Foundation. Reluv and the Gift of Love Foundation will be working with the White Feather Foundation to provide impact funds to support their important work around the world.

How do you see music playing a significant role in shedding light on social issues?
I believe that ReLuv will evolve, giving artists from all over the world a platform where they can relay their message along with their talents. I believe that there are enough people in the world who possess the soul, heart, passion, and intelligence to make this happen and make a powerful change.

Are there any upcoming projects you would like to share?
We have a significant music project which will commence in a few weeks time, which is aligned with ReLuv and Gift of Love Foundation, which will feature named artists who are cause driven. It’s tempting to share more, but I’ll hold my tongue for now.

It has been a crazy past few years, and we suspect at least four more. How have you been staying positive?
Staying positive is the only way I know. I’m thankful to have music, family, and great friends in my life who reflect the same kind of energy. As I've gotten older, I’ve discovered the concept of quality over quantity, as I’ve found that so many people are being divided by the powers that be, and I'm quite sensitive to this kind of energy. So, the only thing I can do is spread positivity through music.

What is your motto in life?
Be yourself, ‘cause everyone else is taken.

To learn more about Gregory Darling and Julian Lennon, please follow the links below:
www.reluvotion.com
Gift of Love Foundation
@2lionstudio
@gregory.darling_official
@julespicturepalace
@dungeystateuniversity

Gregory Darling x Julian Lennon - From Melody to Mission