"Music was always something I was drawn to, it just had a natural appeal," said the Paraparaumu local, who found his passion for composition as a 13-year-old Otaki College introductory music student.
"For me, it's an expression of yourself through a vessel, whether it's a guitar or singing.
"It's been one of the things that has gotten me through."
Forming his soon-to-debut EP around "deep, heavy personal stuff", the outspoken musician has created a series of songs around his experiences over the last seven years.
Though the experiences carved way for striking lyrical and instrumental content, they saw him lose a collection of people around him, including the most important.
"Each song is about a loved one who has left," he said.
"One of the best and most accurate songs I've written is about my partner of two years Morgan, who died along with our unborn child.
"The EP starts down low and as it progresses it gets lighter, signifying that life does not always stay that dark."
Including themes of youth suicide, after having also lost two of his close friends, Devon said he strongly believes in the healing properties of music.
"I'm trying to raise awareness about the issues I've faced.
"In my songs I explain what it's like before and during events that have happened, and how it feels once all the hype's died down and everyone's gone back to their life, while you're stuck with this huge hole.
"I'm looking forward to being able to share it with everyone."
Devon said he is inspired by the many in-house artists playing music in their garages throughout Kapiti, who will "blow you away with their talent".
The funk, blues and reggae-infused ex-band member, who has performed collaboratively and as a solo artist at bars and gigs around the country, as well as Kapiti Youth Fest and the recent Kapiti Musical Festival, said he looks forward to sharing details of his album launch.
"It's a huge gift being able to play music and express and heal myself, as well as share it.
"It's pretty damn special."
