Scottish electronic music artist obviouslydan recently talked to ai love music over email about his musical inspirations, future plans, and the release of his recent single “Emily”. He has been producing electronic music for around 5 years but released his debut EP Saturn in January and is now looking forward to some more releases and support over the rest of 2021 and seeing what lies ahead.
Check out what inspired obviouslydan to write “Emily” and how did he write the tune. Also, check out “Emily” down below and let me know what you think about it in the comments!
First of all, please introduce yourself. How did you get into music?
Hey Amy, so my name is Dan Smith I’m an independent music producer living in Glasgow, Scotland. Originally I got into music after starting piano lessons when I was about 10 or 11, then picked up a guitar in my teens and played a few instruments in school. I started to really enjoy electronic music as a teenager and when I began producing about 5 years ago, it was all I wanted to write.
What artists or musical genres inspire you?
I think overall people like The 1975, Four Tet, Bicep, Bonobo, Paul Woolford all inspire me the most. But, I really like finding myself inspired by a sample or random song that’ll come on and asking myself what could be done with it. I get SO inspired by what my friends do and write as well.
You are a fairly new artist, released your first single this year. How does it feel to be releasing music during this pandemic and in 2021?
Musically, it hasn’t been too much of an issue for me. I’m not massively in a rush to do much live stuff before I’ve got a more solid idea of how to go about it. So, the pressure being off meant I can just focus on production which is nice.
Let talk about the single “Emily”. What is it about?
“Emily” is really supposed to be about ushering in this next summer as we hopefully let go of the restrictions we’ve had this last year. It was originally called “Your Summer Will Come”. But, I then called it Emily after my young niece as I realised it all related to how her Summer will come.
What inspired you to write the song?
I was inspired after hearing all the sunny tunes that were coming out earlier this year by some other artists and fancied writing one myself. The weather was superb whilst I was producing it so that made it a lot easier.
How was the production of the song? What was your favorite part of the song?
The song actually came together quite naturally. Once I had the organ, synths, and drums down, I knew that it was sounding solid. It definitely felt unfinished until I got the vocal samples in which was the moment I knew it felt like I could release it.
My favourite part is probably when the vox synth comes in at about 1 minute. Think it’s a nice big sound that surprises you after the first drop.
You mention to me that this is a summer-like tune. What factors in the song inspired such a theme?
The weather! Blue skies, road trip, and Vitamin D kind of stuff. Also, just last Summer was really not the same so it’s meant to help people embrace this Summer as a much more memorable and fun one.
What do you want people to listen to in “Emily”?
I just want people to enjoy it and dance! 🙂
Any future plans?
Hopefully, another couple of tracks released over the summer and I’d love to do some remixes so if anyone has anything they’d like one for or would want to collaborate you can definitely reach out to me.
Finally, do you have any messages for the readers of ai love music?
Thanks for reading this interview, thanks to you for having me Amy, and I just hope everyone has a really amazing Summer x
About the Artist: obviouslydan
obviouslydan is an independent electronic music artist originally from a small town in the Highlands of Scotland but currently lives in Glasgow studying for his MA in Music. Both locations have inspired his sound from the space and emotional presence of up North to the grit and honesty of the metropolitan central belt. Playing piano from a young age and dabbling in many instruments since he has taken these skills and is now translating them into his emotionally focused electronica.
He has been producing electronic music for around 5 years but released his debut EP Saturn in January and is now looking forward to some more releases and support over the rest of 2021 and seeing what lies ahead.
Make sure to check out obviouslydan at the following sites:
Spotify | Soundcloud | Instagram | Facebook | Apple Music | Amazon Music | Youtube
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