Del Water Gap isn’t so much a band as it is the unfiltered psyche of Samuel Holden Jaffe—equal parts confession, comedy, and catharsis. His music feels tailor-made for late-night subway rides or hazy after-parties, where the lines between laughter and longing blur. Since recording his first songs in a high school closet, Jaffe has built Del Water Gap into one of indie pop’s most compelling projects, pairing brutally honest lyrics with melodies that stick like memories you can’t shake.
On his latest single, “How to Live,” Jaffe wrestles with anxiety, spiritual chaos, and the absurdity of trying to find clarity in a messy world. But just when the weight gets too heavy, he’ll puncture it with humor—describing his music as “for people who are tired of podcasts” or revealing, with a straight face, that he once modeled diapers. In conversation, he’s both disarmingly vulnerable and sharply funny, much like his songs. What follows is our conversation with Jaffe about his beginnings, influences, and the strange balance of taking life seriously without letting it get too serious.
Please introduce yourself and give us the backstory on how you got started.
Del Water Gap: My name is Holden and I have a project called Del Water Gap. I started writing songs when I was a kid because I was too shy to talk to anyone at school. I recorded my first record in a closet off the music room at my high school and moved to New York City shortly after.
How would you describe your music?
Del Water Gap: For people who are tired of podcasts.
Who are your biggest influences?
Del Water Gap: My grandma is my biggest influence. She has taught me a whole lot about music and art and life. I try my best to not let her down. I think she’s usually proud of me but she will sometimes shake me and say, “Snap out of it! Don’t waste your life!!”
What was the inspiration behind your current single, “How To Live”?
Del Water Gap: I had a very exciting and spiritually confusing year. “How To Live” is about the way that all felt. I have felt this quiet, ongoing effort to try and be better. It’s about how hurt can be kind of funny at times. We live in an anxious time and I feel anxious a lot of the time, too.
What would surprise people most about you?
Del Water Gap: I was a diaper model as a baby.
Interview by Shawn Alexander from #HAPPENS
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