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Hi Dani, welcome to VENTS! How have you been?
Hey! Thank you very much for having me. I’m excited to be here. I’ve been really great thanks, and how is everyone at VENTS?
Can you talk to us more about your latest single “Unwant You”?
Sure! “Unwant You” is my first single on Sirup Music and it’s out on Friday April 2nd. I wrote and recorded “Unwant You” at my home studio in London. It was during the UK’s first lockdown, last year 2020. It’s a collaboration with Northern Irish producers Menrva and Glass Keys. “Unwant You” actually came about from a second writing attempt to an instrumental I got sent from Menrva. I felt we needed something really simple yet unique, hooky and in the pocket of the instrumental. I’m a big fan of syncopated melodies on Electronic Dance music; I think the combination sounds so cool. With all of this in mind, both the chorus and the lyric for “Unwant You” sort of fell out of my mouth in an improvisation over Zoom with my co-writer Helienne Lindvall. I get so excited when this happens, I call it “God-mumblings”.
I’ve written many more since then, some of which will be released later this year. I found lockdown to be a good excuse for me to tap into my creative zone with no distractions, and I’ve welcomed the extra time and headspace to really hone my lyric and songwriting skills
Did any event in particular inspire you to write this song?
Like a lot of artists, I write from personal experience. The story was based on a relationship from my past that I knew I had to break away from, but physical attraction and some sort of mysterious and unfulfilled need kept me there; hence the line in the pre-chorus that says, “You always had me hooked in a bad way.” I was talking about this relationship with Helienne in our Zoom writing session, and she shared her own similar experience with me. She went on to tell me how a certain scent reminded her of an ex, and I thought that was a poignant opener to start the song with, so I put it in the first line of the first verse. I aim to re-create an emotional resonance that feels authentic in my songs and hopefully we achieved that.
Any plans to release any sort of video for the track?
Yes! There’s an animated lyric video which is pretty cool. This will be coming out on Monday 5th April. It’s a few days after the official single release date. I can’t wait!
How was the recording and writing process?
I do all of my own vocal production for my songs and demos, either in my studio at Tileyard Music, London, or at home. I have a pretty simple home set up which came in handy during lockdown. I recorded “Unwant You” there. I always warm-up my vocals first and then I start with recording the lead. Then I select the best takes and add a few simple effects like compression, EQ, and reverb. Once I’ve got a good lead vocal, I then go to work on the vocal arrangement by recording doubles to make certain words or lines stand out. This is followed by harmonies and other backing vocals for dynamics. Then I finish off the vocal chain on the lead and the harmonies, and then I do a final mix. I usually send the stems to the producer. I’m a self-taught vocal producer, although I did have a bit of help from my friend Rich ‘Fiasco’ Adlam of Replay Heaven in my early vocal production days. He showed me some techniques and told me what equipment and plug-ins I should get.
What was it like to work with Glass Keys and Menrva? How did those relationships develop?
I talk to Conhuir from Glass Keys most days now, though we’ve never met in person! We’ve been working really closely together, alongside Menrva, on “Unwant You” and a few others we’ve got in the pipeline due for release this year. I’m grateful to have found such a creative and collaborative team. They are all so insanely talented, and so nice! Our skills compliment one another’s well, and we’re all DJs!
In terms of how our relationship developed – I got sent an instrumental from Menrva by my management, which was our initial introduction. I’d co-written an entirely different song on their instrumental originally, but it just wasn’t hitting the spot for myself nor Menrva. So, I went back to the drawing board and tried a re-write. “Unwant You” was the result. Glass Keys had somehow heard the “Unwant You” topline (I think through their management), and they loved it! So, they re-produced the original instrumental with some help from Menrva.
How much did they get to influence the song?
Menrva suggested some songs as references for the type of vibe they thought would work well. They liked the overall feel of the chorus of “So Cold” by Mahalo x DLMT (ft. Lily Denning) and they also liked the melancholic narrative of “Baggage” by Gryffin, Gorgon City & Aluna George. So, we knew we had to incorporate a repetitive feel into the chorus of the topline, as well as an interesting story with some sort of lyrical motif. I was really inspired by both songs so once I had them as references, I was able to re-create something that ticked all of our boxes!
What role does London play in your music?
London has been my home city for such a long time now, and I’ll always be influenced by it lyrically in terms of the types of things I write about and how I write them. I started my musical journey on the UK R&B, Hip-Hop & Grime scene so I’m definitely influenced by these genres stylistically. London has such a great Electronic Dance music scene too, so I’m influenced a lot by this, of course. I’m always listening to tastemaker DJs like MistaJam, Danny Howard and Annie Mac to check out what they’re playing during their sets. That said, most of my collaborations have been with international Electronic Dance acts and there is so much incredible music coming out of Europe and Scandinavia. A few of my favourite collaborations have been with artists like Nora En Pure, Sander van Doorn and LVNDSCAPE. I’ve got to pay homage to the original pioneers of the scene too, especially DJs like Frankie Knuckles, and the whole Electronic Dance scene in Chicago, which crafted the Dance music sound we have today.
Does the new single mean we can expect a new material – how’s that coming along?
Yes, I have new material on its way after “Unwant You” and I’m so excited about it! We’re at the mixing/mastering stage for the next single and I’m currently finishing the writing on a third single as well.
Any tentative release date or title in mind?
Going to keep the details under wraps until everything is finalised, but the release dates are very soon, as in this summer and beyond.
What else is happening next in Dani Senior’s world?
I’ve been songwriting on another project in the Electronic Dance space which I am so excited about! I’ve been writing for a production duo made up of two Italian brothers. I won’t go into too much detail right now I’ll leave it up to them to announce, but they are so inspired and inspiring! We’ve written some incredible material together which I can’t wait to share with the world. I’ve also been busy writing and co-creating a really exciting TV project with a Grierson award-winning, and BAFTA nominated TV production company based in London. It’s music related but I’m not going to say any more than that, sorry! We’re hoping this will see the light of day by 2022.
Thanks so much for your time VENTS. This has been a great interview!
