Del Water Gap is the indie pop solo project[a] of Samuel Holden Jaffe (also known as S. Holden Jaffe), an American musician and record producer based in Brooklyn, New York.[4] He rose to prominence following the release of the single "Ode to a Conversation Stuck in Your Throat" in 2020. He has subsequently released two studio albums with Mom + Pop Music.
Career
Inception and early career
Jaffe is from Sharon, Connecticut.[5] While at boarding school in Millbrook, New York, Jaffe first recorded as Del Water Gap.[6] The name was inspired by the Delaware Water Gap.[7] Jaffe cites seeing the name handwritten on the back of a box truck in Sharpie at the age of seventeen. At the time of the project's inception, Jaffe was playing drums in a noise rock band in which "they wouldn’t really let me sing."[8] He later attended the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at New York University (NYU) to study music and sound production.[9] Band membership changed often as Jaffe entered college. There, he connected with Maggie Rogers, who played in the first incarnation of Del Water Gap.[10] She was in the band for six months. After two of the people he had started the project with dropped out, Jaffe took on Del Water Gap as a solo project.[7]
In 2013, Del Water Gap released his first EP, Del Water Gap EP.[11] In 2017, he independently released the EP 1 (646) 943 2672, named after the number for a burner phone he encouraged fans to call.[7]
In 2018, Jaffe released the single "Laid Down My Arms" on Terrible Records.[12] In 2019, he released the singles "Chastain" and "Theory of Emotion" ahead of his third EP, Don't Get Dark, also on Terrible Records.[13] In 2019, he released the EP Alive From Fresno, which included seven tracks recorded live.[14]
2020–present: "Ode to a Conversation Stuck in Your Throat" and mainstream success
In 2020, Del Water Gap released "Ode to a Conversation Stuck in Your Throat" and "Mariposa" on Atlantic Records.[15][16] In July 2020, "Ode to a Conversation Stuck in Your Throat" gained widespread attention after actresses Margaret Qualley and Kaitlyn Dever posted an Instagram video of themselves performing a "socially distant dance party" to the song during the first summer of the COVID-19 pandemic.[17]
Also in 2020, Jaffe featured on "New Song" with Maggie Rogers as part of her compilation album Notes from the Archive: Recordings 2011–2016.[18] Jaffe also collaborated with Rogers on her second album, Surrender, co-writing and producing the singles "Want Want" and "Anywhere With You" alongside Rogers and Kid Harpoon.[19][20] He also worked with Claud on the single "My Body" and co-wrote and produced Claud's "Never Meant to Call".[21]
In 2021, Jaffe released his debut LP Del Water Gap on Mom + Pop Music. He toured internationally to support the album.[22]
In 2023, Jaffe released the album I Miss You Already + I Haven’t Left Yet. The recording process took approximately 18 months over 40 studio sessions. It features collaborations with musicians such as Clairo and Arlo Parks.[23] The album, his second release on Mom + Pop, debuted at number 97 on the Top Current Album Sales chart.[14]
In April 2024, Jaffe was announced as the opener for the North American leg of Niall Horan's The Show: Live on Tour.[24] Jaffe was later added to the United Kingdom and Ireland legs of the tour as well.[25] The tour included stops at Madison Square Garden in New York City, the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, and the O2 Arena in London.[26]
.jpg)