GREGORY DILLON REIMAGINES CLUB MUSIC WITH A POWERFUL MESSAGE IN INVIGORATING DANCE SINGLE “BURNING KISSES”

OUT SEPTEMBER 27TH, 2024

“Praise to the damned, if I’m damned then I’m gonna dance.”

Gregorian Chant may not be the first genre that comes to mind for club-goers, but something extraordinary is about to unfold. Designed for the cathedral of pulsating dance floors, Gregory Dillon’s “Burning Kisses” single emerges as an experimental masterpiece, electrifying audiences with its unexpected debut. With throbbing techno synths and a breathy, almost ritualistic refrain, Dillon’s latest single is a transcendent experience—blurring the lines between the sacred and the sensual. This rising luminary in the electronic dance scene, already known for several major-label hits, has clearly been honing his craft, creating a sound that is as enigmatic as it is euphoric.

Yet, the sonic landscape is just one facet of Dillon’s visionary artistry. His latest visual endeavor, a daring reinterpretation of Catholic iconography, was filmed in Warsaw, Poland—a nation steeped in spiritual tradition. Here, Dillon ignited controversy with a provocative, sexually fluid portrayal of a club crucifixion, drawing comparisons to Madonna’s most audacious moments. Far from a mere provocation, Dillon’s work appears as a deeply personal exploration, reflecting not a rejection but a transformation of his Catholic school upbringing into a new form of worship.

“The club scene has become a place of worship for misfits and people who, like me, are escaping the pressures of society. On the dance floor, in the middle of the night, we can completely free ourselves.”

“The chorus of ‘Burning Kisses’—‘praise to the damned, if I’m damned, then I’m going to dance’—is my anthem for those moments of liberation. As a gay man who grew up in a Catholic environment, I can’t help but think of the monks who might have also been queer, seeking refuge in their devotion as I sought refuge in mine. And while this project is not an attack on Catholicism, it’s about exploring those contradictions—finding my own place of worship in the clubs, where I can finally celebrate who I am without fear. It’s not about rejecting my past but about embracing who I am now, in all its complexity, and creating something that resonates with others who’ve felt the same tensions between faith, sexuality, and self-expression.”

-Gregory Dillon on “Burning Kisses”

MORE ABOUT GREGORY DILLON:

Hailed by Notion as the “internet sad boy icon of our dreams, ” Dillons genre bending anthems blaze with a cinematic allure shimmering from a collision of electropop, new wave, & post-punk sensibility. His self-produced singles, “lovely.” “Plastic Ferrari,” and “Alien Boyfriend” surpassed 5M+ streams this year, and he signed to PEN Music Publishing, quickly gaining sync placements on HBO’s The Sex Lives of College Girls, Batwoman, Riverdale, Love Island UK, MTV and Amazon Prime original series The Lake. His foray into dance music has landed him billing as a DJ/Club Performer for sold-out shows in the US and Europe, and featured collaborations with heavy hitters like nowifi on the track “Undefined.” Now approaching 11 million streams across his catalog, Dillon’s music has been hailed by Music Insider as “a total masterpiece” and featured in “Best New Songs of the Week” by Billboard, Paper, MTV News, V Magazine and 1883 Magazine. 

After a life-altering collision carved a fresh ethos into his artistry, Dillon's personal and musical trajectory now mirrors an unexpected transition back to the isolating streets of suburbia that he initially ran from. Shedding the picture perfect Ken-Doll fantasy of his earlier works, Dillon’s critically acclaimed self-production and conceptual approach is clearly evolved from escapism and nostalgic longing. Now adorning the Suburban ‘Sad Boy’ title, Dillon now channels a defiant, rebellious spirit, injecting listeners with a complex dose of euphoric resilience that BEDFORD & BOWERY described perfectly as “pulsing with a yearning to look backward.” 

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"With his debut EP Sad Magic, rising pop singer Gregory Dillon proves why he deserves your attention. A dance-pop confessional from start to finish, Sad Magic sees Dillon embracing the sad boy energy to tell the story of a depressed-yet-hopeful adolescence. If the EP doesn't have you dancing, chances are you'll be crying." 

- BILLBOARD 

“No matter how you slice it, the '80s never ended, dreamy synthpop reigns supreme, and love (and its addictive qualities) is always in the air on queer pop singer Gregory Dillon's "Love Again," whose husky baritone is like a cross between Joy Division's Ian Curtis and Depeche Mode's Martin Gore...It's springtime, so the arrival of "Love Again," after a cold, brittle winter, is a welcome, hopeful gleam of sunlight.”

- PAPER MAGAZINE

“This glittering slice of dark pop will not only have you dancing in your seat but will also inspire you to break out the Ouija board.”

- MTV News (on “lovely”)