In July 2026, Reality Distortion came to my attention through their enchanting solidarity anthem Renaissance.
By Graeme Smith
“Art has always been integral to protest,” said the brother and sister duo Devon and Linnea of the single. “It inspires, it dissents, it connects. And it gives people a way to feel and express what they haven’t been able to put into words.”
Renaissance sits as one important part of a bigger project reflecting on this point, the recently released EP, Ceasefire. I asked them why they chose the singleas our first taste of the record.
“It felt like all of the key elements of the EP: peace, possibility, protest, community, and the importance of art, coalesced in this song,” they said.
The track certainly feels core to the project when you listen to the whole EP. It sits as the record’s powerful climax, deviating into folk after three pop and rock numbers – title track Ceasefire, Legacy, and Speak Now.
“[These three songs] have been around for about eight years, [and] have retained most of their core elements,” explain Reality Distortion. “We have changed as people more than the music itself has changed honestly.”
The EP combines politically charged lyrics with spiritual pop, a lethal combination of the meaningful and accessible. Opener Ceasefire is a call to action, rousing in its percussive undercurrent and relentless rhythms. An explosive finale is a statement of intent.
Legacy takes things is a rock direction invoking acts like Evanescence and York Calling favourite Wrex. Speak Now is wonderfully moody thanks to its breathy vocals and glitchy electronic layers. There’s an element of sci-fi about it as it takes on the here and now.
After Renaissance, an Outro lingers, showing us Reality Distortion at their most experimental through overlapping snatches or vocals and instrumental layers. It’s bold, defiant and a highlight.
The duo’s superpower is certainly their use of vocal harmonies, not just their own but their ability to co-op other voices into the mix.
Speaking of the message they want people to take away from the EP, they say “our hope is for people to feel more agency in their own lives, and belief in a world of peace, protest, and possibility.
They add: “if our music moves you in any way, we hope it encourages you to pursue your own artistic endeavour. We just had an EP release show for Ceasefire, and the most moving thing to hear was that our music inspired some people in the crowd to pursue their own dreams.”
Aside from protest and messages, I wanted to know what was behind Reality Distortion’s music, so asked them about their inspirations.
We have so many influences that you might not guess just listening to our music,” they say. “The poetry of Walt Whitman and Mary Oliver, Gandhi’s teachings of ahisma, Pink Floyd, Raye, The Grateful Dead, The Tallest Man on Earth… our interests and influences are quite wide and varied.”
Hearing that makes me wonder just what we’re going to get next from them. If your interest is similarly piqued, then you can keep up to date with Reality Distortion by following them on Spotify and Instagram. Their next release is set for 11 November.
Ceasefire is out now and you can listen to it below.
Supported by Musosoup #SustainableCurator