Devin Cecchetto On “Desert Cold” And Three Upcoming Releases

Devin Cecchetto is a Canadian singer and actress who recently released her first single from a four-song series, with each track representing a different stage of her life.

The first release, “Desert Cold,” is a melancholic and nostalgic song with a strong cinematic feel. The song reflects on a period in Devin’s life when she was living in Los Angeles. As the artist herself described it, she felt caught somewhere between “everything around me is so bright and there’s so much going on” and a deep sense of loneliness.

Devin spoke to our founder, Asya Radko, about that period of her life, the songwriting process, and her own artistic vision.

Interviewer: The concept behind these four songs explores different chapters of your life. How did the idea come to you, and why did you decide to tell the story in the form of musical chapters?

Devin: I think life naturally happens in seasons, and I realized I had written four songs that each represented a completely different chapter of my life. I want people to experience them the way I lived them, one chapter at a time. Each song captures a different emotion, place, and version of myself. My hope is that listeners can follow the journey and maybe even see parts of their own lives reflected in it.

Interviewer: You’ve just released the music video for the first song in the series, “Desert Cold.” Let’s go back to the writing process for a moment. Was there a point when the lyrics seemed to write themselves? And what was the journey like of recording the song and searching for that perfect sound?

Devin: The song came from a really honest place. I had been living in Los Angeles for about six months back in 2024 pursuing acting, and I found myself surrounded by sunshine, palm trees, and everything I thought I had always wanted but emotionally, I felt surprisingly lonely. The idea of the desert became this perfect metaphor. During the day it’s warm and full of life, but once the sun goes down it becomes cold and empty. Although I’m not gonna lie, at that time, I was having a lot of fun in the nighttime but all the connections felt hollow.

Once I found that idea, the lyrics flowed pretty naturally. Recording it took a bit longer because I wanted the production to feel nostalgic and cinematic while still feeling intimate. We kept experimenting until it felt like you were driving through the desert at sunset, reflecting on everything you’ve experienced.

Interviewer: Filming a music video is always a major creative undertaking. When it comes to developing the concept, do you usually trust directors and writers to shape the story, or do you prefer to clearly communicate your own vision from the beginning? Either way, what is that creative process like for you? And was there a particular scene or visual in the video that was entirely your own idea? Tell us about the team that helped bring your vision to life. Who are the people behind this project?

Devin: I’m definitely someone who comes into a project with a pretty clear vision. I love collaborating, and I honestly think the best ideas happen when everyone brings something to the table, but I usually know the feeling and story I want to tell before we even start filming.

For “Desert Cold,” I wanted everything to feel nostalgic, almost like flipping through old memories. The vintage convertible, driving through the canyons, and that golden California light all represented this feeling of freedom on the outside while quietly carrying loneliness underneath. Those visuals were incredibly important to me because they reflected exactly how I felt during that season of my life.

I’m also really lucky because my boyfriend Kristian Wood is an incredibly talented director, cinematographer, editor, and colourist, so from the beginning we were able to sit down and really dream up the visual world together. I told him I wanted a 1970s vintage convertible as a subtle nod to playing Young Evelyn in The Way Home. That era has become such a creative inspiration for me, and I loved weaving a little piece of it into this project.

I also knew I wanted to film in Los Angeles. There’s something about those Hollywood hills or where we shot Little Tujunga Canyon Roads that feels so cinematic and timeless. LA almost tells its own story because of all the films, music, and memories we’ve associated with it over the years. I knew I wanted golden hour, that vintage car, and those iconic mountain roads because together they perfectly captured the emotion of the song.

I feel incredibly grateful for the team that helped bring it all to life. Everyone involved brought so much creativity, care, and passion, and they elevated my ideas beyond what I could have imagined. That’s what I love most about filmmaking – it’s such a collaborative art form, and when you’re surrounded by talented people who believe in the same vision, something really special can happen.

Interviewer: What helped you get through that period of feeling surrounded by beauty while, at the same time, feeling emotionally distant and alone?

Devin: Honestly, I think I just kept creating. Writing songs, journaling, going for long drives, spending time in nature – those things reminded me to slow down and process what I was feeling instead of trying to ignore it.

Looking back, I’m actually grateful for that season because it taught me that you can have everything around you look perfect and still need to reconnect with yourself. Sometimes the hardest seasons end up giving you the most meaningful art.

Interviewer: As someone who works in the arts, I often feel that we breathe out our art because it’s simply impossible to keep it inside – it lives within us. Do you feel the same way? Is your music primarily a form of healing and love that you’re grateful to give shape to through your songs, or are you always consciously creating with the goal of touching your audience’s hearts first?

Devin: I love that way of putting it because that’s exactly how it feels. For me, songwriting has always been a way of making sense of my own experiences first. It’s almost impossible not to write when something deeply affects me.

What’s beautiful is that once it’s out in the world, it stops belonging only to me. People hear the songs through the lens of their own lives, and sometimes they connect with them in ways I never expected. That’s one of my favorite parts of being an artist. Something that helped heal me might end up helping someone else feel understood.

Interviewer: Do you have a favorite moment in the music video? What makes it special to you? And will each song in this series be accompanied by its own visual story in the form of a music video?

Devin: One of my favorite moments is driving through the California canyons during golden hour. The one shot of just the blue sky and me reaching out front in the passenger seat feels like everything I wanted! It’s giving freedom. But like the lyric says, “freedom tastes like nothing when you’ve had too much lately.” Sometimes the simplest shots carry the most emotion.

Yes! Every song in this series will have its own music video. I wanted each chapter to have its own visual identity so people don’t just hear the story – they can experience it.

Interviewer: How are you feeling now that the song and the video are finally out in the world? What were your very first emotions after the release?

Devin: Honestly, it’s a mix of excitement, gratitude, and relief. You spend months or sometimes years living with a song before anyone else hears it, so finally releasing it feels a little like letting go.

My first feeling was excitement, but then I immediately became curious to see how people would connect with it. Once a song is released, it becomes part of someone else’s story too, and I think that’s really beautiful.

Interviewer: If you had to describe this song with just one word, what would it be, and why?

Devin: Bittersweet. Because that’s exactly what “Desert Cold” feels like to me. It’s about chasing dreams and finding beauty, while also realizing that external success doesn’t always fill the emotional spaces inside you. Sometimes the most beautiful places can also be the loneliest, and I think that’s a feeling a lot of people can relate to.

The interview was written by Asya Radko. Pictures were provided by Devin Cecchetto.