As a trans artist, UK-based musician Dylan And The Moon has found a unique way to make music that reflects his journey: duets with his past self. Blending intimate lyrics with soulful melodies, he creates songs that celebrate his identity and embrace all phases of his life.

A self-described indie-folk storyteller, Dylan And The Moon creates “songs that sound like an old polaroid”, as he states in his Instagram bio. His music career spans years, and it saw him stepping onto the X Factor stage in 2012 as part of urban/hip-hop vocal duo MK1.

Following that experience, the trans artist started releasing his solo music and later gained popularity on TikTok for his viral duets with his pre-transition self. In the short videos, he blends the voices and visuals of his present self with the ones he recorded before starting his transition.

“For as long as I can remember, I knew there was something different about me,” Dylan says in a video, introducing himself to his fans. “Music was my way of trying to make sense of it all.”

“Now I make music with the person I used to be. I sing duets with my old self, because every version of me matters,” he continues. “I sing duets with my old self because I want other people to know that it’s okay to embrace who you’ve been. That person brought you here today, and every version of you matters.”

 

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Recently, Dylan released the full music video for his cover of ‘Yellow’ by Coldplay, which features visuals of his past and present self shot on the same rooftop eight years apart. Introducing the video on YouTube, he wrote: “I’ve created this for you, my first full transgender duet cover, bringing together two chapters of the same voice.

“Revisiting this song was very moving for me. I feel so lucky to be able to make art like this. I want you to know, whoever you are, that you are allowed to love all versions of yourself.”

As part of a new music project, Dylan is in the process of releasing one original song each month to build an album in real time. His latest song, out in March, is titled ‘Almost Like I Miss You’.

“I originally wrote this song 6 years ago & nearly released it back then,” Dylan wrote, announcing the music video. “But I never got the production quite right & always struggled with the sound of my pre-transition voice on it, so I ended up shelving it… until now.”

“Now I am able to hear my old voice with such love & beauty. It no longer feels like a prison & instead feels like everything I ever needed to arrive here. Thank you forever Lots Holloway.”